[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 102 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO DELORES ``SUGAR'' POINDEXTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 9, 2009

  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Delores 
``Sugar'' Poindexter for her phenomenal career in the gospel music 
industry and as a spiritual healer.
  Sugar's stunning soprano voice is and will always remain legendary 
within the gospel music industry. She sang with many of the great 
pioneers of gospel music such as the Roberta Martin Singers and the 
Beatrice Brown Singers. In addition to singing, she was the Chairperson 
of the Back Stage Committee for the Gospel Music Workshop of America 
Inc. Sugar served as the Vice Chairperson of the Gospel Announcers 
Guild of the Gospel Music Workshop of America Inc., and as a co-host on 
Black Entertainment Television's Bobby Jones Gospel show.
  Sugar is a remarkable woman who has achieved many firsts in her 
lifetime. She is a giant in the Indianapolis community whose vision of 
service has touched the lives of many less fortunate individuals. In 
the span of over three decades, Sugar was the first African American 
woman to host her own gospel program on the airwaves of WTLC, which was 
formerly known as 104.5 FM. She was the first African American licensed 
disc jokey on WTLC and again the first to host her show from the Marion 
County Jail on Thanksgiving Day, a tradition she continued for 20 
years.
  Despite her many achievements, Sugar's greatest legacy is that of a 
healer. She ran her own prison ministry providing hope and spiritual 
fulfillment to the women at the Indiana State Prison.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring Delores ``Sugar'' 
Poindexter, a woman who shared the gospel and its message of 
compassion, humanity and peace through music. Sugar firmly believed in 
the saying that, ``to whom much is given much is expected.''

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