[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H3314-H3315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REV. LEON SULLIVAN POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3739) to designate the facility of the
United States Postal Service located at 6150 North Broad Street in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the ``Rev. Leon Sullivan Post Office
Building''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3739
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REV. LEON SULLIVAN POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 6150 North Broad Street in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, shall be known and designated as the ``Rev.
Leon Sullivan Post Office Building''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be
a reference to the Rev. Leon Sullivan Post Office Building.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Davis).
General Leave
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3739, introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Brady) designates a post office located in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania as the Reverend Leon Sullivan Post Office Building.
Members of the entire House delegation from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania are cosponsors of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, the Reverend Leon Sullivan devoted his life to helping
others
[[Page H3315]]
help themselves. Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Leon
Sullivan became pastor of Zion Baptist Church in urban Philadelphia in
1950, eventually increasing its membership from 600 to 6,000, making it
one of the largest congregations in America.
In 1964, he founded Opportunities and Industrialization Centers,
OICs, a self-help training program that has spread to 76 centers in the
United States and 33 centers in 18 other countries, training more than
2 million people worldwide.
In 1971, Reverend Sullivan joined the GM board of directors, and
became the first African American on the board of a major corporation.
In 1977, Reverend Sullivan developed a code of conduct for companies
operated in South Africa. The ``Sullivan Principles'' created a
revolution in industrial race relations and were instrumental in
dismantling apartheid. In 1999, the Global Sullivan Principles were
issued at the United Nations. This expanded code calls for
multinational companies to take an active role in the advancement of
human rights and social justice.
Among his many other honors, in 1992 Sullivan was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given in the
United States. Reverend Leon Sullivan died on April 24, 2001, of
leukemia at a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital. He was 78. I urge adoption
of H.R. 3739.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3739, which designates a U.S. Post Office located
in Philadelphia after Reverend Leon Sullivan was introduced by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) on February 13, 2002.
The Reverend Leon Sullivan, a prominent social activist/reformer was
the pastor of the Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia for 38 years,
overseeing congregational growth from 600 to 6,000. His commitment to
social reform and justice extended into national and international
areas. In 1964, he founded the Opportunities Industrialization Center
in Philadelphia, which sponsored extensive training and retraining of
welfare recipients. The program was expanded into other cities and
countries.
I am pleased to say that I had the opportunity to actually work with
the OIC that was founded in Chicago, and almost took a job working for
them at one time. Perhaps if I had done that, I would not have ended up
doing electorial politics.
Reverend Leon Sullivan was also the founder of the National Progress
Association for Economic Development which supported minority
businesses in economic development and training. He served on the
boards of a number of major corporations and organizations, including
General Motors, the Boy Scouts of America, and several large banks.
He is perhaps most remembered for the bold and innovative role he
played in the global campaign to dismantle the system of apartheid in
South Africa. In 1977, Reverend Leon Sullivan developed a code of
conduct for companies operating in that country. The ``Sullivan
Principles,'' signed by more than 125 U.S. corporations, required
racial equality and desegregation in the workplace, corporate
involvement in the South African black community, and stated opposition
to the apartheid system.
Reverend Leon Sullivan was the recipient of numerous awards and
honors recognizing his ministry and commitment to social justice. He
was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and received the
Dahlberg Peace Award from the American Baptist Convention.
Reverend Sullivan died on April 24, 2001 of leukemia. He was 78 years
old. I commend my colleague for seeking to honor such an outstanding
man of peace and vision, and urge swift consideration of this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I might add, I was in Nairobi, Kenya in 1975, and was
pleased to see as I got off the plane and got downtown Nairobi, the
first thing I saw was an OIC; and I said, I guess I am in the right
place.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady).
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, today we honor the lion of Zion, Reverend Leon Sullivan,
and it is fitting that we name the post office at 6150 North Broad
Street in Philadelphia as the Rev. Leon Sullivan Post Office.
I have my speech here prepared, and I thank my two colleagues for
their heartfelt words, but I would like to add a personal note.
{time} 1530
I knew the Reverend Leon Sullivan. I knew him well. He is revered in
the city of Philadelphia as the Zion Church is on North Broad Street.
His spirit lives on with that church. It is as vibrant as can be and is
staying as vibrant as it can be with the 6,000 members that are there.
I would like to say that a lot of good people are following in his
footsteps. They are very, very large footsteps. I like to think that I
got a little piece of that. I knew him personally. He was a dear
friend. I had a good opportunity to see him not too long before his
death. He will surely be missed.
I also again thank Chairman Burton and Ranking Member Waxman of the
Committee on Government Reform as well as Chairman Weldon and Ranking
Member Davis and their staffs for all their hard work on this bill. I
urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to
support this important piece of legislation.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of naming a post
office in Philadelphia after the Rev. Leon Sullivan.
Leon Sullivan was first of all, a man of God with deep spiritual
beliefs as a Baptist minister. Rev. Sullivan made his mark in our
country as a civil rights leader and founder of the Opportunities
Industrialization Centers, which provides job training for in the U.S.
and 18 other countries.
Rev. Sullivan made his mark on the international stage as a
humanitarian in the struggle to free South Africa from the grip of the
apartheid regime. As a member of the board of General Motors, in 1977,
Rev. Sullivan developed the ``Sullivan Principles'' as a guide for
companies operating in South Africa. They played a major role in
convincing U.S. companies to divest in South Africa as long as the
black majority was oppressed.
One of my greatest personal experiences was meeting with Rev.
Sullivan and listening intently as he discussed with such passion and
power, the need to help the African people move toward self-
determination. I was proud to be of assistance to him.
Rev. Sullivan also wrote a book called the Global Sullivan
Principles, which addressed the responsibility of multinational
corporations to provide a livable pay for all workers. ``Every
business, large and small, can find a way to improve the standard of
life for poor people who need help in America and in the world,'' he
said.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this effort to name a post office on
behalf of the Rev. Leon Sullivan, a man who saw the need for job
training and set about developing job training centers around our
country and around the world. What a high honor to recognize a man who
saw the wrong of the South African apartheid regime and set about
righting it.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dan Miller of Florida). The question is
on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann
Davis) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3739.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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