[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN RECOGNITION OF THE 1963 LEESBURG STOCKADE WOMEN

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 26, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize fifteen 
outstanding women who at a young age had the courage to take a stand 
for their rights and were imprisoned for it, enduring horrific 
conditions and circumstances while confined within a Civil War-era 
abandoned stockade located deep in the backwoods of Leesburg, Georgia. 
These brave women will be honored at the 1963 Leesburg Stockade Women's 
Honor Program. This exceptional tribute, sponsored by the Boys and 
Girls Club of Americus-Sumter County, will be held on Saturday, April 
4, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at Georgia Southwestern State University in 
Americus, Georgia.
  Fifty-two years past, during a dark moment in our nation's history, 
fifteen valiant African-American adolescent girls from Americus, 
Georgia were unjustly imprisoned for their involvement in a peaceful 
Civil Rights protest in their hometown. Taken to the abandoned 
stockade, these girls, who were between 11 and 15 years of age, spent 
close to two months in conditions that were, quite simply, 
reprehensible. Deprived of clean water, adequate nutrition, proper 
hygiene, contact with their families, and other basic comforts, these 
innocent girls suffered acute physical and psychological turmoil as a 
result of their struggle for equality. Such wounds do not heal easily 
or quickly, yet even as cuts have turned to scars, these passionate and 
fiercely determined women have overcome.
  With this resiliency in mind, it is my privilege to announce that 
these devoted citizens stand together, ever courageous, to share their 
stories with the public for the first time. Ten individuals--Dr. 
Shirley Green-Reese, Willie Mae Smith-Davis, Dr. Carol Barner Seay, 
Melinda Jones Williams, Verna Hollis, Billie Jo Thornton Allen, Diane 
Dorsey-Bowens, Lula Westbrooks Griffin, Laura Ruff Saunders and 
Emmarene Kaigler Streeter--will speak of their experiences at the 
event, bringing vibrant testimony to the turmoil and triumphs of the 
Civil Rights Movement. The remaining five women--Pearl Brown, Mattie 
Crittenden, Sandra Russell Mansfield, Annie Lou Ragans Laster, and 
Gloria Westbrooks Breedlove--are now deceased but will also be honored 
and remembered during the ceremony.
  A number of local, state, and national figures, including Americus 
Mayor Barry Blount; Senior Vice President of the Boys and Girls Club of 
America, Dr. Damon A. Williams; and Museum Specialist at the National 
Museum of African American History and Culture, Deborah Tulani Salahu-
Din, will be present to commemorate the outstanding fortitude of these 
remarkable women. Terrible though it was, their ordeal continues to 
spread awareness for the critical nature of Civil Rights across the 
country and thankfully, their trials have not been in vain.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in paying tribute 
to the enduring spirits, the dignity, and the impact of these fifteen 
valiant women from Americus, Georgia. They are living proof that the 
occurrences of the past survive within us today. Let us always be 
grateful to the 1963 Leesburg Stockade Women who paved the way for a 
better today and a brighter tomorrow for all Americans.

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