[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 15 (Monday, January 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E142-E143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MARGARET BUSH WILSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. WM. LACY CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 26, 2009

  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
American--a feminist, social activist, and accomplished attorney, 
Margaret Bush Wilson was born before women had the right to vote. A 
pioneer and champion of woman's rights, she was the first woman to be 
president of both the St. Louis chapter and Missouri chapter of the 
NAACP and the second woman admitted to practice law in the state of 
Missouri. I am privileged to recognize this outstanding member of the 
St. Louis community as her friends and family honor her on the occasion 
of her 90th birthday.
  Margaret Bush was born on January 30, 1919 in St. Louis, Missouri. 
Her father James Thomas Bush was a railway postal clerk and her mother 
Margaret Bernice Casey Bush was an outstanding educator. Both of her 
parents were very active in the local NAACP. As a young woman, she 
attended Talladega College where she was awarded a Julia Prescott 
Fellowship to study at Visva Bharati College in India.
  After graduating from college with a B.S. degree in Economics, Mrs. 
Wilson benefitted from the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Gains v. 
Canada. That decision required the state of Missouri to admit African 
Americans to the University of Missouri School of Law, or to establish 
separate but equal law school facilities. Missouri chose to create 
Lincoln University law school, rather than to integrate. Margaret Bush 
Wilson graduated from that law school and passed the Missouri bar in 
1943.
  A dedicated public servant, Margaret Bush Wilson served as U.S. 
Attorney for the Department of Agriculture's Rural Electrification 
Administration and as the Assistant Attorney General for the state of 
Missouri. After her marriage to Robert Wilson in 1944, the couple 
established the St. Louis real estate law firm known as Wilson and 
Wilson.
  Her expertise in real estate law proved instrumental when she served 
as counsel for the black Real Estate Brokers Association, an 
organization initiated by her father. The organization was active in 
Shelley vs. Kramer, a 1948 Supreme Court ruling in which racially based 
restrictive covenants were ruled unconstitutional and unenforceable. 
Mrs. Wilson also served as the head of Lawyers for Housing where she 
championed one thousand new housing units.
  In her capacity as president of the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, 
Mrs. Wilson was involved in landmark civil rights cases, including

[[Page E143]]

the Jefferson Bank and Trust demonstrations and case. In 1975, she 
became the first chairwoman of the national NAACP board and served nine 
terms. During President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Wilson 
served as deputy director of the Model Cities Program.
  During the 1980's, she served as chairman of the board of the Mutual 
Insurance Company of New York, Real Estate Investment Trust. She 
continues to be a beacon in the African American community. She served 
as board chair of two Historically Black Colleges: St. Augustine's 
College and Talladega. She is also a member of numerous nonprofit 
organizations and trustee-emeritae of both Washington University and 
Webster University.
  Madam Speaker, this Ms. Wilson is the epitome of a great American. 
She is an inspiration to all who cherish justice and equality. I am 
honored to salute her for her countless contributions to the state of 
Missouri and to this nation. I urge my colleagues to join me in paying 
tribute to the works of Margaret Bush Wilson; with tenacity, grace and 
courage she has blazed a trail for generations to come.

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