[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 29 (Thursday, February 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE OF MR. CHARLES LANGFORD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 15, 2007

  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I respectfully request the 
House's attention this morning to reflect on the life and legacy of a 
great Alabamian, Mr. Charles Langford. Mr. Langford passed this week on 
February 11 at his home in Montgomery, Alabama.
  Mr. Langford was an activist, lawyer, and statesman of the highest 
caliber. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-56, Mr. Langford 
represented the woman who started that protest which helped change our 
Nation, the late Mrs. Rosa Louise Parks, as well as the organization 
formed to carry out the boycott, the Montgomery Improvement 
Association. In 1956, the class action suit filed by Mr. Langford and 
his partner, Fred Gray, known as Browder v. Gayle, ended segregated 
seating on buses in Montgomery, and also became the precedent used to 
end all racial segregation ordinances in the United States. Later in 
life, Langford served two terms in the Alabama House of Representatives 
and five terms in the Alabama Senate.
  Mr. Langford's passing is a great loss to the State of Alabama. He 
helped make history in the Civil Rights movement, and played an 
important role in Alabama politics. I know all of us in the House today 
share in the loss of this great and loved man, and send our condolences 
to his family and our prayers that his legacy will live on long after 
this mournful time has passed.

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