[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 127 (Monday, November 13, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     TRIBUTE TO ENOLIA P. McMILLAN

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to the life 
and legacy of Enolia P. McMillan. She was a revered and beloved civil 
rights leader, community leader, and educator.
  Mrs. McMillan was an amazing woman with a fantastic story. She had 
both grace and grit, as well as a personality that would not accept the 
word ``no'' for an answer.
  When they said: ``You can't,'' she said: ``I can!''
  When they said: ``You won't,'' she said: ``I will!''
  When they said: ``Wait,'' she said: ``Now!''
  Enolia P. McMillan was born to a loving family of modest means. She 
fought hard for her education, while attending schools that were 
separate and far from equal.
  She wanted to be a doctor--a pediatrician. Although she would never 
attend medical school, she was certainly a healer. In fact, her thesis 
was entitled: ``The Factors Affecting Secondary Education for Negroes 
in Maryland Counties,'' which laid the groundwork for changes in 
education and the Supreme Court.
  She cared not only about her own education but the education of 
others. That is why Mrs. McMillan was so at home at the NAACP. The 
NAACP is about empowerment and it is about equality. Mrs. McMillan 
understood this and focused on the grassroots, which turned the 
Baltimore branch into a powerhouse.
  As national president, she strengthened the NAACP and brought it here 
to Baltimore. She didn't throw bricks--she sold bricks--to build the 
NAACP headquarters in Baltimore, and she always supported young 
leaders, like Kweisi Mfume. Always, she fought for equality and 
fairness, whether it was for equal pay for teachers in Maryland or for 
the freedom of the South African people living under apartheid.
  On a personal note, I met Mrs. McMillan when I was on the Baltimore 
City Council. She was the president of the Baltimore Branch of the 
NAACP and attended every critical meeting and hearing. She also came to 
my office on occasion. We didn't know each other well, having come from 
different sides of Baltimore, but I so admired her. She took a keen 
interest in this spunky, chunky, feisty Baltimorean.
  Her greatest passions were schools. We were ending segregation in our 
schools--not only tearing down old ways but building new ones. To her, 
the word ``public'' meant a lot: public schools, public libraries, and 
the public interest.
  Mrs. McMillan was always so supportive and encouraging toward me. I 
would win some and I would lose some; but she always said: Keep 
speaking up--keep speaking out. If you were doing well, she told you. 
If she thought you could do better, she told you; and we did.
  She had a passion for young people and spotting new leaders. She 
thought all young people had value and always believed in the freedom 
to achieve--to follow the American dream.
  She would say: Barbara, fight for more books and less bombs. Fight 
for more libraries and fewer jails. Make sure people have drugs to 
fight cancer, while at the same time fighting the cancer of drugs. 
Fight for more jobs and make sure people turn the corner. Don't leave 
them standing at the corner. Most of all, she would say, Barbara, fight 
for the freedom to achieve.
  I marvel at how mysteriously God works. I marvel that he should call 
Enolia McMillan in the same year as he has called four other great 
mothers of the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, 
Victorine Adams, and Roberta March. I so admired Mrs. McMillan's 
passion and her activism. I am so grateful for her friendship. I will 
miss her leadership, her vision, and her political savvy.
  The best of her lives on in all of us, as we seek to live up to her 
courage, conviction, and tenacity.

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