[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E58-E59]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO REV. RANDALL McCASKILL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 2, 2000

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Rev. Randall 
McCaskill and commend him for his accomplishments during his 3 year 
tenure as head of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and the surrounding 
vicinity. Rev. McCaskill has inspired and aided countless citizens of 
Philadelphia during his leadership. Working together with the Rendell 
administration in fostering improved inter-racial relations, Rev. 
McCaskill gave his unique insight during such trying times as the 1998 
Grays Ferry incident. It was in times of urgency such as this that Rev. 
McCaskill showed us how truly important he is to our city. As President 
of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia, he recognized his role as a 
motivating force in our community. He consistently offered solutions to 
numerous problems our city faced, maybe best illustrated by his 
diplomatic efforts during the sensitive School Board of Philadelphia 
budget negotiations of 1998-99 and his key role in resolving the 
potentially crippling dispute between SEPTA management, and its union 
heads and employees.
  Rev. Randall McCaskill has been anything but passive in his efforts 
to help Philadelphians in need. He has assumed massive responsibility 
within a diverse body of national and local organizations, most obvious 
being his role as founder and pastor of the Olivet Baptist Church. As 
pastor, McCaskill manages the fiscal solvency of the church, which 
offers day care, job training, medical services, etc. Furthermore, Rev. 
McCaskill is a member of the original charter founders of the 
Opportunities Industrialization Centers and is Vice-President of the 
Strawberry Mansion Corporation,

[[Page E59]]

which manages a $4 million budget neighborhood investment project. He 
is Vice-President of the Community Development Corporation, a multi-
million dollar corporation which addresses issues of housing, 
rehabilitation, weatherization, and other related redevelopment issues. 
Rev. McCaskill is also Chair of the Community Renaissance Alliance, 
Inc., an organization that works toward building low income housing for 
Philadelphia Senior Citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, Rev. McCaskill is more than just a dynamic leader and a 
man of God, Randall McCaskill is my friend. I know I speak for all 
Philadelphians when I say thank you to him for his continued 
participation in the struggle to improve the conditions of our proud 
city. We are eternally grateful to him for showing us that where there 
is a will there is a way. By breaking down barriers along racial lines, 
socio-economic lines, etc., Rev. McCaskill has become the 
personification of our city's age-old tradition of ``brotherly love''; 
a truly remarkable accomplishment for a truly remarkable man.

                          ____________________