[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 23, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF REV. HERMAN C. McCRAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 23, 2013

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay to tribute 
the life of the Rev. Herman C. McCray, who died on April 16, 2013, at 
the age of 72. Rev. McCray was a resident of Riviera Beach, Florida and 
a 1959 graduate of Roosevelt High School. He was a civil rights leader 
and founder of McCray's Backyard BBQ. Additionally, he was a veteran of 
the United States Air Force, and an assistant pastor at Greater Bethel 
Primitive Baptist Church in Riviera Beach.
  Education was very important to Rev. McCray. He worked very hard to 
try to prevent the closing of Roosevelt High School in 1970, when it 
became a Middle School.
  Rev. McCray will be remembered by his friends and family as ``a good 
talker and a good listener,'' and someone who ``wanted everyone treated 
equally.'' Furthermore, in 2010, the bridge on Congress Avenue that 
connects Riviera Beach to West Palm Beach was dedicated in his honor.
  Mr. Speaker, Rev. McCray was truly loved by his family and friends. 
He is survived by his wife, Lillian, a retired schoolteacher, his sons, 
Derrick McCray, Sr., Demetrius McCray and Herman McCray III and a 
sister, Cynthia Morrow.
  He is somebody who loved his community, and fought all of his life 
for the betterment of humanity. Rev. McCray was a great friend to me, 
and will be dearly missed.

                          ____________________