[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E547-E548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE HONORABLE LILLIAN W. BURKE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2012

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and remembrance of 
the Honorable Lillian W. Burke, the first African American female judge 
in the State of Ohio.
  Judge Burke was born in 1917 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1946, 
she graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in education 
and subsequently began working as a teacher in Cleveland Public 
Schools. While teaching, Judge Burke also attended Cleveland Marshall 
College of Law. She graduated with her law degree and passed the Ohio 
Bar in 1951.
  Soon thereafter, Judge Burke served as the assistant attorney general 
for three years before being appointed to the Ohio Industrial 
Commission. Judge Burke was appointed to the Cleveland Municipal Court 
in 1969. She served on the bench until her retirement in 1987.
  In addition to her trailblazing career as a judge, Judge Burke was 
deeply involved in the Greater Cleveland community. She worked with the 
Cleveland Restoration Society, City Planning Commission, Cleveland 
Foundation African-American Outreach Advisory Committee, National 
Council of Negro Women, City Club and National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People. Judge Burke also set up the Lillian 
Walker Burke Scholarship for students of John Marshall College of Law.

[[Page E548]]

  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring the memory of 
the Honorable Lillian W. Burke. Her career will continue to serve as an 
inspiration for years to come.

                          ____________________