[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING JOCELYN (JOCIE) WURZBURG ON RECEIVING THE 2014 BE THE 
                         DREAM MLK LEGACY AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 16, 2014

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Jocelyn (Jocie) 
Wurzburg on receiving the 2014 Be the Dream MLK Legacy Award. This 
special award is given to those individuals whose lives have ``embodied 
the spirit and legacy of service, sacrifice and hope'' that 
characterized the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As a women's 
rights and civil rights activist, it is fitting that this award be 
bestowed upon Jocelyn Wurzburg in recognition of her accomplishments 
and contributions.
   Jocelyn Wurzburg was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1940, and 
received her B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Rhodes College in 
1965. While she had always been keenly aware of injustices toward 
minority groups, it was not until the assassination of Dr. King in 1968 
that Jocie became moved to take a stand. Later that year, she founded 
the Memphis Chapter of the Panel of American Women to ``discuss the 
nature of prejudice and the effects it has on our fellow citizens.'' 
Over the course of 10 years, the panel met with over 100,000 people and 
slowly changed attitudes on race in Memphis.
  Jocie was also important in helping to prevent a second sanitation 
strike in Memphis. She and a group of women organized as the Concerned 
Women of Memphis and Shelby County (CWMSC) to encourage the City 
Council and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
Employees (AFSCME) to ``negotiate in good faith to avoid a strike.'' 
While city officials at the time denied CWMSC's role in preventing a 
strike, Rhodes College history professor Gail Murray says that the city 
negotiated on all the terms set forth by CWMSC. Then AFSCME national 
director, Jerry Wurf, confided in Jocelyn, saying that it was CWMSC 
that warded off a second strike.
   In 1971, Jocelyn was appointed by Governor Winfield Dunn to the 
Tennessee Human Rights Commission (THRC) and immediately began working 
on language that became the Tennessee Human Rights Act, which passed 
the Tennessee General Assembly in 1978. This was the first anti-
discrimination law in the state of Tennessee covering employment, 
housing and public accommodations, and it gave THRC the power to 
investigate, mediate and litigate claims of discrimination for the 
first time. She was reappointed to the commission in 2007 by Governor 
Phil Bredesen.
   After Jocie successfully worked to avoid a second sanitation strike 
and pass the Tennessee Human Rights Act, she received her J.D. from the 
University of Memphis School of Law in 1979, and worked to negotiate 
marital dissolution agreements. Inspired by the belief that mediation 
was an effective way to avert crises, she gained over 600 hours of 
Mediation Training and opened Memphis' first mediation firm in 1984. 
She established the Mediation Association of Tennessee and it has since 
spread statewide. Her clients include the Shelby County Government, 
United States Postal Service, the EEOC Panel and the Department of 
Justice ADA Claims.
   Jocelyn Wurburg has received numerous appointments and awards 
throughout her career, including an appointment to the U.S. Commission 
on Civil Rights and an appointment by President Gerald Ford to the U.S. 
Commission for the Observance of International Women's Year. There is 
no doubt that her work is worthy of this award named after Reverend Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join 
me in congratulating Jocelyn (Jocie) Wurzburg on being awarded the 2014 
Be the Dream MLK Legacy Award.

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