[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 25 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S2147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING SIBAL HOLT

 Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the 
service of Sibal Holt, who is the first female and the first African 
American to serve as the President of the Louisiana AFL-CIO. Firsts 
like these have become commonplace for this barrier-breaking woman.
  She has long been a trailblazer in the State of Louisiana. She became 
the first African American to be hired into the Bell System and also 
the first registered lobbyist in the State of Louisiana, both 
remarkable achievements given the climate of the times.
  Sibal Holt has been a selfless steward of her community. She formerly 
served as the president of the Louisiana American Red Cross, as well as 
other charitable organizations, such as Volunteer Baton Rouge and the 
Baton Rouge Women's Resource Center. Sibal is probably most recognized 
for her pioneering efforts in voter registration. Holt once led a 
statewide voter registration drive, resulting in an astounding 70,000 
new voters for Louisiana.
  But it is the AFL-CIO where she has left her biggest imprint. Sibal 
began her work at the AFL-CIO in 1975, not surprisingly becoming the 
first minority selected to join the Executive Board of any State's AFL-
CIO. Twenty-two years later, in 1997, she became the union's Secretary/
Treasurer, serving in that capacity until she was elected president of 
the Louisiana AFL-CIO in November 2004, replacing John ``Red'' Bourg 
after his untimely death.
  I once again congratulate my friend, Sibal Holt, for her 
groundbreaking accomplishments on behalf of the working class in the 
State of Louisiana. It is people such as Sibal that continue to make 
Louisiana such a dynamic State.

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