[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO JUDGE WILKIE D. FERGUSON, JR.

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                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, June 9, 2003, our 
country lost a truly great man, U.S. District Court Judge Wilkie D. 
Ferguson, Jr. He was an exemplary jurist--experienced, fair, 
compassionate, knowledgeable and firmly committed to justice. His death 
is a huge loss to the federal bench, to our community, and to our 
Nation.
  Wilkie Demeritte Ferguson, Jr. was born May 11, 1938, to Bahamian 
immigrants and raised in the Liberty Square public housing project.
  Judge Ferguson attended all-black public schools: Liberty City 
Elementary, Dorsey Middle and Northwestern Sr. High. He received his 
B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting from Florida A & M 
University. He was certified in Fundamentals of Computer Programming at 
Philco Technological Institute in Philadelphia and received his Masters 
in Financial Administration from Drexel University. He continued on to 
Howard University where he obtained his J.D. Degree.
  He was the first black jurist appointed to the Miami-Dade Circuit 
Court and Third District Court of Appeals, and the second black federal 
judge in the Southern District of Florida.
  Judge Ferguson knew every aspect of the law, and he knew people. In 
the Civil Rights Division of the old U.S. Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare, and as a staff attorney for Legal Services of 
Greater Miami, he learned firsthand about the problems that ordinary 
people face in their everyday lives and how the legal system and our 
courts are often their only recourse for justice.
  His reputation for fairness and hard work preceeded his elevation to 
the federal bench in 1993, for at that time he had already had three 
decades of experience on the bench.
  Judge Ferguson has been an exceptional role model and inspiration for 
young African-Americans interested in the law. He was a trail blazer 
whose competence and wisdom set a high standard for a profession that 
already has high standards. His death leaves a huge gap in our federal 
judiciary, in our community, and in our hearts, for Judge Ferguson 
showed us all how good we can be.
  Over the years he has received numerous honors and accolades such as: 
Williams H. Hastie Award, ``Courage and Scholarship in Legal Writing'', 
National Bar Association (2000) Distinguished Alumni Award, Howard 
University University Law Alumni Association.
  He was a member of the Church of Incarnation of Miami, Florida. There 
will forever be a void in the pew where he stood every Sunday and sang 
inspirational hymns.
  The entire Miami-Dade community mourns the loss of this humble and 
great man who overcame huge obstacles yet also did common things 
uncommonly well. My prayers goes out to his wife, Miami-Dade 
Commissioner Betty Ferguson and his children, Tawnicia Ferguson-Rowan 
and Wilkie III.




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