[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 85 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S3836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        REMEMBERING JOHN D. WRAY

 Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, today I wish to honor a former 
Tuskegee University professor whose efforts to support this country 
during the First World War, with the help of the hard-working young 
people he recruited for agricultural clubs, have gone largely 
unacknowledged until recently.
  After the United States entered World War I in April of 1917, 
Professor John D. Wray left his position at Tuskegee University and 
relocated to North Carolina to aid in the war effort. As a professor 
specializing in agricultural science, Wray utilized his unique skills 
to help grow food for servicemembers fighting abroad. He partnered with 
Black county agents to organize and encourage African-American farmers' 
children to join agricultural clubs, which became known as the Saturday 
Service League. Wray even created a newspaper, the Rural Messenger, 
which was advertised as ``the only Negro farm journal in the world.''
  In the first issue, Wray wrote that the children ``were told why they 
should engage in this work as a necessary defense for their country; 
that they could greatly assist by growing food to feed the boys who had 
gone to the trenches.'' In just 1 year's time, Wray had increased 
participation in North Carolina agricultural clubs tenfold, growing 
enrollment from 1,400 to more than 14,000. The Saturday Service League 
produced more than 17,000 chickens, 30,000 eggs, 23,000 pounds of pork, 
700 bushels of wheat, 500 bushels of peas, 1,800 bushels of peanuts, 32 
bales of cotton, 45,000 bushels of corn, and 700 bushels of potatoes in 
a single year.
  Even after the war ended in 1919, many of the youth were inspired by 
Wray's patriotism and continued to work in the clubs to help feed the 
hungry and displaced peoples of Europe. By World War II, the clubs were 
nicknamed the ``Victory Volunteers.''
  Born in 1889, Wray grew up on a tobacco farm near Durham and moved to 
Greensboro, NC, to attend the Agricultural and Technical College, where 
he received his degree in agricultural science. There he met his wife 
and developed a passion for community organizing. Utilizing the 
agricultural skills he learned at the college, Wray taught the youth he 
organized modern farming techniques that increased yields 10 times 
over, actively improving the utility of each farmer he encountered. In 
1915, the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station offered him a 
job with a salary of $1,200 per year, making him the first African-
American agent for the North Carolina Extension Service. He also became 
an advocate for young Black men who were mistreated while serving their 
country in military service.
  While many wartime stories focused on the front lines of combat, it 
is equally important to recognize Americans who worked to support them. 
Professor John D. Wray knew exactly what he could do to maximize his 
support for the United States in one of our greatest times of need. I 
learned of Professor Wray through his granddaughter, Kathryn Green, who 
now resides in Denver, CO. She and her family take great pride in his 
contributions to our Nation's war effort during World War I. I join 
them and all Americans today in offering our gratitude and thanks to 
Professor Wray's outstanding commitment to country, community, and the 
agricultural sciences.

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