[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 82 (Thursday, June 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1167-E1168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO ERIE MAE BENDROSS: THE PE0PLE'S ADVOCATE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 2003

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues the passing of Ms. Erie Mae Bendross, a compassionate, 
caring and tireless community activist who passed away last Saturday, 
May 31st.
  Ms. Bendross was a native of Miami and long-time resident of the 
Liberty City and Wynwood neighborhoods. She attended Tuskegee 
University in Alabama and worked as a dietician in many area hospitals. 
She was also a devoted choir member at St. Luke's Missionary Baptist 
Church. But it was in community action where her talents truly shown.
  Erie Mae Bendross leaves behind a legacy of achievement and 
inspiration, for she is an example of what caring and commitment can 
accomplish. Only three years ago, Ms. Bendross joined the community-
based organization LIFFT, Low Income Families Fighting Together, a 
grassroots organization of public housing residents, low-wage workers 
and welfare recipients. She quickly became a leader of the 
organization.
  As a resident of the Liberty Square public housing development, she 
first became active in the fight to ensure affordable and decent 
housing opportunities for all people, regardless of their incomes.
  Ms. Bendross firmly believed in the power of organization. In 2001, 
Bendross played a key role in saving Liberty Square Homes, or the Pork 
and Beans, from demolition and the displacement of hundreds of 
families. Her organization also exposed the county's public housing 
vacancies crisis as well as improved the living conditions of elderly 
public housing developments. Most importantly, she played a key role in 
developing other leaders in the community to build the organization and 
continue the struggle against racism and poverty.
  Ms. Bendross dedicated herself to the fight against poverty and 
discrimination locally, nationally and internationally. Through her 
work in LIFFT and in association with several other organizations, 
including the Community Coalition to Fix HOPE VI, including the ACLU of 
Miami, NAACP, African American Council of Christian Clergy, Miami-Dade 
Black Affairs Advisory Board and other civil rights organizations. As a 
LIFFT leader, she supported the work of the Haitian Women of Miami, 
Miami for Peace Coalition, Coalition of Immokalee Farmworkers, Brothers 
of the Same Mind, and countless other social justice movements in the 
county.
  Nationally, Ms. Bendross worked with other low-income, community-
based grassroots organizations and leaders in California and 
Washington, DC on issues of fair trade, jobs and income supports for 
low-wage workers, opposing the war, fighting budget cuts, and the 
unethical treatment of workers. Her work on low income housing was 
widely recognized. Internationally, in January, Ms. Bendross 
represented LIFFT as part of the United States delegation to World 
Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
  Our community is better for the efforts of Erie Mae Bendross. She is 
survived by her mother, Martha Bendross, her brother, Willie

[[Page E1168]]

Bendross, and her son and daughter-inlaw Eric and Angela Bendross. They 
have our deepest sympathy, and our hearts go out to them for their 
loss.

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