[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 2, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S4700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   HONORING THE LIFE OF SAM H. JONES

 Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I rise 
today to honor the life of my friend, Sam H. Jones, who passed away on 
March 26, 2003 after 3-year battle with leukemia. Sam was a pioneer of 
civil rights who dedicated his life to building a community of equality 
where people of all races, religions, and backgrounds could have a 
stake in the American dream. He was a soft-spoken man yet he had a 
commanding presence that gave him the power to bring people of diverse 
backgrounds together in order to achieve great things.
  While serving as the president of the Indianapolis Urban League for 
the past 36 years, Sam Jones worked to build bridges across tumultuous 
waters of racism, helping to ensure economic prosperity, equal 
opportunity in education, and improved police relations for African 
Americans and other minorities in the Indianapolis area. Sam championed 
issues ranging from suicide prevention to economic development. He was 
never afraid to explore new policy areas or to take an unpopular or 
unorthodox approach to solving problems. For these reasons, he was one 
of the most respected leaders in our community.
  Born in Heidelberg, MS in 1929, Sam saw segregation in its most 
brutal form at a young age, which profoundly impacted him. He did not 
hold grudges. Instead, he took action to effect positive change, 
working with those whom he opposed, not against. Sam was known for his 
ability to calm opposing sides in difficult situations in order to 
reach compromise. This attitude helped him to build many strong 
partnerships and lifelong friendships.
  In 1966 Sam Jones cofounded the Indianapolis Urban League and served 
as its president and CEO until last December. He built the organization 
in Indianapolis from the ground up, starting his work in a small motel 
room, and 36 years later, opening a $3 million Indiana Avenue 
headquarters. The new building bears his name, and rightly so; Sam was 
the heart and soul of the Indianapolis Urban League and was widely 
considered the dean of all 112 chapters of the national organization.
  Sam Jones was a truly unique leader and humanitarian whose shoes will 
be difficult, if not impossible, to fill. For this reason, the sense of 
loss to all those who knew him in the city of Indianapolis, the State 
of Indiana, and the Nation, is tremendous. He will be greatly missed by 
his family and close friends, to whom he was extremely dedicated. He is 
survived by his wife, Prethenia, and their children, Marya Overby, Sam 
H. Jones, Jr., and the Rev. Michael Jones.
  It is my sad duty to enter the name of Sam H. Jones into the 
Congressional Record. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: ``The hope 
of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who 
are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.'' The world has been 
left a better place because Sam Jones lived his life based on that 
principle.

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