[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 9 (Monday, January 23, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E53-E54]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE MEMORY OF ROSCOE R. NIX

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 23, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that I advise my 
colleagues of the death on January 4, 2012 of my constituent, civil 
rights leader and education activist, Roscoe R. Nix. Roscoe Nix was an 
inspirational giant in the Montgomery County, Maryland community where 
he was known for his wisdom, his kind and caring manner, and his fierce 
dedication to social and educational equality for all Americans. Mr. 
Nix worked passionately for decades as a leading civil rights activist, 
drawing attention to racial inequalities throughout our country.
  Roscoe Russa Nix was born June 22, 1921, in Greenville, Alabama, the 
second of nine children and the son of the only black postman in town. 
Mr. Nix attended Alabama A&M University but left to serve in the Army 
in Europe during World War II. After his military service, he settled 
in the Washington area and graduated from Howard University. He moved 
to Montgomery County in 1968 where he resided until 2010 when, for 
health reasons, he moved near his daughter in Riverdale, Georgia.
  Growing up in segregated Alabama, Roscoe Nix had firsthand experience 
with Jim Crow laws and the injustice of institutionalized racism. After 
moving to the Washington, DC area, Mr. Nix observed that northern 
states were more likely to have simply overlooked their own records of 
discrimination. He recalled being refused service at a Silver Spring, 
Maryland restaurant in 1962 and the demonstration he staged in 
response. Moments like this defined his career and inspired him to work 
for change.
  During our Nation's post-segregation era, Mr. Nix worked for the U.S. 
Justice Department's Community Relations Service, traveling around the 
country as a ``peacemaker'' to work with local leaders on conflict 
resolution in cities experiencing civil unrest.
  For decades, Mr. Nix was a leader in public education in Montgomery 
County. In 1974, he was the second African American elected to the 
Montgomery County Board of Education where he fought against de facto 
school segregation. As a member of the Board until 1978 and then 
afterwards, he pushed for greater resources for schools in poorer 
neighborhoods and spoke out about racial disparities in the schools. 
Mr. Nix was a champion for early childhood initiatives and fought for 
increased funding of Head Start and Title 1 and for lower class size in 
the elementary grades. In 2006, the Montgomery County Board of 
Education dedicated the Roscoe R. Nix Elementary School in Silver 
Spring in recognition of his contributions to the public education of 
the children in the county.
  In 1989, Mr. Nix co-founded the Montgomery County African American 
Festival of Academic Excellence. This annual event recognizes, 
encourages and celebrates African American students for their academic 
achievements and reinforces the idea that it is ``cool'' to be smart.
  Serving as President of the Montgomery County chapter of the NAACP 
from 1980-90, Roscoe Nix spoke out against police mistreatment of 
minorities and worked to increase the

[[Page E54]]

number of African American officers on the police force.
  In 2001, Mr. Nix was inducted into the Montgomery County Human Rights 
Hall of Fame. After receiving the honor, he said, ``So much of what 
Montgomery County is today is because of struggle. . . . It's hard, 
especially for young people, to remember how we got where we are 
today.'' He noted, ``Blessings come to people through someone else's 
help or through some unknown entity. Because of that, it is our 
obligation to use whatever it is that one of us has to help those who 
are less fortunate or who may be afraid to speak for themselves.'' 
These guiding words and the legacy and achievements of Roscoe R. Nix 
will live on in Montgomery County, in Maryland, and across our Nation.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to this 
extraordinary American and in offering our condolences to Mr. Nix's 
wife of 59 years, Emma Coble Nix; his two daughters, Veretta Nix and 
Susan Webster; his sister, Anita Jackson; his three brothers, Crispus 
Carey Nix, Pettis Nix and Comer Nix; and his three grandchildren.

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