[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 161 (Friday, October 3, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO RAMONA RIPSTON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 3, 2008

  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, my colleagues, Representative Jane Harman, 
Representative Henry Waxman. Representative Adam Schiff, Representative 
Diane Watson, Representative Maxine Waters, Representative Xavier 
Becerra, Representative Linda Sanchez, Representative Hilda Solis and I 
are greatly pleased to join Ramona Ripston's army of fans in 
recognizing her decades of service to the American Civil Liberties 
Union of Southern California, ACLU/SC, and also in celebrating the 
dedication of the Ramona Ripston Center for Civil Liberties and Civil 
Rights in Los Angeles. Over many years of friendship, we have admired 
Ramona's work and sought her advice, as she guided the ACLU/SC as its 
executive director. She is one of the Nation's premier and most 
distinguished advocates for civil rights and against violence and 
hatred.
  Many of us have known Ramona for 30 or more years and have been 
fortunate to work with her on a whole host of issues ranging from 
immigration reform to the Voting Rights Act, the Constitution and the 
first amendment. It's been a great pleasure to watch the grace and 
dedication she brings to everything she does. Whether working with 
corporate leaders in the boardroom, policymakers on Capitol Hill, and 
movie stars, or walking Skid Row, she has always brought something 
extra and very special to the table.
  Ramona's view of civil liberties embodies action more than words. She 
is a frequent visitor in the poorest parts of our communities where she 
meets with the homeless and destitute of Los Angeles, serving them by 
making them aware of what a civil liberties organization is and how it 
can help them know and exercise their basic rights. She does this not 
only from compassion and empathy, but because she is more comfortable 
there than sitting in her office. Because of this propensity, the ACLU/
SC is the only affiliate to advocate an economic Bill of Rights. She 
simply succeeded in making economic rights a civil liberties issue.
  When civil wars in Central America brought thousands of refugees to 
America, Ramona could be found where immigrants gathered. She was 
seeking information about how the INS and our social service and 
educational entities dealt with them, carrying on the decades of work 
done by the ACLU/SU in advocating for the rights of all people, 
including racial and ethnic minorities and the newly-arrived.
  In the same way, Ramona made equality of educational opportunity a 
priority--not just by reading scores and statistics, but by going out 
to schools in poor areas and meeting with students. She made her office 
a part of those communities.
  Even a quick and cursory review of Ramona's accomplishments and the 
legion of honors awarded her by prominent community and national 
leaders and by numerous organizations dedicated to human rights 
demonstrates the extent of her work: her assertive and articulate voice 
constantly advancing the causes dear to her and vital to the protection 
of our liberties--from the right to free speech to the ability to 
organize as workers, the protection of antiwar demonstrators, the 
fights against censorship and the defense of civil rights. The ACLU/SC 
and Ramona have often held controversial positions and done so in the 
face of vociferous attacks. It is with profound appreciation for their 
courage, foresight, and tenacity that we salute both her and the 
organization she has guided.
  The ACLU holds that the Constitution is its client, but for Ramona 
Ripston, it has also been all about the clients themselves. It is a joy 
to honor her and to congratulate her for the high esteem in which she 
is held and for the width and breadth of her humanitarian and 
democratic ideals.
  As the new headquarters building--the Ramona Ripston Center for Civil 
Liberties and Civil Rights--is dedicated, we ask our colleagues to join 
us in paying tribute to Ramona, and to the ACLU of Southern California 
for decades of work in defense of liberty and justice for all. The 
fight is never over and we are grateful for the bulwark you will 
continue to be.

                          ____________________