[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 21, 2009

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 320, a 
resolution that honors the life and accomplishments of one of the most 
prolific and well-respected chroniclers of America's torturous racial 
odyssey, John Hope Franklin who passed away on March 25, 2009, at the 
age of 94.
  Born in 1915, in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, Dr. Franklin came from a 
humble and equally tragic background. His grandfather had been a slave, 
and his family lost everything in the Tulsa race riot of 1921. However, 
it was his background of having faced racial horrors firsthand that 
brought his academic work to the forefront and cemented his reputation 
among academics, politicians and civil rights figures as an inestimable 
historian.
  John Hope Franklin attended Fisk University and received his master's 
and doctoral degrees in history from Harvard University. Shortly after 
graduating from Harvard, Dr. Franklin became widely known as a pioneer 
in the field of African American history. He published his first book 
in 1943 entitled, The Free Negro in North Carolina, 1790-1860.
  Dr. Franklin enjoyed an academic career full of highlights, 
fellowships, research publications, and honorary degrees. In fact, Dr. 
Franklin would publish another 20 books in his lifetime and his 
research helped future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall win the 
landmark ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education. It is these 
accomplishments that helped pave the way both for other Blacks and for 
the field of African American studies, which began to blossom on 
American campuses in the 1960s.
  I join President Barack Obama in his insightful observation about the 
impact of Dr. Franklin's life: ``Because of the life John Hope Franklin 
lived, the public service he rendered, and the scholarship that was the 
mark of his distinguished career, we all have a richer understanding of 
who we are as Americans and our journey as a people.''
  In closing, we are reminded that, in addition to his commitment to 
academics, Dr. Franklin was a dedicated family man. He was married to 
Aurelia Whittington, his college sweetheart for nearly 60 years before 
she passed away in 1999.
  To their son, John Whittington Franklin, may the special memories 
that you created together and the many words of wisdom Dr. Franklin 
gave you be sources of comfort and strength, now and in the days to 
come.

                          ____________________