[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 59 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E664-E665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF REV. BENJAMIN LAWSON HOOKS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2010

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Res. 1271 
``Honoring the life and achievements of Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks'' 
introduced by my distinguished colleague from Michigan, Representative 
Conyers.
  Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks was a civil rights leader and served as the 
Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (NAACP) from 1977 to 1992. Dr. Hooks graduated with a 
bachelor's degree from Howard University, a juris doctor degree from 
DePaul University College of Law, and received an honorary doctorate 
from Central Connecticut State University. He held professional 
memberships with the American Bar Association, National Bar 
Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference, the Tennessee Council on Human Relations, and Omega Psi Phi 
Fraternity, Inc. After passing the Tennessee Bar, he established his 
own law practice.
  Dr. Hooks served as a distinguished adjunct professor for the 
Political Science Department at the University of Memphis. In 1996, the 
Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change was established at the 
University of Memphis. The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute is a public 
policy research center supporting the urban research mission, and 
honoring Hooks' many years of leadership in the American Civil Rights 
Movement. The Hooks Institute also emphasizes social movements, race 
relations, strong communities, public education, effective public 
participation, and social and economic justice.
  Dr. Hooks was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1956, and he preached 
regularly at the Greater Middle Baptist Church in Memphis. He joined 
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Dr. Hooks became a pioneer of NAACP-sponsored 
restaurant sit-ins and other boycotts of consumer items and services.
  In 1965, Dr. Hooks was appointed by Governor Frank G. Clement as the 
first African American criminal court judge in the Shelby Criminal 
Court. In 1966, he would later campaign for and win a full term to the 
same judicial office that he had been appointed to due to a vacancy. In 
1972, President Richard Nixon appointed Dr. Hooks to be one of the five 
commissioners to the Federal Communications Commission, FCC. As a 
member, he addressed the lack of minority ownership of television and 
radio stations, the minority employment statistics for the broadcasting 
industry, and the image of African Americans in mass media. Dr. Hooks 
served as a producer and host for several local television shows in 
Memphis.
  Dr. Hooks' honors and awards include the NAACP Spingarn Medal for 
outstanding achievements made by an African American, receiving the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in November 
of 2007, and he was inducted into the International Civil Rights Hall 
of Fame at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site on 
January 12, 2008. The Memphis Library Branch is also named in his 
honor. The NAACP later created the Benjamin L. Hooks Distinguished 
Service Award, which is awarded to persons for their efforts in 
implementing policies and programs which promote equal opportunity.
  So it is with great pride and admiration that we honor Dr. Benjamin 
Lawson Hooks as a great civil rights leader, and as a successful

[[Page E665]]

businessman, judge, lawyer, and minister. He has fought triumphantly 
for the rights of African Americans and made great contributions to the 
African American community.

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