[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 113 (Thursday, July 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1335-E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MR. VAN WHITE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2012

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Van White and to 
recognize his dedicated service to the great state of Minnesota.
  Born on August 2, 1924, Mr. White was a lifelong resident of north 
Minneapolis. Mr. White first learned how to lead at the age of 10 when 
the death of his father left him to help raise his four younger 
siblings. Upon graduating from Patrick Henry High School in 1943, Mr. 
White entered the work force as a construction worker and later 
construction site supervisor for the City of Minneapolis where he 
remained for the next 18 years. He was then appointed to be the acting 
assistant manager for the Northside Branch of the Minnesota Department 
of Economic Security, now known as the Minnesota Department of 
Employment and Economic Development.
  Mr. White was passionate about uplifting his community. He was active 
in organizations

[[Page E1336]]

that focused on economic development and crime reduction, while also 
advocating for the development of community centers and parks. In 1971, 
Mr. White founded the Willard Housing Organization, one of the first 
groups in Minneapolis that sought government loans to repair and 
rehabilitate the impoverished areas of Minneapolis.
  His passion, combined with experience he gained as a community 
activist, led Mr. White to enter the political arena, where he became 
the first African American elected to the city council of Minneapolis 
in 1979. During the ten years Mr. White served on the Minneapolis City 
Council where he was the chair of the Government Operations Committee 
and Vice Chair of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency.
  Mr. White continued to support his community until he passed away on 
July 14, 1993. Mr. White is survived by his wife of nearly forty years, 
Mrs. Javanese White, their daughter Javoni, son Perri and granddaughter 
Kapria.
  Mr. White dedicated over fifty years of his life to community 
activism. He served on the board of nearly thirty economic and 
community development programs, and left behind a legacy of uplifting 
his community. Throughout his life, Mr. White was viewed as a 
connector, someone who could take ideas to improve the communities of 
Minneapolis and put those ideas into action. It is only fitting today 
the Van White Memorial Bridge connects North Minneapolis to downtown 
Minneapolis in his honor. I urge the citizens of the United States to 
follow in the steps of Van White, and find ways to serve and improve 
their own communities.
  I truly appreciate everything Mr. White did for Minneapolis, and I 
thank him and his family for their dedication and service.

                          ____________________