[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    HONORING PROFESSOR NELLIE McKAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TAMMY BALDWIN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2006

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and 
work of Professor Nellie McKay of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 
At the time of her death, Professor McKay was known world-wide as one 
of the most distinguished scholars of African-American literature.
  Nellie McKay was the daughter of immigrants who sought for her the 
education and advancement that was denied them. She realized all their 
dreams and more.
  After earning her doctorate in English and American literature from 
Harvard and teaching in Boston, Professor McKay, to the dismay of many 
of her friends, moved to the midwestern city of Madison. Craig Werner, 
the current chairman of the UW-Madison Afro-American studies department 
said, ``When she came here, there was not a single university that was 
paying any attention to black women's literature. Now, there isn't a 
single university that isn't.''
  Professor McKay chaired the Afro-American studies department at 
Madison and helped turn it into the nationally recognized program that 
it is today. She co-edited, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Norton 
Anthology of African American Literature, a groundbreaking work that 
remains a cornerstone of the genre.
  Professor McKay's scholarship (more than 60 books, articles, and 
essays) was matched by her commitment to her students, both in and out 
of the classroom. She is remembered fondly as a teacher who challenged 
her students academically and challenged her colleagues to make the 
university a more welcoming place for all people. By all accounts, she 
succeeded at both. But she would be the first to say that her work is 
ongoing, to be continued, now, by others.
  Nellie McKay did the unthinkable--sacrificing a department chair at 
Harvard, and its attendant fame, to continue living and working in 
Madison. We are grateful for her sacrifice and so much richer for it.
  With the passing of Nellie McKay, the world has lost a great scholar 
and Wisconsin has lost a great teacher, citizen, and friend.

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