[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 142 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H8078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BARNETT GRIER

  (Mr. TAKANO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Barnett 
Grier, who lived to be 99 years old and passed away last week.
  The son of a slave, Mr. Grier grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
He was a physicist, a businessman, a teacher, and an author. But it was 
perhaps the title of civil rights activist for which he was best known.
  In 1951, Mr. Grier published his autobiography, entitled, ``Trek to 
Equality,'' which detailed his family's struggles in Riverside, 
California. When his family was transferred to our community to form 
the west coast division of the Naval Weapons Research Center, the 
African American families, including Mr. Grier's, did not receive 
assistance in their move.
  He continued to work in Riverside and later founded the Habitat for 
Humanity, created a scholarship for local students, and established an 
advisory committee on African American students.
  Barnett Grier affected the lives of countless residents in the Inland 
Empire. Because of his passion and his dedication to our community, his 
memory will undoubtedly live on.

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