[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 73 (Thursday, May 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E984]]
                         REVEREND JOSEPH DARBY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2003

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to have had my 
minister and good friend, Reverend Joseph Darby, deliver this morning's 
opening prayer. I invited Reverend Darby to join us this morning from 
Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, because I knew 
from personal experience that he would provide an inspirational 
blessing that will be very relevant to the times in which we live.
  I told him, as we were about to enter the Chamber, that he had lucked 
out this morning. That because of the subsequent meeting of the former 
members, he would get to pray to and be greeted by a number of warm 
bodies, which is not always the case with the guest chaplain.
  A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Reverend Darby is a fourth-
generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church with 
twenty-five years of pastoral experience. His career has been marked by 
selfless service to others that comes not only from his dedication to 
the ministry, but his innate passion and compassion.
  Reverend Darby has been a vocal advocate for so many who do not have 
a voice in our society. He has stood up for his beliefs in the face of 
great obstacles. My father, a minister himself, taught me the strength 
of David as he faced Goliath and Daniel as he entered the lions' den. 
Reverend Darby has demonstrated that same strength drawn from his faith 
in his daily life, and as a result, his accomplishments are great.
  He is presently a Board Member for the Reid House of Christian 
Service and the Family Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit's Drug Court 
Program, a member of the State Superintendent of Education's African-
American Achievement Committee, the Racial/Cultural Advisory Council of 
the South Carolina School Boards Association, The Long Range Planning 
Subcommittee of the South Carolina Educational Oversight Committee; 
South Carolina Educational Television's Advisory Committee for African-
American Programming; The Board of Directors of the Daniel J. Jenkins 
Institute for Children, and is First Vice-President of the South 
Carolina Conference of Branches of the NAACP. Reverend Darby is First 
Vice-President of the Charleston A.M.E. and Interdenominational 
Ministerial Alliances, Chairman of the P.A.S.T.O.R.S. Housing 
Initiative, and Chairman of the South Carolina Coalition of Black 
Church Leaders, an Affiliate of the Congress of National Black 
Churches.
  Reverend Darby's honors and awards include South Carolina Business 
Vision magazine' 1997 South Carolina's 25 most influential African-
Americans award, the 1999 South Carolina Christian Action Council's 
Howard G. McClain Christian Action in Public Policy Award, the 1999 
NAACP Southeast Region Medgar W. Evers Leadership Award, the 2001 MOJA 
Festival Religious Achievement Award, and the 2001 Excellence in 
Religion award from the S.C. Mechanism of the National Council of Negro 
Women. He was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame in 
July 2002.
  Reverend Darby is married to the former Mary M. Bright of Walterboro, 
South Carolina, a career educator. They have two sons--Jason 
Christopher, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Allen 
University, and Jeremy Christian who attends West Ashley High School.
  Reverend Darby is a true leader in South Carolina both within and 
outside the church community, and I wanted to share his extraordinary 
talents with you. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me 
in welcoming Reverend Joseph Darby to the U.S House of Representatives.

                          ____________________