[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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