[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING RAFAEL ``RAY'' TALIAFERRO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 8, 2011

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary journalistic contributions of veteran KGO-AM radio 
journalist Rafael ``Ray'' Taliaferro as he is inducted into the 
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Hall of Fame.
  Renowned for his San Francisco Bay Area 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. broadcast 
called, ``The Early Show,'' Ray Taliaferro has been a progressive voice 
in lively, late-night discussions of political, cultural and current 
events for the past 25 years. Moreover, Mr. Taliaferro's entire 
broadcasting career spans four decades, and he is recognized as the 
first African-American talk show host on a major market radio station 
in our nation's history.
  Born February 7, 1939, Mr. Taliaferro grew up in the Hunters Point 
district of San Francisco. After getting his start in talk radio in 
1967 at San Francisco's KNEW-AM, Mr. Taliaferro began a career in 
television--commuting daily to Burbank, California to host on KHJ-TV. 
Before long, he was hired as a news anchor for San Francisco's KRON-TV 
station, and in 1977, he joined the team at KGO Radio.
  Throughout his trailblazing career, Mr. Taliaferro has been a 
fearless leader and a bold advocate for numerous causes. He was 
president of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP from 1968 to 1971, 
helped found the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975, and 
was honored by the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce in 1994 with 
the Black Chamber Life Award. Additionally, due to his tremendous 
efforts to help raise money for leukemia research, Mr. Taliaferro was 
named board president of the Northern California Chapter of the 
Leukemia Society of America from 1995 to 2000.
  Among his many achievements, Mr. Taliaferro has fostered a tremendous 
involvement in the arts. He led the San Francisco Art Commission for 16 
years, was the Mayor's Commissioner of the War Memorial Trustee Board 
from 1992 to 2000, and served as president of the Frederick Douglass 
Symposium. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Governors of 
The Commonwealth Club of California. And, in addition to his talents as 
an orator, Mr. Taliaferro is an accomplished musician who conducted the 
``Ray Tal Chorale'' and served as the music director of Third Baptist 
Church.
  In September of 2010, Mr. Taliaferro was a recipient of another Hall 
of Fame honor through the Newseum in Washington DC, and in July of that 
year, the National Association of Black Journalists named ``The Ray 
Taliaferro Entrepreneurial Award of Excellence'' in his honor. A life-
long Democrat, and one of the premier liberal talk show hosts in 
America, Ray Taliaferro has long encouraged civic engagement through 
astute political commentary. Furthermore, his strength of opinion and 
journalistic passion continue to be a catalyst for community dialogue 
and healthy debate.
  As we join in celebration of Mr. Taliaferro and his fellow 2011 NABJ 
Hall of Fame inductees, Ed Bradley, Eugene Robinson, Merri Dee and JC 
Hayward, we are reminded of the invaluable service that America's 
journalistic community provides. What's more, we celebrate the 
countless contributions that journalists of color continue to make in 
the dissemination of news, the diversity of our media, and the history 
of our country. On behalf of California's 9th Congressional District, 
Rafael ``Ray'' Taliaferro, we salute you. Thank you for your continued 
service to the Bay Area community and to our great nation.

                          ____________________