[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 30, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1269-E1270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING LEROY R. COLES UPON HIS RETIREMENT

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                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2014

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge and honor the 
unparalleled work of Leroy R. Coles--former Buffalo Urban League CEO. 
Mr. Coles' work, knowledge, and expertise have left a mountainous, 
positively-influential footprint not only on the Western New York Area, 
but nationwide.
   Mr. Coles received much of his early social and cultural development 
as a participant in the Buffalo Urban League programs--which strive to 
enhance education and youth empowerment, economics, health and quality 
of life, civic engagement, as well as civil rights and racial justice.
   During the historic and tumultuous times of the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. 
Coles bravely and actively participated in the March on Washington and 
continued to march for the rights of others through the 1990s. 
Furthermore, Mr. Coles was especially active in promoting peace and 
racial harmony during and after the 1960 riots and the desegregation of 
public schools in Buffalo, New York.
   Upon returning to the Western New York area in 1972, Mr. Coles was 
appointed as president and chief executive officer to the Buffalo Urban 
League--the same establishment where he began laying his foundation of 
ethics. Mr. Coles led the Buffalo Urban League through a variety of 
locations, steadily building programs and services to meet the emerging 
needs of the minority citizens of Buffalo, New York and Erie County.
   Mr. Coles was especially successful in leading the Buffalo Urban 
League in grant development at the national and state level in order to 
bring new services to the Western New York community, resulting in 
additional project initiatives such as the small business loan program 
for women and minorities who were rejected by banks. Additionally, Mr. 
Coles advocated for the development of Advanced Vocational Education 
and Progressive Advanced Vocational Education and Exploration programs 
for young at-risk students seeking to improve their academic and social 
skills.
   The accomplishments of Leroy R. Coles are extraordinary and uniquely 
admirable. From being the first African-American trustee of Erie

[[Page E1270]]

Community College, to president of the National Urban League's 
Association of Executives, or to his induction into the Buffalo Urban 
League's Quarter Century Club, Mr. Coles' work ethic shines brightly 
through.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in acknowledging the 
commendable hard work and positive influence that Leroy R. Coles has 
brought to Western New York and the nation as a whole. I encourage 
Americans to use Mr. Coles as an exemplar in how to carry one's self as 
an individual. Furthermore, I am grateful for the hard work that Mr. 
Coles has continued to put forward, making Western New York as a whole 
a better place for all.

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