[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 169 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE HARLEM COUNCIL OF ELDERS, INC., SALUTE TO FLORENCE M. 
                                  RICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2009

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise with great pride to join New York 
Democratic County Leader Keith L.T. Wright and the Harlem Council of 
Elders to pay tribute to the Harlem Consumer Education Council's 
founder and president Florence M. Rice.
  Florence M. Rice was born on March 22, 1919, in Buffalo, New York. 
During her childhood, Rice spent several years in the Colored Orphan 
Asylum and in several foster homes in New York. Upon completion of the 
eighth grade, Rice left school for work as a domestic seamstress where 
she became a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. 
Rice spoke out against the discriminatory practices against African 
American and Latino workers. She participated in a congressional 
hearing held by my predecessor Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., in 1962, which 
probed dressmaker union's policies. After testifying, Ms. Rice was 
blacklisted in that industry.
  In the 1960s, Rice founded the Harlem Consumer Education Council, 
waging a war against corporations who discriminated against African 
Americans and other minorities. The council organized many successful 
New York City boycotts and picket lines against grocery stories, 
furniture stores, and individuals found to be overcharging minorities. 
Rice's biggest victory was against the New York State Public Service 
Commission, forcing New York Telephone to stop charging low income 
residents pre-installation fees. The Harlem Consumer Education Council 
investigated over 100,000 complaints.
  During the 1970's, Florence was appointed Special Consultant to the 
Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board. She also taught 
consumer education at Malcolm-King College and has lectured to 
thousands at her workshops and seminars. In the 1990s, Rice was 
responsible for the Bell Atlantic Technology Center in Harlem. Today, 
the center, Verizon, is dedicated to educating business people, 
students, senior citizens and other customers about the latest advances 
in telecommunication technologies. She has lectured in several 
different countries, including South Africa, where she was named a 
delegate in the first World Consumer Congress. She has held a number of 
state, national and international positions. In 1975, Florence served 
as the Official Member of the United States Delegation to the World 
Congress of the International Women's Year in Berlin, and in 1976 she 
served as a representative to the United Nations Congress of Non-
governmental Organizations.
  Florence Rice is the recipient of the Lane Bryant Award for Volunteer 
Service, the Sojourner Truth Award, and the Ophelia DeVore Award for 
Community Service, the National Urban League Frederick Douglass Award, 
the Consolidated Edison Better Business Award, the Josephine Shaw 
Lowell Award, the New York Consumer Assembly Prestigious Special Award 
and the Harold C. Burton Republican Club's 1977 Woman of the Year 
Award. On June 29, 2006, Florence Rice was interviewed by The 
HistoryMakers.
  Florence M. Rice is a very dear friend and indeed a National 
Treasure.

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