[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 133 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H10327-H10329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   KENNETH T. WHALUM, SR. POST OFFICE

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 2587) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 555 South 3rd Street Lobby in Memphis, 
Tennessee, as the ``Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr. Post Office,'' as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2587

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

     SECTION 1. KENNETH T. WHALUM, SR. POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 555 South 3rd Street Lobby in Memphis, 
     Tennessee, shall be known and designated as the ``Kenneth T. 
     Whalum, Sr. 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 ``Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr. Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Sali) 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, it is my pleasure to yield such 
time as he may consume to the sponsor of this resolution, the 
Representative from the State of Tennessee, the City of Memphis and 
surrounding areas (Mr. Cohen).
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2587, which 
would designate the postal facility at 555 South 3rd Street Lobby in 
Memphis, Tennessee, as the Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr. Post Office building. 
For a man who gave so many years to this facility and to the postal 
service, I cannot imagine a more fitting tribute.
  I'm not sure if post offices in this country have been named in honor 
of people who worked in those facilities. If so, there have been very 
few. Most are named for political figures, war heroes. Kenneth Whalum 
was a political figure, a clergyman of great renown, but also a man who 
spent a career in the postal service and was respected by the rank-and-
file and rose to prominence in the postal service.
  For those reasons particularly, I think it's most fitting that this 
building be named for this gentleman as an

[[Page H10328]]

inspiration to the other employees at the postal service and to the 
postal service nationally.
  Kenneth Twigg Whalum, Sr., was born to H.D. Whalum, Sr., and Thelma 
Twigg Whalum March 23, 1934. His lifelong dedication and service to the 
people of Memphis is matched by few others. He served in the United 
States Navy from 1950-1954 and was a Reservist until 1959. He worked 
for the United States Postal Service in various human resources 
capacities, eventually becoming the director of personnel for the main 
Memphis post office and director of employee relations for the southern 
region. He also served in Michigan, I believe, in Representative 
Conyers' district in the postal service as well. He served as a Memphis 
city councilman from 1988-1996.
  And not only did he serve on the Memphis City Council, he was 
special. He's been special in everything he's ever done. He was first 
elected as a district councilman of the City of Memphis from the Orange 
Mound community, but dissatisfied with the representation of one of the 
at-large members, a Caucasian. Kenneth Whalum, an African American, ran 
for an at-large position, and he, like Myron Lowery, also African 
American, became the first two African Americans elected at-large to 
the Memphis City Council with a majority vote of the people, at a time 
when the City of Memphis was not majority African American.
  His victory is a testament to his fortitude to give up a safe 
district seat to win an at-large seat, knowing that it meant more 
representation for issues of which he championed, and the fact that he 
risked his safe seat to make progress on progressive issues and put a 
progressive in that at-large position.
  Rev. Whalum is well-respected as a man of faith in his community as 
well. He played a key role in convincing an alliance of local ministers 
to bring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to Memphis, the city, my 
hometown, in which we all know he would give one of his most famous, 
yet ultimately final speeches. In 1969, Olivet Baptist Church called 
upon Kenneth Whalum to serve the people as senior pastor, a position he 
held until 1999. During his tenure, the church thrived and grew to a 
membership of thousands.
  I personally was in his church on many occasions. I most remember 
being there when J.O. Patterson, Jr., was running for mayor of the City 
of Memphis, a position he held temporarily in an interim appointment, 
and when President Bill Clinton came there and we shared the podium. 
President Clinton gave one of his great speeches there.
  Like Dr. King, Rev. Whalum was a strong proponent of diversity in the 
workplace. His advocacy led to the promotion of many qualified African 
Americans and women to supervisory and managerial positions in the 
Memphis post office.
  After retirement, Rev. Whalum began to experience transient ischemic 
attacks, TIAs or ministrokes, the most recent of these occurring just a 
few months ago. Unfortunately, at this time, he's in a nursing 
facility, but he's improving. We hope he will regain all of his 
faculties. He's a strong man. One year he experienced 28 such TIAs, 
causing his family to reach out to the Stroke of Hope Foundation, which 
his son knew of through their work with the late Luther Vandross. Most 
recently, Rev. Whalum has been featured in Stroke of Hope's Survivor of 
the Month Spring 2007 column.
  Rev. Whalum has received various honors and awards throughout his 
career. In the past, he has served on the board of directors of the 
Memphis branch of the NAACP, the Morehouse School of Religion of the 
Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, the LeMoyne-Owen 
College Board and was a founding board member of the National Civil 
Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. He has garnered certificates from 
the University of Texas at Austin Graduate School of Business, United 
States Postal Service Advanced Management Program, as well as the 
University of Michigan Graduate School of Business's Executive 
Development Program.
  I'm honored that my eight cocolleagues from the State of Tennessee's 
congressional delegation could lend their full support through 
cosponsoring this measure. Kenneth Whalum was a dedicated public 
servant in the best sense of the phrase, and the rest of us can learn a 
great deal from the example he set.
  Rev. Whalum has a wonderful, loyal wife in Dr. Rosie Richmond Whalum, 
as well as three remarkable sons. Memphis has many great families, some 
of whom have served in this body, but no family in Memphis, Tennessee, 
has given the city more pride and more service than the Whalum family. 
All three of his sons, as he said, grew up right behind him. They 
enjoyed the church, and as he said, they didn't have any choice. They 
enjoyed the church.
  Of his three sons, Dr. Kenneth Whalum, Jr., the oldest, has followed 
in his father's footsteps in becoming a pastor and a dedicated public 
servant. He's taken over the church where Dr. Whalum was the pastor, 
and he's a member of the Memphis City School Board. He was elected in 
December 2006.
  His son Kirk Whalum is one of the great saxophone players in the 
United States of America. He's had many top hits. He played this Friday 
at an event which I attended for the National Academy of the Recording 
Arts and Sciences in Memphis in a tribute to Booker T. and the MGs who 
were being honored with other musicians. Kirk Whalum made that 
saxophone sing, as he always does. I know Steve Cropper and ``Duck'' 
Dunn were in awe of the talent exhibited there. And what was even 
nicer, besides the fact that Kirk Whalum played such a great saxophone, 
as he always does, was that his son, another generation of Whalums, 
played the base, and they played it on ``Hip Hugger'' and ``Green 
Onions,'' two great Booker T. songs. Kirk Whalum has played backup on 
saxophone for such renowned artists as Whitney Houston and others. He's 
come back to Memphis to serve as an artist-in-residence at the Stax 
Soul Academy of Music in Memphis, Tennessee.
  Kevin Whalum, another son, is a talented musical artist and poet, 
having signed a recording contract with Rendezvous Entertainment this 
past February.
  Like his father, Kenneth, Jr., has three sons: Kenneth, III; 
Kortland; and Kameron. Kevin has twin daughters: Kellen and Kaylah. And 
Kirk has five children: Courtney, Kori, Kyle, Kobe and Evan.
  For the Whalum family and the great many people of Memphis who have 
benefited from his decade of public service, I urge my colleagues to 
support this legislation. This is a family of renown and a man who has 
had a great impact on the City of Memphis and the postal department, 
and it's justifiably fitting that this building be named for him.
  I would like to add that Kirk Whalum's 1996 album, ``Joined at the 
Hip,'' earned him his first Grammy nomination. His 1998 release, For 
You, spent nearly two years at the top of the Billboard Contemporary 
Jazz Chart and yielded four Top Ten NAC hits. He earned a second Grammy 
nomination and critical acclaim with his self-produced album, Hymns in 
the Garden in 2000.
  Mr. SALI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  It's appropriate that we honor Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr., in the naming 
of a post office in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. He spent many 
years working for the United States Postal Service in various human 
resources capacities and eventually became the director of personnel 
for the main Memphis post office. He later became the director of 
employee relations for the southern region.
  Kenneth Whalum is also an influential member of his community. He's 
long believed in serving the people of Memphis and did so as both a 
preacher and a school board commissioner.
  Born and raised in Memphis, he attended Morehouse College and earned 
his law degree from Temple University. His strong faith and belief in 
public service led him to roles as a Baptist minister and school board 
member.
  He served as a city council member from 1988 to 1996 and was elected 
to the school board in 1996. While on that school board, it was his 
goal to work toward higher standards, more opportunities and brighter 
futures for the students of Memphis City.

                              {time}  1230

  Upon retirement from public office, Kenneth T. Whalum plays an active 
role with the Stroke of Hope Foundation, which educates and supports 
fundraising for people suffering from

[[Page H10329]]

strokes and transient ischemic attacks.
  It is fitting to honor Kenneth T. Whalum with the naming of this post 
office. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2587.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much 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 colleagues in the 
consideration of H.R. 2587, which names a postal facility in Memphis, 
Tennessee, after Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr.
  H.R. 2587, which was introduced by Representative Steve Cohen on June 
6, 2007, was reported from the oversight committee on July 19, 2007, by 
a voice vote. This measure has the support of the entire Tennessee 
congressional delegation.
  Reverend Kenneth Whalum, Sr.'s dedication and service to the people 
of Memphis go back many years. He was a district manager of the 
Michigan Postal Service before returning to Memphis as director of 
personnel for the Memphis Post Office. He served as a Memphis city 
councilman from 1988 to 1996.
  Reverend Whalum is a well-respected man of faith in his community. In 
1969, he became the senior pastor of Olivet Baptist Church and served 
until 1999.
  I commend my colleague, Representative Steve Cohen, for introducing 
this legislation and urge its swift passage.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SALI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time and urge passage of this resolution honoring this very 
distinguished Memphian.
  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. 2587, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A Bill to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 555 South 3rd 
Street Lobby in Memphis, Tennessee, as the `Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr. Post 
Office Building'.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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