[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 19 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO PROFESSOR HAKI MADHUBUTI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we continue to 
celebrate the achievements and milestones that comprise black history. 
Indeed, my remarks proclaim how far we have come and chronicle the 
lives of historical individuals of preceding generations. There are 
trailblazers today as well, and I appreciate the opportunity to pay 
tribute to my friend, Professor Haki Madhubuti.
  In August 2001, Professor Madhubuti was appointed Distinguished 
Professor by Chicago State University, the first African American male 
to obtain this distinction in Chicago State University's 135-year 
history.
  Born Donald Luther Lee in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1951, Haki 
Madhubuti is an influential poet, essayist, activist, and editor. As a 
child, he moved to Chicago and later attended the University of 
Illinois, Roosevelt University, and earned his Masters of Fine Arts 
from the University of Iowa.
  According to Professor Madhubuti, ``Ideas are important. The writing 
of ideas, the publishing of ideas, and the purveying of ideas. So at 17 
years old, I got into the idea business: thinking them, writing them, 
and later on at publishing them.''
  Consequently, he is the author of more than 20 books, including 
``Heart Love: Wedding & Love Poems''; ``Groundwork and Selected Poems 
of Haki R. Madhubuti Don L. Lee''; ``Killing Memory, Seeking Ancestors; 
Earthquakes and Sunrise Missions: Poetry and Essays of Black Renewal''; 
``Book of Life''; and ``Directionscore: Selected and New Poems.''
  These ideas shaped black literature and history and have helped to 
make Professor Madhubuti an important part of our intellectual 
landscape. He has developed his own new concept private school which he 
and his wife have made a citadel of learning opportunities.
  Professor Haki Madhubuti has indeed distinguished himself as an 
important intellectual, writer, lecturer, poet and, yet, has a spirit 
of humility as he walks among kings and queens and yet has not lost the 
common touch. A man of distinction, I am pleased to recognize his 
contribution.

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