[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 161 (Thursday, December 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF HENRY KIRKSEY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 15, 2005

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize 
the life and legacy of Kirksey, former Mississippi State Senator, 
veteran proponent of civil rights and retired Tougaloo College 
professor.
  Henry Kirksey personified the face of bravery. He was the lead 
plaintiff in most of the redistricting cases brought in Mississippi to 
bring the state into compliance with the 1965 Voting Rights Act in the 
late 1960s and early 1970s, when Mississippi was a dangerous place to 
do so. This was instrumental in opening the door to the creation of 
fair redistricting plans throughout the State. In 1965, Kirksey filed 
suit against the State, challenging county-wide election of State 
Representatives and Senators. That suit resulted in the adoption of 
single-member legislative districts in 1979.
  We blacks elected in the State of Mississippi today owe that election 
more so to Henry Kirksey than anyone else. As a result of Kirksey's 
sacrifice, Mississippi today appears to have more African American 
elected and appointed officials at every level of government than any 
other State in the Nation. Kirksey's service as a plaintiff, expert 
witness and community organizer has led to the election of almost 600 
African-Americans to public office in Mississippi. As part of this 
process, Kirksey became the first African American elected to the 
Mississippi Senate since Reconstruction.
  He became known for filing the lawsuit that led to Jackson changing 
its form of government in 1985 to the mayor-seven-member council 
system. He also was a member of the group that fought for 
reapportionment changes in the late 1970s that led to a record number 
of black candidates being elected to the Legislature. Kirksey was 
instrumental in challenging the districts from which state court judges 
ran, resulting in more diversity on the bench.
  As a noted map-maker, Kirksey was significant to the formation of 
Mississippi's majority-black 2nd Congressional District, which I have 
the distinct pleasure of representing today.
  I applaud the life and legacy of Henry Kirksey.

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