[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 111 (Wednesday, July 22, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H8555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF FRANK MICKENS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a great educator 
who passed away just a few days ago. This man was a tremendous leader. 
He was the principal of Boys and Girls High School in the borough of 
Brooklyn, a gentleman by the name of Frank Mickens.
  Frank Mickens really, really provided the leadership that we need so 
desperately today, and he did it with grace. He would insist that his 
students wore neckties. Of course, the board of education and people 
were very concerned about that fact, and they said he was not following 
the rules and regulations of the board of education.
  But Frank's argument was, if a youngster had on a shirt and a tie, 
his behavior would be different, and he would be more eager to learn. 
Of course, Frank proved to everybody that what he was saying was right. 
He proved to everybody that this made sense. He also said, if a 
youngster were in a suit and a tie, that he would not be too interested 
in gangs and in gang life, because gangs would wear colors and all of 
that. If a youngster did not have a tie, Frank Mickens provided a tie. 
He had a closet with shirts and ties and with all of that in it to make 
certain that youngsters who came to school did not have to worry about 
whether they had ties or not, because he would provide ties for them.
  It was so interesting because, when he took over the Boys and Girls 
High School, it was viewed as one of the worst schools in the City of 
New York. I remember on many occasions how parents would come to me and 
would say, Help me to make certain that my child does not have to 
attend Boys and Girls High School. I remember one family in particular. 
The mother came to me, trying to make certain that her daughter did not 
attend the high school. Then just a few years later, after Frank 
Mickens turned the school around, of course everybody wanted their 
children to go to Boys and Girls. Then there were no seats available.
  She said to me, If you really are strong and if you're my 
Congressman, then I want you to be able to get my son into Boys and 
Girls High School. Here was the same lady who did not want her older 
child to go to Boys and Girls. Now she was fighting to get her son into 
Boys and Girls.
  That points out the kind of leadership that Frank provided. He did 
not always go by the guidelines and by the rules and regulations of the 
education board, but the point was that they could not say that he was 
not effective.
  He was also effective as a coach. He coached at Boys and Girls High 
School. As the coach of Boys and Girls High School, he won the city 
championship, and that was a very exciting time for a school that had 
not done that in many, many years.
  He was a natural educator. He had the ability to pull teachers 
together and to get them to work extra hours and to do all kinds of 
things to make certain that the youngsters were able to learn. He had 
the youngsters from that school going to some of the best colleges and 
universities in the Nation. This was a school that people had basically 
written off, but now they were going to all of the top schools because 
these teachers were working very closely with Frank to make certain 
that Boys and Girls High School was one of the top schools in the City 
of New York.
  We're going to miss Frank because he was considered the person who 
motivated everybody, who got things done, who was able to get 
scholarships for his young students, and he was respected in the 
neighborhood. People would just come to him, looking for leadership, 
looking for advice and all of that.
  He is going to be missed because Frank truly made a difference, and I 
would say that I am just so happy that I had an opportunity to know him 
and to work with him and to live during his lifetime.
  Frank, we will miss you, but I'll tell you that your work is 
something that will live on and on and on. You were truly a leader. You 
provided educational leadership in a way that will never, never, never 
be forgotten.
  So let me say to your family that I know that they will miss Frank 
dearly as well, but here again, I think we can be proud of the fact 
that the legacy that Frank leaves and the life that he lived are things 
that we should never, never forget. So I would say to all of the 
people, not only in Brooklyn but throughout this Nation, that we should 
commit ourselves to try to be the kind of educational leaders that 
Frank Mickens was.

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