[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 154 (Thursday, November 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13992-S13993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             LYNDON A. WADE

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I once heard Marian Wright 
Edelman, President of the Children's Defense Fund, say that ``Service 
is the rent each of us pays for living--the very purpose of life and 
not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your 
personal goals.'' I can think of no greater example of that philosophy 
than Mr. Lyndon A. Wade.
  Lyndon A. Wade has served as President of the Atlanta Urban League 
for over 30 years. Since 1968, under his leadership, this broad-based 
community and social service agency has affected major decisions and 
brought about changes in among other things, land and transportation 
planning, equal employment opportunities and minority employment in 
building and construction trades.
  Currently, the League operates programs of service in the areas of 
employment, housing, education and youth services. The agency provides 
social services to over 3,000 people annually and is affiliated with 
the United Way Agency and also receives funding from city, county, 
state, and federal governments, foundations, and corporations.
  Mr. Wade is a native Atlantan and a product of the Atlanta public 
schools. He received his BA form Morehouse College and his Masters 
degree in Social work from Atlanta University. He began his career as 
an assistant professor in Emory University's Department of Psychiatry, 
a position he occupied from 1963 to 1968.
  Between 1971 and 1975, while serving as President of the Atlanta 
Urban League, Mr. Wade was appointed by Federal Judge Frank Hooper to 
chair the bi-racial Advisory Committee to the Atlanta Board of 
Education. This group was successful in forging the Atlanta Compromise 
which ended 15 years of protracted court struggle surrounding the 
desegregation of Atlanta's public schools.
  From 1971 until 1985, Mr. Wade served on the Board of Directors of 
the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority where he held the 
posts of Secretary, Chairman of the Development Committee and Vice-
Chairman. He was one of the major architects of Marta's Affirmative 
Action Program which has

[[Page S13993]]

resulted in hundreds of jobs for minorities and females as well as 
producing approximately $3 billion in contracts for minority and female 
entrepreneurs since the beginning of the system.
  During the early 1970's, the Atlanta Urban League, under Wade's 
leadership, paved the way for minorities and women to gain admission to 
the building trades elite crafts. Working with Arthur Fletcher and the 
U.S. Department of Labor a federal employment plan was developed for 
the construction industry in Metropolitan Atlanta. This plan served as 
a monitoring guide for hiring and utilization of minority and female 
workers.
  Over his long and distinguished career, Mr. Wade has received 
numerous citations and honors including: Fulton County Medical 
Society's Distinguished Service Award; Social Worker of the Year 1971 
by the North Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Social 
Workers; and the Distinguished Service Award by the Atlanta Morehouse 
Alumni Club.
  He is a member of the Academy of Social Workers, the Atlanta Action 
Forum, the Atlanta Committee for Public Education, Organizing Committee 
for Gilda's Club, Channel 36's ``Quest'' Advisory Board, the 
Association of United Way executive committee, the Urban Insurance Task 
Force, and District Attorney Paul Howard's Transition Team as well as a 
1970 Graduate of leadership Atlanta.
  From September 1958 to July 1962, Mr. Wade served in the United 
States Military and received an honorable discharge with the rank of 
First Lieutenant. He is married and the father of four children. He is 
also a life-long member of the Central Methodist Church in Atlanta.
  I thank Mr. Wade for the wonderful work he has done on behalf of 
Atlanta and its residents and I wish the very best for him and his 
family in his much deserved retirement.

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