[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     RECOGNITION OF THE PASSING AND LIFE OF WILBERT ``BILL'' TATUM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 4, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, once in a while someone leaves this Earth 
and their life's story needs to be told, not just because it's 
interesting, but because it illustrates lessons that should be passed 
along. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recall the life Wilbert ``Bill'' 
Tatum, longtime publisher of the Amsterd News and my personal friend, 
who, to the sadness and shock of my community, died suddenly last week. 
Bill lived the life that people dream of and few attain, and while 
doing so became a friend, mentor, and ``brother'' to countless people.
  In the early 1970s, Mr. Tatum, along with former State Comptroller H. 
Carl McCall and former Manhattan borough president Percy Sutton, bought 
the Amsterdam News. This venture into the news industry reflected their 
longtime involvement in civic activism and passion for their community. 
Bill maximized his passion as the paper's publisher, a role for which 
his life prepared him.
  Bill's voice goes back to his high school oratory competition days in 
North Carolina. He was a journalist, writing for three small newspapers 
that provided information to Black farmers. He served his country in 
the Marine Corps, graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, 
and received his master's degree from Occidental College in Los 
Angeles. In New York, he was a community activist who served as deputy 
Manhattan Borough President under Percy Sutton's borough presidency and 
held various city-level posts.
  Under Bill's ownership, the Amsterdam News was a brash and 
controversial voice for the Black community, regularly scorching 
politicians like 1970's Mayor Ed Koch. He was one of the angriest--and 
most eloquent--of voices on issues of politics, civil rights, and 
community action. What some perceived as sensational journalism, we in 
the community knew reflected the honest views of the publisher and his 
readers. At the same time, he filled the pages with colorful articles 
on social and community happenings.
  Bill was a gentleman who loved people and derived no bigger joy than 
helping his community. He gave opportunities to scores of budding 
journalists and was a friend and professional mentor to many. A kind 
and decent person with a keen sense of humor, Bill was a man for all 
seasons and fierce defender of the causes he believed in. Despite an 
illness that confined him to a wheelchair, he and his beloved wife 
Susan continued their travels around the world. He entrusted his 
daughter Eli to succeed him as publisher and editor, and she has done 
an admirable and successful job in filling his shoes.
  Wilbert Bill Tatum will be remembered as an honorable man of tough 
love, who used his brilliant mind and the First Amendment to denounce 
injustices he saw in his community. His life reminds us that the 
greatest love we can share with others is the power to speak up and be 
honest about where we are and where we need to go. I will miss him 
dearly.

                          ____________________