[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 10, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF GLENNA HAYES AND JOHN THOMAS 
                                 RIDDLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary life and contributions of Glenna Hayes, a true American 
hero.
  Ms. Hayes received her B.A. degree from Spelman College in 1940 and 
married her college sweetheart, Joseph Hayes, in 1943. A year later she 
received her R.N. and Public Health Nursing degrees. Her husband and 
she moved to Los Angeles in 1945, and Ms. Hayes quickly devoted herself 
to the children of Los Angeles.
  In 1950 she became involved in organizing an auxiliary to the 
Children's Home Society of California, a statewide organization placing 
children for adoption. During a time of great segregation, the CHS was 
responsible for finding families for children from all ethnic 
backgrounds. In an effort to honor this commitment, Ms. Hayes was 
instrumental in helping to create the Lullaby Guild in 1950, which was 
organized with 27 interracial members.
  The Lullaby Guild played a pivotal role in identifying homes for many 
African American children who faced the dim prospect of not being 
adopted. Members of the Lullaby Guild actively sought and identified 
families that were willing to adopt and then assisted them through the 
adoption process. The Guild also transported babies from their foster 
homes to CHS clinics for monthly medical checkups.
  Ms. Hayes was elected treasurer of the Council Auxiliaries in 1963 
for two terms, and elected president in 1965. In 1968 she became a 
school nurse in charge of employee health for the Los Angeles Unified 
School District. Throughout her life, she continued to volunteer her 
time to causes that helped protect the children and the health of the 
wonderful people of Los Angeles.
  Glenna Hayes was a remarkable member of the community and an American 
devoted to helping better the lives of children and families. Now let 
us all celebrate Glenna Hayes's life and spirit of volunteerism and 
racial equality.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to present a celebration for the life 
of John Thomas Riddle, a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and educator.

                              {time}  1500

  John Riddle was born in Los Angeles in 1933, educated in the public 
schools, and graduated from Los Angeles City College. John taught art 
at Los Angeles High School and Beverly Hills High School before moving 
to Atlanta, Georgia, where he taught at Spelman College and received 
many awards, as well as public arts commissions.
  He was eventually appointed to the post of administrative assistant 
for the city of Atlanta. In 1984, he was commissioned by the 
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to create four wall 
sculptures for the Tenth Street Midtown Station.
  In 1999, John joined the California African American Museum as its 
curator. John Riddle's early artworks have been described as 
figurative. However, the Watts civil disturbance of 1965 changed his 
views on the purpose and the worth of art. He began to search for ways 
in which he could artistically expose the harsh realities of living and 
working in South Central Los Angeles.
  John's works are now found in the collections of the Oakland Museum, 
the California African American Museum, the High Museum of Art in 
Atlanta, the Schomburg Center in New York City, and the Harriet Tubman 
Museum in Macon, Georgia.
  His works have been collected by numerous celebrities, including 
Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Roberta Flack, and Jasmine Guy. In 1971, he 
was one of the subjects of the NBC Emmy Award-winning television 
presentation entitled ``Renaissance in Black: Two Artists' Lives.''
  John came from a highly distinguished family. His father, John 
Riddle, Senior, was an architect and former USC fullback who held many 
school records during the first half of the 20th century. His mother, 
Helen Louise Wheeler, was believed to be the first African American 
woman to have graduated from USC's School of Law.
  But most importantly, John was a family man, and has been described 
by his oldest son, Anthony Riddle, as a great father, a great artist, 
and a good man. He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, my 
classmate, Carmen Garrett Riddle; four daughters; two sons; and 12 
grandchildren.
  We pay a great deal of attention and celebration to his life.

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