[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1645-E1646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN HONOR OF ENOLA MAXWELL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 2003

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep personal sadness that I rise 
today to pay tribute to one of San Francisco's most beloved and admired 
social activists. Enola Maxwell passed away on June 24th at the age of 
83. Enola lived an impassioned life, advocating for freedom and justice 
on behalf of people of all races, ethnicities, and ages. In living her 
life, Enola Maxwell changed countless people's lives for the better. I 
extend my deepest sympathies to Enola's daughters Sophie and Barbara; 
thank you for sharing your mother with us. She brightened our lives 
with her strength, her courage and her grace.
  Ruth Passen, longtime friend and associate of Enola, wrote a 
beautiful obituary in The Potrero View, of which she is the editor. She 
captures Enola's essence and our feelings for her so well that I am 
privileged to share her words about ``the Heart of Potrero Hill.''
  ``She was the anchor for a whole neighborhood--the backbone of a 
community--known as ``mom'' by many, both young and old, and called Miz 
Maxwell by everybody else. Whoever assumes her role as the Executive 
Director of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House will be the beneficiary 
of an extraordinary legacy but will be challenged to follow in her 
footsteps.
  She was born on August 30, 1919 in Baton Rouge, La. to Clemus and 
Lena Dundy. After separating from Clemus, Lena moved to San Francisco 
and in 1949 Enola, together with her two children, joined her. They 
lived in several neighborhoods, including the Haight Ashbury, before 
moving into the government-owned public housing project on Carolina 
Street and 18th Street, known as the Carolina Projects, where they were 
living when Enola's third child, Sophie, was born. (The Potrero Hill 
Middle School was built on the site in 1971.) Potrero Hill old-timers 
will remember Enola's mother as the proprietor of the Little Red Door, 
a popular thrift store on 18th Street.
  Enola supported her family by working a variety of jobs; she kept 
house with one family for several years, and was an employee of the 
U.S. Postal Service for a time.
  Her activism began as a member of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood 
Council where she met Sue Bierman and others who have remained lifelong 
friends. The council was successful in stopping a movement to build a 
freeway through Golden Gate Park. This first exhilarating venture into 
community activism changed the course of her life. She got a leave of 
absence from the Post Office and joined the Civil Rights March on 
Washington in 1968. After that experience she wanted to

[[Page E1646]]

do more. She was ``bitten by the activism bug,'' said daughter Sophie 
Maxwell.
  Enola decided that she could help people from a pulpit, and enrolled 
at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. She made 
history by being the first woman--and first black person--to be named 
as lay minister at the Potrero Hill Olivet Presbyterian Church on 
Missouri Street where she served from 1968 to 1971.
  She wanted a church where people could feel comfortable and free. She 
foresaw a gathering where people and new ministers could talk about 
activism; she helped coin the name Street Ministers.
  Her tenure at the Olivet provided the opportunity to put into action 
her dream of the Street Ministries, and she established a coffeehouse 
in the church's basement where ongoing dialogues about activism, and 
music flourished. In 1972, she was hired to be the Executive Director 
of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House affectionately know as the 
Nabe--the first black person hired for any position at the Nabe. The 
Neighborhood House was established in the early 1920s by the 
Presbyterian Church.
  Her instincts and down-to-earth good sense led her to initiate 
programs to help the community's youth, as well as to embellish 
services that the Nabe had offered Potrero Hill residents for more than 
50 years. The Potrero Hill Neighborhood House was designated as 
Historical Landmark No. 86 in 1977 during Enola's tenure.
  Enola was a compassionate leader in the civil rights movement, on 
women's rights issues, and as a peace activist. The walls of her office 
at the Neighborhood House are covered with plaques and awards honoring 
her services not only to the Potrero Hill neighborhood, but also to San 
Francisco residents citywide and to the many organizations in which she 
played active roles.
  Enola was feisty and fiery and caring. At times she was the only 
black woman in organizations that were primarily white. That didn't 
matter. What she offered any group with whom she worked was honesty in 
making sure that justice was the manifest result of their group 
efforts. She once remarked that ``fear and hate are the most dangerous 
things because they take away your freedom.''
  Besides serving on many civic commissions, Enola was also on the 
founding committee and longtime member of the annual Martin Luther 
King, Jr. holiday celebration, and several committees organized through 
the Mayor's office. She received a Congressional Award from Congressman 
Phillip Burton, and I appointed her to the Senior Internship Program in 
Washington, D.C.
  In 2001, the Potrero Hill Middle School was renamed the Enola D. 
Maxwell Middle School for the Arts. Enola had always spent time working 
with the schoolteachers and administrators. She was deeply honored by 
the name change and referred to the school as ``my school.''
  It is an honor to stand before the House today to celebrate the life 
of this remarkable woman. The legacy of her service to and compassion 
for the San Francisco community will endure for generations.

                          ____________________