[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE LATE RICHARD CRILEY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 18, 2000

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, today I honor a national hero 
who has helped shape civil and human rights for the past five decades. 
Richard Criley, a native of Carmel Highlands, was an active member of 
the American Civil Liberties Union and a fighter for all members of the 
human race. He influenced countless people to work, as he had, for the 
betterment of humanity and society, and his effect on our nation will 
be felt for many years to come. Mr. Criley passed away on Sunday, June 
18, 2000 at the age of 88.
  Born on October 20th, 1911 in Paris, Richard Criley moved to 
California with his parents in 1914. After graduating from Monterey 
High School in 1929, he attended Stanford University and later UC 
Berkeley. He received his bachelor's degree in history and began 
working on his doctorate when he started to get caught up in the bitter 
labor struggle that was taking place on the San Francisco waterfront. 
He eventually stopped school altogether to join the International 
Longshoremen and Warehouseman's Union. With this change came the 
beginning of an inspiring lifetime of activism.
  After being drafted into the Army and serving in Europe during the 
Second World War, Mr. Criley returned to Chicago, where he joined his 
wife in organizing labor unions. For the next 30 years, Mr. Criley was 
involved in, among other things, the abolition of the Chicago Police 
Department's ``red squad'' and the House Un-American Activities 
Committee. He was called before that committee on five separate 
occasions, each time refusing to testify.
  In 1976, he returned to Carmel Highlands where he was raised, and 
remained active in both local and national human and civil rights 
causes up until his death. Among the awards he has received are the 
Stephen E. Ross Award, presented by the Monterey Peninsula chapter of 
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1998; 
the Francis Heisler Award, presented by the Monterey County chapter of 
the ACLU in 1984; the Earl Warren Award of the Northern California ACLU 
in 1985 and the Baha'i Human Rights Award in 1993.
  Mr. Criley was a thoughtful, intelligent and dedicated man who will 
be sorely missed by his wife, Jan Penney, along with his three step-
daughters, Ann Edgerton of Carmel Highlands, Beth Penney of Pacific 
Grove and Jeanne Mileti of Cachagua; his step-son John Penney of Los 
Angeles; and his sister, Cynthia Williams of Carmel Highlands.

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