[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            JUDGE THOMAS RUSSELL JONES GREAT POINT-OF-LIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2006

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, Judge Thomas Russell Jones was appropriately 
described as an activist, soldier, assemblyman, civil rights lawyer, 
and judge at a memorial service held in Brooklyn, NY, at the Plymouth 
Church of the Pilgrims on Tuesday, December 5, 2006. My personal 
recollections of Judge Jones compel me to describe him as a Great 
Point-of-Light for all Americans. He was a rare leader with a great 
gift for inspiring others. He was an extrovert, outgoing, always giving 
advice freely, always offering encouragement generously. It is not 
exaggerating to call Tom Jones the Father of the Brooklyn Empowerment 
Spirit. All aspiring candidates could look up to Tom Jones and his 
independent record and see a clear standard for their future 
performance. He broke ground and ran for the Assembly without the 
endorsement of the powerful Brooklyn political machine. As a result of 
the bold moves of Tom Jones, civil rights activists for the first time 
began to examine electoral politics as a possible effective instrument 
for change. To the picketing and the sit-ins we added voter 
registration and voter participation. Without Tom Jones and the 
pioneering Unity Democratic Club there would have been no successful 
election of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. His unblemished record of 
integrity and wisdom on the bench are outstanding recent memories. Both 
his judicial career and his political trailblazing are sparkling 
legacies which justify the citation of Judge Thomas Russell Jones as a 
Great Point-of-Light for the people of Brooklyn and for all Americans.

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