[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN TRIBUTE TO DISMAS BECKER, A MAN OF FAITH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to a 
dear friend, a mentor, a legislator, a community organizer, a loving 
husband and father to his family. Dismas Becker was a man of faith and 
that unshakeable faith remains with us even with his passing.
  Dismas Becker was a former activist priest who was in the forefront 
of the civil rights movement during the tumultuous 1960's. Along with 
the well-known activist Father James Groppi, Dismas participated in 
welfare rights demonstrations, open housing marches, and publicly 
defended Father Groppi's efforts to organize demonstrations in support 
of these causes. In October 1969, Dismas was beaten by police while 
occupying the chambers of the State Assembly in Madison, to protest 
welfare funding cutbacks. Dismas Becker's sermons were filled with 
anti-war sentiment and the fight for civil rights that brought 
complaints from some parishioners. The dissent did not sway Dismas from 
this calling.
  In fact, speaking in 1969 Dismas said, ``If you do find yourself in a 
conflict between you and society and you do not dissent, you are not a 
Christian.'' He later left the priesthood, but did not leave his 
activism behind. Dismas Becker went on to serve in other roles, 
including as a state representative in the Legislature and was 
eventually chosen as the Majority Leader in the Assembly by his fellow 
Democrats in 1984.
  Dismas Becker married an amazing woman, Fay Anderson, who was active 
in the local Democratic Party, and was an alderperson in her own right. 
He adopted her children and they adopted a son of their own. He never 
stopped working on behalf of those who needed it most. With his own 
personal ministry never wavering, he reached out to the downtrodden, 
and to people who were going in the wrong direction, to help them turn 
a corner.
  Madam Speaker, for these many reasons I rise in tribute to Dismas 
Becker. He reached out to me, then a young woman with 3 children and 
encouraged me throughout his lifetime. In 1988, he decided to run for 
the State Senate. Dismas Becker suggested, pushed, and encouraged me 
with love to run for his Assembly seat. I am here today due in no small 
part to the incredible commitment of this loving and giving human 
being. I will miss my beloved friend, Dismas Becker, and he will be 
missed by the entire community.

                          ____________________