[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO LOIS FERNANDEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2000

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Lois 
Fernandez, president and co-founder of Odunde, a cultural organization 
that for 25 years has sponsored the Odunde Festival, one of 
Philadelphia's brightest cultural attractions and one of the largest 
African American festivals in the United States.
  Odunde, which among the Yoruba of Nigeria means Happy New Year, is 
the greeting that first meets the more than 300,000 people who attend 
the Odunde festival. The festival transforms a 10-block area in the 
First Congressional District into a veritable West African marketplace 
complete with African, African American and Caribbean vendors selling 
crafts, clothing and food.
  Those attending the festival can also take part in a traditional 
Yoruba ceremony that pays respect to Oshun, a Yoruba deity. The 
festival also offers a broad assortment of performances by musicians, 
dancers, singers and poets.
  Ms. Fernandez has enriched our community by providing sorely needed 
education regarding the rich culture and history of Africa and the 
Africans of the diaspora.
  For a quarter of a century Ms. Fernandez has been a formidable force 
for social change in our city and she has provided us with an 
invaluable cultural legacy.

                          ____________________