[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E459]]
     A TRIBUTE TO CARTER GILMORE FOR 50 YEARS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2006

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a public 
servant extraordinaire, Carter Gilmore of Oakland California. Mr. 
Gilmore's friends and colleagues are honoring him on April 20, 2006, 
for his 50 years of dedicated and tireless community service.
  He arrived in California from Houston, Texas, shortly after his 
marriage to Lizzie Mae Hampton in 1948. They are the proud parents of 6 
children, 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Mr. Gilmore 
served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and is a retired plant 
manager of Granny Goose Foods in Oakland.
  The brutal death of an African American youth, Emmett Till, in 
Mississippi in 1955 mobilized the civil rights movement and prompted 
Carter Gilmore to begin his years of service to civil rights and 
community service. He joined the Alameda Branch of the NAACP. He became 
an active member and later became a forceful president of this branch 
during the civil rights movement. He wrote in the monthly newsletter 
about the quest for equal rights and his letter was placed in the 
Congressional Record in 1985.
  When the NAACP lost is leader, Medger Evers, in Mississippi, Mr. 
Gilmore was willing to relocate and take his place but realized that 
his community service was needed in California. Mr. Gilmore's 
dedication and commitment to civil rights moved him upward through the 
ranks of the NAACP in California and he became the Northern California 
Area President.
  Mr. Gilmore's leadership was not limited to his dedicated efforts 
within the NAACP. He was also involved in a host of activities that 
garnered him honors for his community leadership.
  In 1977, Mr. Gilmore was elected to the Oakland City Council. He was 
reelected in 1981 and 1985 unchallenged. He served as the Vice Mayor 
from 1979 to 1981.
  Mr. Gilmore has served on numerous boards, which include the East 
Oakland Youth Center, Alameda County Fair, League of California Cities, 
Goodwill Industries, Bay Area Committee on Hypertension and the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center of Oakland.
  He is an active member of many community-based organizations where he 
continues his dedicated leadership helping seniors, youth, and 
veterans.
  Carter Gilmore has proven time and again that one person can make a 
difference. His 50 years of service has touched many lives and his 
contributions have been felt in numerous ways. I join his friends and 
admirers in expressing admiration for his accomplishments and heartfelt 
appreciation for all his efforts. He has earned the well deserved title 
public servant extraordinaire.

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