[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO VIRGINIA ``GINNIE'' MUIR HIRSCH

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2003

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Virginia 
``Ginnie'' Muir Hirsch. She passed away in the early morning of January 
29 in her home in Santa Cruz, California. Her husband, Fred, and their 
three daughters Liza, Leslie, and Laurie were at her side.
  Ginnie was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania on August 4, 1925. She came 
from a family of strong Democrats. Because of her father's leftist 
ideals, he had difficulty finding a job in Altoona. Eventually the 
family was forced to migrate to West Virginia so that Ginnie's father 
could find work.
  Ginnie moved to New York in 1942, where she began working for the 
American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born and for the 
American Slav Congress. Ginnie worked continuously during the period of 
anti-leftist hysteria in the nineteen forties, supporting many 
activists who were being deported for their progressive ideologies. 
While helping to organize a 1949 concert by Paul Robeson, her 1937 
Oldsmobile was pushed over a cliff in what became known as the 
Peekskill Riot. The next day, in clothes bloodied by cross-burning 
Klansmen, Virginia testified with Paul Robeson about the attack.
  Ginnie was married in 1952. In 1957 she and her husband moved to 
California with their children. Virginia held down two jobs, campaigned 
against the ``right to work'' law, and fought against the deportation 
and abuse of Mexican immigrants. In San Jose, Ginnie became an active 
member of the Office of Professional Employees International Union, and 
for a number of years she worked for the local Retail Clerks Union. She 
was also a founding member of the Friends of the Student Nonviolent 
Coordinating Committee, which involved traveling to Mississippi and 
bringing supplies to SNCC.
  Ginnie has been a life-long activist in California labor politics. As 
a board member for the Central Labor Council, she consistently 
supported the United Farm Workers as well as a number of East San Jose 
labor organizations. In 1967 Virginia moved her family to Delano, 
California to open the first legal office for Cesar Chavez's United 
Farm Workers. She was also an integral part of the jury investigation 
team for the 1971 trial of Angela Davis.
  Ginnie continued through her years in San Jose, and later in Santa 
Cruz, providing for her family and working for peace, against racism, 
and for social and economic justice. She regretted that leukemia made 
her unable to take part in the January 18 anti-war actions in San 
Francisco and died less than two weeks later.
  Mr. Speaker, Virginia Muir Hirsch will be remembered in the community 
for her years of service and the invaluable contributions she has made 
to the progressive cause.

                          ____________________