[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 149 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1800-E1801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PASSING OF HARRY KEMP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2011

  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Harry Kemp, who 
passed away on September 29, 2011, at the age of 78 years. Mr. Kemp was 
a mentor, community leader, veteran and most of all a consummate 
professional photographer. In fact, Mr. Kemp was often called the 
Visual Griot of Milwaukee's Black Community.
  Through his camera lens Mr. Kemp captured over 50 years of 
Milwaukee's Black Community by recording countless historic functions, 
political gatherings, educational lectures and social functions. In the 
late 1960s, Mr. Kemp became a member of the Black Press and he took 
photographs for the Milwaukee Community Journal, the Milwaukee Courier 
and the Milwaukee Times. He was a photographer for the Milwaukee 
Brewer's Baseball Team and worked as a freelance and

[[Page E1801]]

commercial photographer. Mr. Kemp taught photography at North Division, 
Hamilton and South Division High Schools. Harry Kemp served with the 
U.S. Air Force in the 1950s.
  Mr. Kemp was born in Racine and raised in Milwaukee and spoke of the 
values instilled by role models, including his father, also named 
Harry, mother Marie Gaines and stepfather Lincoln Gaines. Harry Kemp 
began taking pictures while in the Boy Scouts and received his first 
Brownie camera when he was 12. He began studying journalism in Texas 
and studied photography elsewhere.
  In 1995, Mr. Kemp was officially honored at the Milwaukee City Hall 
Rotunda and by that time had taken 50,000-plus photos. By the time of 
his death it was estimated that Mr. Kemp had taken 100,000 pictures. 
Mr. Kemp leaves behind his sister, Yvonne Kemp his photographer 
partner, sister Jo Anne Kemp, brother William Kemp and nieces and 
nephews.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud Harry Kemp hailed from the 4th Congressional 
District and that I called him friend. He captured some of our most 
precious and poignant moments; he painted a picture through images 
sometimes preserving an event in a way maybe no one else could see. I 
am honored to give praise to his many accomplishments and life time 
commitment to Black Community of Milwaukee and in fact, the entire 
Milwaukee Community.

                          ____________________