[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7840-S7841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 73--HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. RONALD W. 
WALTERS AND COMMENDING HIS LIFE AS AN EXAMPLE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS OF 
                    THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. Burris, and Mr. Roberts) submitted 
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 73

       Whereas Dr. Walters was born on July 20, 1938, in Wichita, 
     Kansas, the eldest of 7 children born to Gilmar and Maxine 
     Fray Walters;
       Whereas Dr. Walters received a Bachelor of Arts in History 
     and Government from Fisk University in 1963, a Master of Arts 
     in African Studies from American University in 1966, and a 
     Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies from American 
     University in 1971;
       Whereas Dr. Walters was a lifelong scholar and activist on 
     civil rights issues;
       Whereas in July 1958, while a student at Fisk University, 
     Dr. Walters organized with his cousin, Carol Parks, a 3-week, 
     silent sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store in Wichita, Kansas to 
     protest the segregated lunch counters at the Dockum Drug 
     Store;
       Whereas during the sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store, Dr. 
     Walters, Carol Parks, and the other sit-in participants were 
     taunted for their activism, which inspired others to join the 
     protest and contributed to the eventual success of the sit-
     in;
       Whereas as a result of the sit-in, the owner of the Dockum 
     Drug Store eliminated the segregated lunch counters;
       Whereas the success of the sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store 
     led Dr. Walters and his fellow protestors to organize sit-ins 
     at other segregated restaurants in Wichita, Kansas, which 
     inspired others to organize sit-ins throughout the United 
     States as acts of civil disobedience during the civil rights 
     movement;
       Whereas Dr. Walters was an Assistant Professor of Political 
     Science at Syracuse University from 1968 through 1969;
       Whereas Dr. Walters served as chair of the Afro-American 
     Studies department at Brandeis University from 1969 through 
     1971;
       Whereas Dr. Walters left Brandeis University for Howard 
     University in 1971, where Dr. Walters taught for 25 years, 
     serving as chair of the Political Science department from 
     1990 to 1996;
       Whereas throughout his time at Howard University, Dr. 
     Walters continued to work as an activist for civil rights 
     policies;
       Whereas Dr. Walters served as a top advisor for Congressman 
     Charles Diggs, the first Chairman of the Congressional Black 
     Caucus, and helped Congressman Diggs conceptualize the 
     strategic vision of the Congressional Black Caucus;
       Whereas Dr. Walters served on the staff of Congressman 
     William Gray, III in 1979;
       Whereas Dr. Walters served as the Deputy Campaign Manager 
     for the 1984 Presidential campaign of the Reverend Jesse 
     Jackson and as the Conventions Operations Consultant for the 
     1988 Presidential campaign of the Reverend Jesse Jackson;
       Whereas Dr. Walters authored many political articles and 
     books, and over the course of his academic career, received 
     the Ralph Bunche Award for Black Presidential Politics in 
     America from the American Political Science Association and 
     the Best Book Award for Black Presidential Politics in 
     America from the National Conference of Black Political 
     Scientists;
       Whereas Dr. Walters was a Professor of Government and 
     Politics at the University of Maryland College Park from 1996 
     through 2009;
       Whereas throughout his life, Dr. Walters was an active 
     member of many national organizations, including the Kappa 
     Alpha Psi fraternity, the Omicron Delta Kappa fraternity, and 
     the Pi Sigma Alpha fraternity;
       Whereas Dr. Walters founded 2 national organizations, the 
     National Congress of Black Faculty and the National Black 
     Independent Political Party;
       Whereas Dr. Walters was an active member of many 
     professional associations, including the African Heritage 
     Studies Association, the American Political Science 
     Association, the Association of Black Sociologists, the 
     National Black Leadership Roundtable, the National Conference 
     of Black Political Scientists, the Ralph Bunche Institute, 
     the Social Science Research Council, and the Southern 
     Christian Leadership Conference;
       Whereas Dr. Walters participated in several important 
     research studies including the National Black Election Study 
     carried out from 1984 through 1985 with the Institute for 
     Social and Political Research at the University of Michigan, 
     the 1971 through 1973 Advisory Board Research Program, and 
     the 1974 through 1979 Public Policy Fellows Program carried 
     out at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in 
     Washington, D.C.;
       Whereas Dr. Walters received many university faculty 
     honors, including the 1982 Distinguished Faculty Award from 
     Howard University, the 1992 Distinguished Alumnus Award from 
     Fisk University, the 2000 School of International Service 
     Alumnus of the Year award from American University, and the 
     Distinguished Faculty Award from the University of Maryland 
     College Park;
       Whereas Dr. Walters received many academic awards, 
     including the 1963 Reader's Digest Writing Award, the 1984 
     Distinguished Scholar/Activist Award from The Black Scholar 
     Magazine, the 1985 Ida Wells Barnett Award from the 
     Association of Black School Educators, and an Honorary 
     Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fisk University in 2010;
       Whereas Dr. Walters received several national service 
     awards, including the 1st annual Distinguished Service Award 
     from the Wichita Black Historical Society in 1987 and the 
     2002 Award for Distinguished Service to the Devolution 
     Initiative from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation;
       Whereas the sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store occurred almost 
     2 years before the more well-publicized lunchroom sit-ins in 
     Greensboro, North Carolina, but the sit-in had received 
     little national attention until Dr. Walters was honored in 
     2006 with a medal from the NAACP for organizing the 
     historical Wichita, Kansas sit-in;
       Whereas Dr. Walters died on September 10, 2010, at the age 
     of 72 in Silver Spring, Maryland;
       Whereas Dr. Walters was honored with a memorial service on 
     September 16, 2010, at Howard University, as Dr. Walters had 
     intended to return to Howard University as a senior 
     researcher and lecturer;
       Whereas Dr. Walters was also honored with a memorial 
     service on September 20, 2010, at the historic Shiloh Baptist 
     church; and
       Whereas the eulogy for Dr. Walters was delivered by the 
     Reverend Jesse Jackson at both memorial services: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) expresses the condolences of Congress to family of Dr. 
     Ronald W. Walters, especially his wife, Mrs. Patricia 
     Walters, his 3 brothers, Duane, Terrance, and Kevin, and his 
     2 sisters, Marcia and Sharon; and
       (2) honors the life of Dr. Ronald W. Walters, an ambassador 
     for freedom and democracy, whose lifelong dedication and 
     service stand as an outstanding example of leadership for all 
     mankind.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to join with 
my colleagues today and honor a native Kansan who, 52 years ago, 
committed an act of courage that was the basis for inspiring many civil 
rights movements throughout our country, the late Dr. Ronald Walters, 
humanitarian, civil rights activist and educator. In 1958, a young 
Ronald Walters returned to his hometown of Wichita, KS to work during 
his summer break from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Like most 
college students, Ronald would often eat at one of the local Wichita 
hangouts for his lunch break, which, at the time, were segregated. 
Seeing the injustice of the segregation, Ronald and his cousin, Carol 
Parks, decided to organize a sit-in at one of the most popular lunch 
spots in Wichita, Dockum Drugstore. Ronald and his group of protestors 
silently sat at the Dockum's lunch counter in protest of their 
segregated policy. They were taunted for their action, but the taunting 
inspired more people to join the sit-in protest, both black and white.
  After more than three weeks of the silent sit-in, the owner decided 
to discard the policy of segregated counters due to the fact the sit-in 
had caused him to lose too much money. Their success at Dockum's led 
Ronald and the group of protestors to continue their sit-ins at other 
segregated restaurants in Wichita. Though Ronald's sit-in was held in 
the middle of America--Wichita, KS--the effect reverberated around the 
Nation and is widely considered by scholars to be the Nation's first 
lunch-counter sit-in protests, which paved the way to ending 
segregation in our country.
  Ronald Walters completed his education at Fisk University, receiving 
a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Government, a Master of Arts 
in African Studies degree from American University in 1966, and a 
Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies degree from American 
University in 1971.
  Dr. Walters went on to be an associate professor at both Syracuse and 
Brandeis Universities before moving to Howard University, where he 
stayed for 25 years and became the chair of the Political Science 
department from 1990-1996.
  During his time at Howard, Dr. Walters continued his activism in 
civil rights policies. He worked as a Senior

[[Page S7841]]

Foreign Affairs Consultant for Congressman Charles Diggs, D-MI, and for 
Congressman William Gray, III, D-PA, in 1979. Dr. Walters was also 
chosen to be the Deputy Campaign Manager for Reverend Jesse Jackson's 
Presidential Campaign in 1984 and as the Conventions Operations 
Consultant in Reverend Jesse Jackson's 1988 Presidential run.
  Dr. Walters was also a proud and active member of many national 
organizations, including the African Heritage Studies Association, 
American Political Science Association, the Kappa Alpha Psi, Omicron 
Delta Kappa, and Pi Sigma Alpha fraternities, and the National 
Conference of Black Political Scientists.
  Dr. Walters not only was a civil rights activist, but a political 
scholar as well. He authored many articles and books throughout his 
life, and received awards for them, including the Ralph Bunche Award 
for the best book on race and politics from the American Political 
Science Association and the Best Book Award from the National 
Conference of Black Political Scientists.
  Dr. Walters also received many academic awards, including the 1963 
Reader's Digest Writing Award and the 1984 Distinguished Scholar/
Activist Award from The Black Scholar Magazine.
  Dr. Walters left Howard to become a Professor of Government and 
Politics at the University of Maryland College Park from 1996-2009.
  Dr. Walters' sit-in occurred almost two years before the better 
publicized lunch-room sit-ins in Greensboro, NC, but it had received 
little attention until 2006, when he was honored with a medal from the 
NAACP for organizing the historical Wichita, KS, sit-in.
  Today, I am proud to join with my colleagues in the United States 
Senate to honor this Kansans' courageous actions in our Nation's 
history and his legacy of ensuring that America lives up to the ideals 
upon which it was founded. Dr. Walters was a true and great ambassador 
of freedom and democracy, whose lifelong dedication and service stand 
as an outstanding example of leadership for all mankind.

                          ____________________