[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 19, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E380-E381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            POSTHUMOUS TRIBUTE TO THE LATE REV. JOSEPH COATS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 2002

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of 
our community's most genuine and unsung leaders, the late Rev. Joseph 
Coats. Indeed, he was also one of the noblest of God's faithful 
servants. His untimely demise last Sunday, March 3, 2002 leaves a deep 
void in our leadership toward our ongoing struggle to achieve equality 
of opportunity and unity among all people.
  Born in Alamo, Georgia on January 28, 1927, he married Catherine 
Coats in 1949. Eight children were born out of this blessed union, with 
one son preceding him in death. He received his Theology degree from 
South Bible Seminary, and was subsequently ordained a minister on April 
23, 1966. He was then assigned the pastorship of the Glendale Baptist 
Church in South Miami's Richmond Heights community. In the early days 
of his ministry his congregation numbered only 150 members. He would 
pick up in his old station wagon other members who had no way to get to 
church.
  Historic milestones defined Rev. Coats' life of service. In 1969 he 
led his church in becoming the first African-American church to join 
the white Southern Baptist Convention. Predictably, his fellow Black 
ministers castigated him to no end for this move. They even ostracized 
him. When queried about this stance, he was wont to firmly state that 
``. . . we simply taught Christ here--not black and white. I preached 
impartiality and unity, and our members saw people as people . . .''
  With great Faith in pursuing God's mission for him, he courageously 
persevered during that very trying period until such time when many 
more African American churches joined the Convention. Rev. Coats served 
as Pastor of Glendale for 30 years before he retired. Upon his 
retirement the congregation grew to some 3,000, although thousands more 
continue to flock to his revered church eager to hear him preach God's 
good news of salvation and redemption.
  My state of Florida and most specifically, Miami-Dade County on the 
southern end, will surely miss his wisdom and expertise. The longevity 
of his commitment to the well-being of the less fortunate among us, 
particularly the voiceless and the underrepresented, has indeed become 
legendary. When I think of his early work in his church's involvement 
with the civil rights movement, it parallels much of Florida's and the 
nation's history as we struggled through the harrowing challenges of 
racial equality and simple justice.
  I came to know this quintessential man of God in his understanding of 
and commitment to the underdogs of our community. Blessed with a lucid 
common sense and a quick grasp of the issues at hand, Rev. Coats was 
also blessed 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 our community and the state of Florida needed someone to put in 
perspectives the simmering agony of disenfranchised African-Americans 
and other minorities yearning to belong and pursue the American Dream.
  I vividly recall the times when government and community leaders met 
to douse the still-burning embers of Liberty City and Overtown during 
the racial disturbances in the early 1980s. His was the firm voice of 
reason and the steadying influence of conscience. Wisely, he 
articulated his credo that we have got to learn to live and reach out 
to each other, or run the risk of shamefully reaping the grapes of 
wrath from those who have been left out.
  Rev. Coats truly exemplified a calm but reasoned leadership whose 
courage and advocacy appealed to our noblest character as a

[[Page E381]]

nation. While he will be missed by the men and women of good will in my 
community and beyond, I will join my constituents in celebrating the 
wonderful gift of his life at the funeral services this Monday, March 
11, 2002 at Glendale Baptist Church. We will honor and thank God for 
sending Rev. Coats to grace our paths and take up our struggles 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.

                          ____________________