[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 26 (Thursday, March 1, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO THE REVEREND DOCTOR BENNETT WALKER SMITH, SR.--ST. JOHN 
                             BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JACK QUINN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 1, 2001

  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to pay tribute to my 
friend, Rev. Dr. Bennett Walker Smith, Sr. for his forty years of 
service in the ministry.
  As Pastor of Saint John Baptist Church on Goodell in the City of 
Buffalo, Rev. Smith leads one of the largest and most vibrant 
congregations in all of Western New York. His steady message of service 
to God and community has inspired us all.
  Throughout his remarkable life, Rev. Smith has been actively engaged 
in social and political change which has served to enhance the lives of 
all people, and African Americans in particular. His early years in the 
civil rights movement were shared with the late Reverend Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., the late Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and the Reverend 
Jessie Jackson.
  Within our Western New York community, Rev. Smith has taken a truly 
active role in the enhancement of the City of Buffalo. Under his 
leadership, St. John Baptist Church has built McCarley Gardens and the 
St. John Senior Citizens Tower, over 300 units in all, which provide 
housing for our community's seniors. It has also constructed the St. 
John Christian Academy that provides outstanding educational 
opportunity to over 250 students. I am honored to be working with him 
and St. John Baptist Church toward the completion of the next project, 
a Family Life Center that will provide a host of educational, health, 
and social services to our community.
  In recognition of his service Rev. B.W. Smith has been honored as a 
member of ``Who's Who in Religion,'' Ebony's ``100 Most Influential 
Black Americans,'' and by the NCCJ, and has received the prestigious 
Evans-Young Award from the Buffalo Urban League.
  Mr. Speaker, today I would like to join with the congregation of St. 
John Baptist Church and our entire Western New York community in 
recognition of the commitment to God, dedicated service, and leadership 
of Rev. Dr. B.W. Smith. I am honored to bring his great work to the 
attention of my colleagues and to this honorable body.

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