[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 25, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A TRIBUTE TO RICHARD AUSTIN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a pioneer in 
Michigan politics, Richard Austin.
  Mr. Austin passed away this weekend at Henry Ford Hospital in 
Detroit.
  The story of Richard Austin's life is a story of the American dream. 
It is certainly a story of many firsts and many accomplishments.
  Born in 1913 in Alabama, Austin's coal miner father passed away when 
he was only 11 years old. His family moved to Detroit.
  He had to give up a scholarship to Wayne State University in order to 
support his family.
  But he continued to take night classes at the Detroit Institute of 
Technology while working full time selling and repairing shoes.
  In 1941, Austin became the first African-American certified public 
accountant in Michigan. He made a point of hiring other African-
American accountants in his business.
  In 1969, he was the first African-American to run for the office of 
mayor of Detroit.
  Although he lost that race for mayor, the next year, he ran 
successfully to be Michigan's first African-American secretary of 
state, and Michigan's first African-American state-wide elected 
official.
  As secretary of state from 1970 to 1994, Richard Austin fought to 
make Michigan the first state in the Union to enact a mandatory seat 
belt law.
  He also pushed a motorcycle helmet law and simplified the process for 
renewing driver licenses.
  One of his greatest accomplishments was the passage of Michigan's 
`motor-voter' law.
  Once again, Michigan was the first state to put in place this system 
which allows people to register to vote at the same time and place they 
renewed their driver licenses.
  The national motor voter law was not enacted until 18 years later.
  Mr. Speaker, Richard Austin was more than a pioneer in Michigan 
politics and a leader in national highway safety and voter 
registration.
  Above all, Mr. Speaker, what made Richard Austin such a special and 
rare individual was his strong sense of decency, integrity and grace.
  Our thoughts and our prayers are with his wife of 61 years, Ida, and 
his daughter, Hazel.

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