[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E221-E222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CELEBRATING AFRICAN AMERICAN MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2003

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Members 
of the Congressional Black Caucus and all the black members of Congress 
that have served this Nation. As America observes African American 
History Month, I would be remiss not to remember the giants of this 
institution who made it possible for me to stand before you today. In 
the 212 years of Congressional History, there has been only 108 black 
Members of Congress: 104 elected to the House and 4 to the Senate.
  In the great State of Florida there have been five black Members of 
Congress and I have the distinctive honor to serve as one of them.
  I want to commend your attention to the first black Member of 
Congress elected from the State of Florida, Josiah Thomas Walls.
  Congressman Josiah Thomas Walls was the only black representative 
from the State of Florida before reconstruction. He was born, probably 
to slavery, in or near Winchester, Virginia, on December 30, 1842. As a 
child, Josiah Walls moved to Darksville in what is now West Virginia. 
Josiah Walls briefly attended the county normal school in Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, and may have received additional education. As a 
Congressman, Josiah Walls described his impressments into the 
Confederate army and his capture by Northern forces at the siege of 
Yorktown, Virginia, in May 1862. By July 1863 he had entered the Third 
Infantry Regiment, United States Colored Troops at Philadelphia, 
becoming a corporal in October. Josiah Walls moved with his regiment to 
Florida in February 1864. After his discharge in October 1865 he worked 
at a sawmill on the Suwannee River and later taught at Archer in 
Alachua County.
  In 1867, Josiah Walls was elected to represent Alachua County at the 
1868 Florida Constitutional Convention. The county convention of March 
1868 also nominated Josiah Walls for the state assembly. He was 
elected, taking his seat in June. Later that same year he was elected 
to the state senate from the Thirteenth District and took his seat the 
following January. Josiah Walls participated in several national 
conventions held to discuss problems facing blacks. At the Southern 
States Convention of Colored Men in 1871 he proposed an amendment to a 
resolution of support for President Ulysses S. Grant, which called on 
the Republicans to nominate John Mercer Langston for Vice President in 
1872.
  In August 1870, Florida Republicans nominated Walls for the state's 
lone seat in the House of Representatives. Walls appeared to win a 
narrow election victory and presented his credentials to the Congress 
on March 4, 1871. He accepted assignments to the Committee on Militia, 
the Committee on Mileage, and the Committee on Expenditures in the Navy 
Department.
  Congressman Walls put forth several proposals and spoke on a variety 
of subjects. Since he feared public education would receive little 
attention if it were administered by southern states, he supported a 
measure to establish a national educational fund financed with money 
from public land sales. He introduced bills for the relief of private 
pensioners and Seminole War veterans. He strongly favored expenditures 
for internal improvements in Florida and supported efforts to grant 
belligerent status to rebels fighting in Cuba for independence from 
Spain, which still permitted slavery to exist on the island.
  After a disputed election and defeat for renomination to the House, 
Josiah Walls took an indefinite leave of absence from public service.
  Upon his return to Alachua County, Josiah Walls owned and operated a 
successful tomato and lettuce farm, sawmill and orange groves. He also 
remained interested in political developments. He slipped into ill 
health and lost his fortune when a February 1895 freeze ruined his 
crops. Shortly thereafter he was placed in charge of the farm at 
Florida Normal College (now Florida A&M University). He died in 
Tallahassee on May 15, 1905.
  As a great writer once penned, ``God will not let us fall . . . For 
our work is good, We hope to plant a nation, Where none before hath 
stood.'' Congressman Josiah Walls planted a nation for other African 
Americans to follow.

[[Page E222]]

  Today, I honor him and ask all my colleagues to join me in 
remembering this politician and great leader from the great State of 
Florida.

                          ____________________