[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 19, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMENDING THE GARY, INDIANA NAACP

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 1999

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to commend the 
members of the Gary, Indiana, branch of the National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). On Friday, May 21, 1999, the 
Gary NAACP will hold its 36th Annual Life Membership Banquet and 
Scholarship Dinner at the St. Timothy Community Church in Gary, 
Indiana.
  This annual event is a major fundraiser for the Gary branch of the 
NAACP. The funds generated through this activity, and others like it, 
go directly to the organization's needed programs and advocacy efforts. 
In addition, the dinner serves to update and keep the community aware 
of the activities, accomplishments, and accolades of the local and 
national chapters of the NAACP on an annual basis.
  The featured speaker at this gala event will be South Carolina's 
Congressman James E. Clyburn. Representative Clyburn represents the 6th 
Congressional District of South Carolina and was first elected to 
Congress in November of 1992. He currently serves as the Chairman of 
the Congressional Black Caucus and is a Life Member of the NAACP.
  This year the Gary NAACP will honor five outstanding leaders for 
their efforts to further equality in society. Joining more than five 
hundred outstanding civil, community, and religious leaders of the 
region, the following distinguished individuals will be inducted as 
life members of the Gary NAACP: Louise Lee, Foster Stephens, and Father 
Pat Gaza of Gary, Indiana; James Sudlek of Hammond, Indiana; and Joyce 
Washington of Calumet City, Illinois.
  The Gary NAACP was organized in 1915 by a group of residents that 
felt there was a need for an organization that would monitor and defend 
the rights of African-Americans in Northwest Indiana. The national 
organization, of which the Gary branch is a member, focuses on 
providing better and more positive ways of addressing the important 
issues facing minorities in social and job-related settings. Like the 
national organization, the Gary branch of the NAACP serves its 
community by combating injustice, discrimination, and unfair treatment 
in our society.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join 
me in paying tribute to Louise Lee, Foster Stephens, James Sudlek, 
Father Pat Gaza, and Joyce Washington, as well as the other members of 
the Gary NAACP for the efforts, activities, and leadership that these 
outstanding men and women have utilized to improve the quality of life 
for all residents of Indiana's First Congressional District.

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