[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 4 (Friday, January 13, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E16]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING OFIELD DUKES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 13, 2012

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in honoring Ofield Dukes, an African 
American pioneer in the field of public relations, and a longtime 
influential champion of civil rights.
  Before Ofield Dukes founded Ofield Dukes and Associates, he served as 
deputy director for public affairs for the President's Committee on 
Equal Employment Opportunity and Plans for Progress as well as deputy 
director for public affairs in the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration. He 
was a communications consultant for every Democratic presidential 
campaign since 1972. His work was instrumental in establishing the 
Congressional Black Caucus and in creating the national holiday for Dr. 
Martin Luther King Jr.
  Born in Ruthledge, Alabama in 1932 and raised in Detroit, Michigan, 
Dukes served in the Korean War as a member of the United States Army. 
He earned a degree in journalism from Wayne State University in 
Detroit, Michigan. After graduation, he spent several years crafting 
his skills at WCHB radio as the news director until and then got his 
break at the Michigan Chronicle, where he won several National 
Newspaper Publishers Association awards. His accomplishments caught the 
attention of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who tapped Dukes to become 
deputy director of the President's Committee on Equal Employment 
Opportunity and Plans for Progress, and a year later he became deputy 
director of public affairs. In 1969, Dukes started his own public 
relations firm in Washington, DC, Ofield Dukes and Associates. His 
first client was Motown Records, and he went on to represent 
multinational companies such as AT&T, Sony Music Entertainment, and RJR 
Nabisco. During this period, Dukes was a key figure in establishing the 
Congressional Black Caucus, including organizing the first 
Congressional Black Caucus Dinner in 1971. In the 1980s, Dukes joined 
forces with Stevie Wonder in organizing a march in Washington for a 
national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. He founded the Black 
Public Relations Society of Washington, DC., giving black public 
relations professionals a place to meet and cultivate ideas. Dukes was 
known to say, ``Public relations is synonymous with human 
communication.'' In a publication of the African American Public 
Relations Collective, he said, ``Even Jesus Christ was involved in 
communications. He had the disciples as advance persons and John the 
Baptist was sort of a PR agent.'' He said that public relations is more 
than just promoting an event or just engaging in an outpouring of 
publicity.
  In addition to his stellar career, Ofield Dukes was an educator who 
gave selflessly of his time and talent. He was an adjunct professor at 
Howard University and later American University for nearly three 
decades.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to join me in honoring Ofield Dukes not 
only for his accomplishments in public relations but for his service to 
our Nation.

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