[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E77]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF WAYNE C. THOMPSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DIANE E. WATSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 13, 2009

  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, it is with profound sorrow that I learned 
of the passing of my associate and colleague, Wayne Thompson, in 
December. Over the past two years, Wayne had become a trusted advisor 
to me on the Freedmen's efforts to secure full citizenship in the 
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. I will deeply miss Wayne's knowledge, 
wisdom, and sage advice. I have prepared the following resolution in 
honor of a man who defined the meaning of a purpose-driven life.

                               Resolution

       Whereas Wayne C. Thompson was born January 15, 1946, in 
     Spencer, Oklahoma, the fourth of nine children of Tasso and 
     Daisy Lee Thompson;
       Whereas Wayne Thompson completed his secondary education in 
     Spencer, Oklahoma and received a BSC in Social Psychology 
     from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda;
       Whereas Wayne C. Thompson served in the United States Army 
     with tours of duty in Vietnam and Germany;
       Whereas Wayne C. Thompson dedicated his life to the 
     promotion of human and civil rights around the world, 
     including his participation in numerous marches and sit-ins 
     during the Civil Rights Movement and service to the 
     international wing of the Black Panther Party;
       Whereas Wayne C. Thompson was the longstanding Executive 
     Director of the Oklahoma Health Care Project through which he 
     was involved with the Community Health Centers movement, 
     Responsive Intervention Prevention Program for Community 
     Organizations, the Young Black Men's and Women's Forums, 
     Agent Orange Class Assistance Program, Developmental Outreach 
     Program for Minority Communities, the Seminole and Cherokee 
     Freedmen, World Health Organization, numerous delinquency 
     prevention and youth violence intervention programs, All of 
     Us or None, and the defense of political prisoners and the 
     San Francisco 8;
       Whereas Wayne C. Thompson was a founding member of the 
     Institute of the Black World 21st Century and a coordinator 
     of the Haiti Support Project and had an abiding and profound 
     interest and commitment to eradicating social and economic 
     injustice in Central America, Mozambique, Haiti, and the 
     developing world;
       Resolved,
       (1) That Wayne Thompson led an exemplary and selfless life 
     in service of those less fortunate;
       (2) That Wayne Thompson was a fighter for justice who 
     sought no notoriety for his efforts to help oppressed people 
     around the world; and
       (3) That Wayne Thompson was a warrior with the biggest 
     heart, one of the greatest civil rights soldiers the world 
     has known, whose good deeds and works have left the world a 
     better place, and whose memory will be carried forward by the 
     legions of people he touched with his remarkable human 
     spirit.

                          ____________________