[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 10, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING MINNIE JONES' DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY 
  AND HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CAUSE OF CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE LOCAL AND 
                             NATIONAL LEVEL

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                           HON. HEATH SHULER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 10, 2010

  Mr. SHULER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the long history of 
service that Minnie Jones has given to the Asheville area in civil 
rights and equal housing opportunities for the past forty years. Ms. 
Jones was recently awarded North Carolina's ``Order of the Long Leaf 
Pine,'' one of the state's highest civilian awards which has also been 
bestowed upon Maya Angelou, Billy Graham, and Charles Kuralt. She has 
also been recognized with the Buncombe County Democratic Woman of the 
Year award, the One Youth At A Time 2010 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Award, the NAACP's Eighth Annual Sophie Dixon and Grace Dorn Leadership 
Award, as well as being the namesake and co-founder of the Minnie Jones 
Family Health Center in Asheville.
  As a young woman, Ms. Jones moved to Asheville bringing experience 
working with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in voting registration 
drives throughout the Deep South. She continued to involve herself in 
Civil Rights in Asheville, becoming the first person to successfully 
integrate the Pisgah View Apartments. She went on to become the first 
president of the Pisgah View Residents Association and a tireless 
advocate for those residents. Ms. Jones also began the program for 
after-school education in this community.
  Ms. Jones remains a vibrant force in the Asheville community to this 
day. She is a Deaconess of St. Paul Baptist Church. She is a life 
member of the NAACP, and a member of the Executive Committee of its 
Asheville Branch. She still teaches in her after school program at 
Pisgah View and continues her own education by taking courses at UNC-
Asheville.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the singular 
impact that Minnie Jones has had on the civil rights movement in 
Asheville. Her tireless and effective advocacy has established her as a 
champion for all people and a constant voice for the voiceless.

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