[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 150 (Friday, October 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2568-E2569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                A TRIBUTE TO REVEREND ANDRE RAMON SOLEIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 16, 2009

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Reverend 
Andre Ramon Soleil, a seasoned lawyer, artist and entrepreneur with an 
extraordinary life story.
  Reverend Soleil was raised in New Hope Baptist Church, Niagara Falls, 
New York, a church founded by his great-grandparents during the great 
migration of African-Americans northward to New York from North 
Carolina in the early 1900s. He was a member of the choir, an usher and 
a Sunday school teacher. At age 12, Andre confessed Jesus as Lord, was 
baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. At 13, Pastor Belk recognized 
God's call on

[[Page E2569]]

Andre's life and began training him for ministry as an ``acolyte''.
  Mr. Soleil is a talented artist and his drawings, paintings and 
craftworks have been displayed at cultural events and museums since his 
pre-teens. Mayor Michael O'Laughlin honored the 15-year-old Soleil by 
appointing him to the Niagara Falls Council of the Arts for his role in 
many school and community productions in semi-professional and 
professional regional productions of The Wiz, Pippin, and Jesus Christ 
Superstar, to name a few.
  In 1985, Andre Soleil came to New York at 17 and attended Parsons 
School of Design, majoring in illustration and painting. In 1989, Andre 
Soleil's son, Donauld, was born. While looking for work after the 
closing of ``Little Wing'', Reverend Soleil took a part time job at the 
New York Public Interest Group, Inc. Soon after Reverend Soleil was 
promoted to Department Director, he began his career in activism, law 
and politics. Reverend Soleil was appointed by then Manhattan Borough 
President Ruth Messinger to Manhattan's Community Board 12. Mayor 
Giuliani next appointed Mr. Soleil to the position of Executive Liaison 
in the Mayor's Office of Legislative Affairs to the Public Health, 
Human Rights, General Welfare and Cultural Affairs Committees of the 
New York City Council. Subsequently, Governor George Pataki appointed 
Mr. Soleil to the Executive Chamber staff as Assistant Secretary for 
Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. A year later, in 1996, 
Reverend Soleil completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology 
from LaSalle University, cum laude.
  Mr. Soleil attended City University of New York School of Law at 
Queens College from 1999 to 2002, where he then became President of the 
Class of 2002 and Editor-in-Chief of the New York City Law Journal in 
2000. In 2000, America's Black Law Student Association elected Andre 
National Executive Director of the National Black Law Student's 
Association's 73 Chapters and 8,000 members; and in 2001, these 
students elected him to the Board of Governors of the National Bar 
Association. In 2002, Reverend Soleil graduated, achieving his Juris 
Doctorate and his Master of Arts degree in Business Administration and 
Media Management, with honors from Metropolitan College of New York.
  In 2003, Reverend Soleil returned to the work of Jesus Christ and His 
church. In 2004, Bishop Dr. Wesley J. Wiley and the Elders of the 
Resurrection Temple of Our Lord ordained Mr. Soleil as a Reverend. Rev. 
Soleil then entered Columbia Evangelical Seminary to obtain his 
Doctorate of Ministry. In 2003, Reverend Soleil was admitted to the Bar 
of the State of New York and founded his law firm, Soleil & Company, 
P.C., which was opened out of his apartment's living room. In six 
years, Soleil & Company, P.C. now employs four attorneys, six staff 
members, and is known for innovative litigation, criminal defense and 
mortgage/foreclosure defense work. Soleil & Company, P.C. has taken 
Mayor Bloomberg to task as lead counsel in the matter of Cohen v. 
Bloomberg, a citizens' lawsuit to block the Mayor's destruction of the 
term limits law, and has developed a reputation for innovative legal 
practice in criminal, real-estate, civil rights and family law 
practice.
  Rev. Soleil founded Christian Way, Ltd. in 2007, a non-profit 
advocacy and research group dedicated to the development, protection 
and promotion of Christianity as a way of life. He also hosts a daily 
early-morning radio bible study program, ``Breakfast with the Bible,'' 
that is carried by Massachusetts and Texas based radio and Internet 
broadcasts.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
Reverend Andre Ramon Soleil.

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