[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  TRIBUTE TO THE LATE EARL T. SHINHOSTER--FREEDOM FIGHTER, HUMAN AND 
                 CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, GREAT AMERICAN

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                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 14, 2000

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of 
our nation's unsung heroes, the late Earl T. Shinhoster, one of the 
noblest among the NAACP's indefatigable leaders. His untimely demise in 
a car accident suffered some 25 miles away from historic Montgomery, AL 
on Sunday, June 11, 2000 leaves a gaping void in our nation's quest for 
simple justice and equality of opportunity.
  My State of Florida and most specifically, Miami-Dade County, will 
surely miss him for the longevity of his genuine commitment to our 
well-being under the aegis of the NAACP. When I think of Mr. 
Shinhoster's work in Florida, it is clear that it parallels much of our 
State's history as it struggled through the countless challenges of 
racial equality.
  I first came to know him during the beginning of the 1980's when 
Liberty City was the scene of an unprecedented police brutality as it 
went up in flames in the aftermath of the killing of an innocent 
insurance executive, Arthur McDuffie, at the hands of the police. In 
his role as Southeast Regional Director of the NAACP, Mr. Shinhoster 
helped to restore calm and sanity to what was then a thoroughly 
besieged community.
  Prior to this heartrending episode that gripped my community, this 
young crusader came in our midst to give hope and courage to countless 
parents from the innercity, challenging them to be involved with their 
children's schools and urging them to keep the faith toward helping 
them achieve mastery of the basic skills and academic excellence. He 
managed to return again and again, espousing the same message upon 
which the success of minority schoolchildren could be forged.
  Then in 1983, when Miami was yet again embroiled for 3 days in racial 
disturbance in the Overtown area, it was Mr. Shinhoster who brought 
calm by urging the immediate suspension and investigation of two Miami 
police officers accused of killing two Overtown residents.
  When 34 Haitian bodies washed ashore in Miami, this young leader came 
back to commiserate with our Haitian community, helping to bury the 
dead and calling for the authorities to investigate the circumstances 
surrounding the tragedy. Given the magnitude of our community's trauma 
from multiple sources, it was Mr. Shinhoster's creative genius and 
utmost understanding that gave rise to the creation of the NAACP's 
Office of Urban Affairs to support the healing of a community torn 
asunder by severe urban turbulence.
  And when in the mid 80's tensions came to rip apart relations between 
the Black and Jewish communities, it was again Earl Shinhoster who came 
to the rescue, urging and facilitating a dialogue between the groups.
  The decade of the 80's marked Mr. Shinhoster's defining moment as he 
unabashedly spoke out at meetings, radio talk shows, TV programs and 
countless forums and conferences, espousing the NAACP's stance on a 
myriad of issues verging on school busing and fair housing. He was 
forthright in putting banks and insurance companies on notice for 
covertly and overtly resorting to redlining and mortgage discrimination 
practices, and questioning the use of deadly force by the police under 
the guise of maintaining law and order. He was brutally frank in 
assessing the unfairness of the death penalty and decrying the rise of 
youth crime among Blacks on one hand, while applauding the merits of 
minority set asides, affirmative action and a fair immigration policy 
for all on the other.
  When in 1992 Hurricane Andrew unleashed its awesome destructive power 
upon our community, making it the nation's costliest natural disaster, 
once again Mr. Shinhoster came to our rescue by orchestrating the 
NAACP's response to those whose lives and spirits were drastically 
dislocated.
  Under Earl Shinhoster's leadership, Florida's barriers to Black 
access to political representation and voter participation were 
removed. And for the first time in the 20th century, African-Americans 
were able to run and serve on elected boards, city councils, school 
boards, county commissions, the State Legislature. Finally, in the 
1990's as a result of his indefatigable leadership, I along with my 
colleagues Alcee Hastings and Corrine Brown became the first African-
Americans from Florida to be elected to the U.S. Congress since the 
Reconstruction Period almost a century ago.
  Blessed with a lucid common sense and quick grasp of the issues at 
hand, Mr. Shinhoster was also imbued with the rare wisdom of 
recognizing both the strengths and limitations of those who have been 
empowered to govern. The acumen of his intelligence and the timeliness 
of his vision were felt at a time when my community and this nation 
needed someone to put in perspectives the simmering agony of 
disenfranchised African-Americans and other minorities yearning to 
belong.
  I vividly recall that when government and community leaders met to 
douse the still-burning embers of the Liberty City and Overtown racial 
disturbances, his was the firm voice of reason and conscience, wisely 
articulating his credo that we have got to learn to live and understand 
each other, or we run the risk of shamefully reaping the grapes of 
wrath from those who have been left out.
  Mr. Earl T. Shinhoster truly exemplified a calm but reasoned 
leadership whose courage and wisdom appealed to our noblest character 
as a nation. While he will be missed by all of us, we will celebrate 
the gift of his life and thank God for sending him to grace our paths 
at a time when we most needed him.
  My pride in sharing his friendship is only exceeded by my eternal 
gratitude for all that he has sacrificed on our behalf. This is the 
magnificent legacy by which we will honor his memory.

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