[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 79 (Monday, May 14, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H4924-H4926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WILLYE B. WHITE POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 2025) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 11033 South State Street in Chicago, 
Illinois, as the ``Willye B. White Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2025

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. WILLYE B. WHITE POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 11033 South State Street in Chicago, 
     Illinois, shall be known and designated as the ``Willye B. 
     White Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Willye B. White Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Carnahan). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Westmoreland) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the sponsor of this legislation, the distinguished gentleman 
from the Second Congressional District of Illinois, Representative 
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
2025, naming a post office building in the Roseland community of 
Chicago, Illinois, as the Willye B. White Post Office Building.
  Willye B. White was born to run. She was a five-time Olympic track 
and field athlete from Money, Mississippi. She was the best female long 
jumper of the time. She made Chicago her home in 1960 until her 
untimely death in February, 2007.
  She wasn't a household name, but she should have been, especially if 
your household happens to be one of the millions that includes a female 
athlete. Or an athlete of color. Or a once or future Olympian. She was 
better known for her actions than her name, better known for her deeds 
than her medals.
  At 16, she competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and became 
the first American woman to ever medal in the long jump, earning a 
silver medal. She participated in the next four Olympiads as well, and 
is the first American to compete on five Olympic track and field teams. 
She won another silver medal in the 1964 Tokyo Games in the 4-by-100-
meter relay. Ms. White competed in more than 150 nations as a member of 
39 different international track and field teams.
  Over the years, White remained active in the field of sports. She 
represented track and field on the U.S. Olympic Committee, coached 
athletes in the National Sports Festival in 1979 and 1981, coached and 
managed at the 1981 World Cup Track and Field Championship Games in 
Brussels and Rome, and served as the head coach for the 1994 Olympic 
Sports Festival.
  Born on December 31, 1939, in Money, Mississippi, and raised by her 
grandparents, White discovered her talent

[[Page H4925]]

for running and jumping at age 10. In 1959, White graduated from Broad 
Street High School in Greenwood, Mississippi, the same year she set an 
American record for the long jump, which stood for 6 years. Breaking 
loose from the poverty of the racially segregated delta, she attended 
Tennessee State from 1959 to 1962, and achieved national acclaim with 
the Tigerbelle team that produced Wilma Rudolph. She moved to Chicago 
in 1960 and began working as a nurse in 1963, first at Chicago's Cook 
County Hospital and then at the Greenwood Medical Center. In 1965, 
White became a public health administrator at the Chicago Health 
Department. She graduated with a B.A. in public health administration 
from Chicago State University in 1976.
  White was one of 21 people on President Ford's Commission on Olympic 
Sports, a panel that restructured the U.S. Olympic movement. She 
lobbied extensively for Title IX and raised money for the Women's 
Sports Foundation. She worked for nearly four decades for the City of 
Chicago, devoting much of her time to children's recreation and 
creating sports programs for girls.
  In 1990, White found WBW Hang on Productions, a sports and fitness 
consultancy. A year later, she founded the Willye B. White Foundation 
helping children develop self-esteem and become productive citizens 
through such initiatives as the Robert Taylor Girls Athletic Program. 
This program taught sports and teamwork to children living in the 
Nation's largest housing project and provided summer day camp and 
health care in the form of immunizations and dental and medical 
checkups.
  White was the first American to win the world's highest sportsmanship 
award, the UNESCO Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Trophy. 
She is a member of 11 sports halls of fame, including the National 
Association of Sport and Physical Education, Black Sports, Women's 
Sports Foundation, and National Track and Field. She was chosen by 
Sports Illustrated for Women in 1999 as one of the 100 greatest 
athletes of the century and by Ebony in 2002 as one of the 10 greatest 
black female athletes.
  Ms. White passed away from pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, February 6, 
2007. It is with great pleasure that the U.S. House of Representatives 
acknowledges Willye B. White not only for her outstanding athletic 
abilities, but for her tireless service to the community and to the 
young girls on the South Side of Chicago, indeed young women 
everywhere.
  Finally, I would like to thank my staff, especially my legislative 
assistant, Ms. Megan Moore, for her hard work on this bill.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Willye B. White was quoted as saying, ``A dream without a plan is 
just a wish.'' It was this belief that led her to become the first 
American to have competed in five Olympic track and field teams, a feat 
still unchallenged.
  Willye White competed in five consecutive Olympic games between 1956 
and 1972. At the young age of 16, she won a silver medal in the long 
jump competition at the games in Melbourne, Australia, historically 
marking the first time an American woman ever medaled in that event. 
She earned her second silver medal in the 1964 Tokyo, Japan, games by 
participating in the 4-by-100-meter relay.
  Born in Money, Mississippi, she was raised by her grandparents and 
fought through the daily struggles of the civil rights movement. Her 
love of sports emerged around age 10 when she discovered the joy of 
running and jumping. Overall, she competed in 39 international teams, 
four Pan-American Games teams and five consecutive U.S. Olympic track 
and field teams.
  After her competitive career ended, she stayed active in the sport 
through coaching and other activities. She represented track and field 
on the U.S. Olympic Committee, coached athletes in the National Sports 
Festival in 1979 and 1981, coached and managed at the 1981 World Cup 
Track and Field Championship Games in Brussels and Rome, and she served 
as head coach for the 1994 Olympic Sports Festival.
  Beyond coaching, she also founded the Willye White Foundation which 
helps children develop self-esteem and become active members of their 
communities through athletic participation. She has earned numerous 
awards throughout the years and is a member of eleven sports halls of 
fame.
  She sadly lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in February. So, 
today, we proudly honor her life with the naming of this post office in 
her hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote in the affirmative on 
H.R. 2025.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration 
of H.R. 2025, which names a postal facility in Chicago, Illinois, after 
Willye B. White.
  H.R. 2025, which was introduced by Representative Jesse L. Jackson, 
Jr., on April 25, 2007, was reported from the Oversight Committee on 
May 1, 2007, by a voice vote. This measure, which has been cosponsored 
by 18 Members, has the support of the entire Illinois congressional 
delegation.
  Ms. Willye White was born December 31, 1939, in Money, Mississippi, 
and raised by her grandparents. At 16 she competed in the 1956 
Melbourne Olympic Games and became the first woman representing the 
United States to win a medal in the long jump, earning silver behind 
Elizabeth Krzeszinska of Poland. Ms. White competed in every Olympics 
from 1956 through 1972, and only an injury kept her off the 1976 team.
  She was America's best female long jumper for almost two decades, 
with a career best of 21 feet and 6 inches. She won nine consecutive 
United States outdoor championships, set seven American records and 
competed in more than 150 nations. Ms. White is the first and only 
track and field athlete to compete in five Olympics for the United 
States.
  Ms. White moved to Chicago in 1960 and lived there for 46 years. She 
worked as a nurse and then as a public administrator. She mentored 
hundreds of young women living in Chicago's public housing projects 
through the Willye White Foundation.
  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 
UNESCO, recognized her humanitarian efforts by awarding her the Pierre 
de Coubertin International Fair Play trophy, named after the founder of 
the modern Olympic Games.
  Ms. White died on February 6, 2007, of pancreatic cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague Representative Jackson for 
introducing this legislation.
  Ms. White happened to be someone that I have known practically all of 
my life. As a matter of fact, she did grow up and finish high school in 
Greenwood, Mississippi, where my grandfather lived, and we knew of her 
exploits. As a matter of fact, we were close to the same age so we were 
attending high school at the same time. Then, of course, she went on to 
Tennessee State, that famous institution with the Tigerbelles, and at 
the same time I was attending another HBCU university, and we would 
compete with Tennessee State. They always won. Occasionally, we may 
have an opportunity but not often.
  Then I actually worked closely with Ms. White up until the time that 
she died. Every year, I would look forward to contributing to her 
foundation for the programs that she had, especially in the Robert 
Taylor and the Henry Horner homes, but especially Robert Taylor housing 
projects which is also a part of my congressional district.
  As a matter of fact, she even ran for public office. Although she was 
not elected, she kept running and did, in fact, run.
  I commend my colleague Representative Jackson again for seeking to 
honor this great lady by naming a post office in her honor. I would 
urge passage of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, urge

[[Page H4926]]

passage of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2025.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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