[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 81 (Friday, June 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF JAMES H. GILLIAM, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE

                              of delaware

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 16, 2005

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to pay tribute to Mr. James (Jim) H. Gilliam, Sr., the founder and 
first chairman of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Wilmington 
Urban League.
  After a 13-year career with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, 
Maryland, Jim came to Delaware in 1965 to serve as the Director of 
Neighborhood and Housing Services for the Greater Wilmington 
Development Council. Jim's determination soon lead him to become the 
Director of New Castle County's Department of Community Development and 
Housing, where he would serve with distinction until his retirement in 
March 1990. Regardless of retirement, he had much left to accomplish.
  In 1999, with one million dollars in start-up funds and the 
assistance of more than 70 community and business leaders, Jim formed 
the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League. In only nine-months, the 
Wilmington chapter of the National Urban League was formed; the fastest 
an affiliate has ever been organized. The formation of this wonderful 
organization was only the beginning of Jim Gilliam's many successes at 
the Urban League.
  The Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League envisions a community where 
African Americans and other people of color from a wide array of income 
levels, backgrounds and experiences directly benefit from and 
contribute to a multi-racial alliance that is committed to principled 
advocacy, action-oriented public policy research and the coordination 
of public, private, and non-profit resources.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to once again commend Mr. James 
Gilliam. Under his skilled leadership, the Metropolitan Wilmington 
Urban League has been a tremendously successful community organization, 
and I have no doubt he will maintain the organization's commitment to 
excellence.

                          ____________________