[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 23 (Monday, February 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING BETTY CRAWFORD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 14, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. 
Betty Crawford, a resident of Marks, MS, who has used her talent as a 
folk artist to teach and inspire many audiences. From summer art camps 
to craft workshops, children and adults alike have had countless 
opportunities to learn from her original style of art. Using textiles, 
paint, recycled and repurposed materials, she crafts one-of-a-kind 
treasures to preserve history and to document southern culture.
  Betty serves as a historian for the original Mule Train Journey of 
1968, a part of the Poor People's Campaign. She has preserved the 
history of this event in the form of commemorative art pieces, which 
have been displayed at museums, schools, churches, community centers 
and at the Union Theology Seminary in New York.
  Betty Crawford, who was too young to participate in the first noble 
effort, has kept the legacy alive through her artistry and community 
service. Her depiction of the Mule Train has been nationally recognized 
as the only original commemoration of that event. Among other awards, 
she has received the 2002 Outstanding Achievement Award and the 2003 
Humanized Education Award both from the Mississippi Association of 
Education. In 2004 and 2005 she was nominated for the National 
Education Association Award. In 2005 she was awarded the Tougaloo 
College Leadership Institute--Strategic Initiative Plan Award; Fannie 
Lou Hamer Award for Outstanding Community Service and and Peer Award 
for Excellence--Jackson, MS.
  Mrs. Crawford is presently working diligently with local governments, 
schools and community groups. She supports human rights projects 
including the Southern Rural Black Women Initiative in Mississippi, 
Alabama, and Georgia; Kensington Welfare Union Rights in Philadelphia, 
PA; Scholars Poverty Initiative at the Union Theology Seminary in New 
York, NY and other organizations that strive to empower people and 
rectify injustices. Mrs. Crawford's ultimate vision is to see a 
Southern Cultural Museum in Marks, MS, to house her Mule Train Quilt as 
well as other artists' work that would bring people from all around the 
world to experience a part of the Delta's Southern Heritage.

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