[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 59 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E661-E662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       DR. HAROLD A. CARTER, SR.: A LEGACY OF PRINCIPLE AND FAITH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 26, 2010

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a great American and 
true leader--Dr. Harold A. Carter, Sr.
  His is a vision and a mission--grounded in the Civil Rights Movement 
of the 1960s--that has compelling importance for our Nation today.
  More than a half-century ago, when Dr. Carter was still a young man 
in Selma, Alabama, Dr. Ralph Abernathy and, then, Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., both offered Harold Carter his first opportunities to speak 
to their congregations as a newly ordained minister.
  ``I was a young college student and they wanted to give me a boost 
from the beginning,'' Dr. Carter observed in a 2005 article written by 
Mr. Sean Yoes of the Baltimore AFRO American.
  Madam Speaker, it was a strong, inspiring and enduring ``boost,'' 
indeed. This same visionary foundation has inspired Dr. Carter 
throughout his ministry--both in the mission to proclaim the Gospel to 
which he had been called and in the ``Social Gospel'' work of his 
faith.
  This year, Dr. Carter celebrates 45 years as the principal shepherd 
of Baltimore's New Shiloh Baptist Church.
  In his own words, he is above all ``a God man,'' the primary trustee 
of his congregation's spiritual life.
  Yet, at a time when our urban areas are in danger of crumbling under 
the stress of decades of disinvestment, Dr. Carter and his New Shiloh 
Congregation also offer the people of Baltimore both hope and a 
concrete plan for social and economic renewal.
  A past leader of Baltimore's chapter of the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference and the local chapter of the Poor People's 
Campaign, Dr. Carter has readily acknowledged Dr. King's influence upon 
his vision for community renewal as an integral element of his New 
Shiloh ministry.
  ``I learned from him that we have to take responsibility for our 
condition, whatever that might be,'' Dr. Carter once observed. ``People 
in power do not concede anything to others freely, so we have to equip 
ourselves and do for ourselves based on the principles of unconditional 
love.''
  Aided by the strength and talents of his wonderful wife, the late Dr. 
Weptanomah Carter, his son and co-Pastor, Dr. Harold A. Carter, Jr., 
and a dedicated congregation that has grown to number in the thousands, 
New Shiloh is, indeed, equipping its community to move forward on 
empowering principles.
  Every day, people from the neighborhood can find inspiration and 
opportunity in its beautiful church and Family Life Center, its School 
of Music, Theological Center, Child Development Center and other 
facilities.
  These accomplishments of the congregation's ``Social Gospel'' mission 
are important aspects of Dr. Carter's vision--but they are far from the 
end. Already underway are plans for technical training for the 
community, a Computer Center, a Senior Center and Senior Housing.
  Madam Speaker, it is more appropriate, under our constitutional 
system, for me to leave it to others to commend Dr. Carter for the 
other wonderful ministers whom he has trained--including my own 
minister, Bishop Walter S. Thomas, Sr.
  Others are better qualified than I to attest to the lasting 
importance of Dr. Carter's spiritual writings.
  However, I have been honored to serve as a spokesman for the 
Congressional Black Caucus to our nation's faith communities--and, in 
that duty, I have gained a thorough understanding of ``faith-based 
initiatives'' that are working.
  A part of what my teacher and friend, Dr. Harold A. Carter, Sr., has 
taught me is that the inspiration for ``faith-based'' programs that 
work cannot be found in a strategy to transfer public responsibility 
for greater social equity to the faith centers of our country.
  Rather, that motivating force must first arise from the hearts and 
minds of people of faith themselves.
  This, I submit, is why Dr. Harold A. Carter, Sr., should stand as an 
example for all of our citizenry--whatever our respective faith 
traditions may be.
  This, I believe, is what Dr. Carter means when he speaks of how our 
local communities must undertake greater responsibility for themselves 
and their neighbors--and how they must equip themselves for 
opportunity.
  Unlike other ``mega-churches'' that have left the inner cities of our 
Nation, New Shiloh Baptist Church has followed Dr. Carter's vision for 
his congregation.
  It has constructed its foundation on an unwavering commitment to the 
people of our urban community.
  As we in government seek to construct a new and more comprehensive 
``national urban policy,'' we would do well to take note.
  Dr. Carter and his congregation have invested millions of dollars in 
the New Shiloh Village and surrounding community.
  ``This is where the people are, and this is where the need is,'' he 
has observed. ``The wave of Maryland's future development--and the 
nation's--lies in the [inner] cities.''
  Madam Speaker, for all of these reasons, I have come before you and 
this House today to commend to our Nation's attention the vision, 
wisdom and mission of an inspired man.
  During his decades of service, Dr. Harold A. Carter, Sr., has earned 
our Nation's praise for a lasting legacy of principle and faith.

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  His is a vision that all Americans would do well to pay heed.

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