[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO ISAAC JOE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 2015

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Isaac C. 
Joe on the occasion of his upcoming 100th birthday. As a soldier, 
educator, and civic leader, Mr. Joe has devoted his life to public 
service, and I join many in his community in wishing him a happy 
birthday.
  Born on June 24, 1915, Mr. Joe grew up in Thomastown, South Carolina, 
a small town in Lee County. As an African American in the Jim Crow 
South, he had to walk five miles each way to a school that was only 
open seven months of the year, while the white schools remained in 
session for nine. He persevered to work his way through Morris College, 
from which he graduated in 1940. Mr. Joe has been dedicated to his alma 
mater ever since, donating 83 acres of land to the college in 2013.
  Mr. Joe began his teaching career in Lee County immediately after 
college. But after just one year in the classroom, he put his teaching 
career on hold to serve in the United States Army. He was in basic 
training when Pearl Harbor was bombed and rose to the rank of Master 
Sergeant, working at regimental headquarters. Although Mr. Joe's six 
years in the Army took him away from his students, he put his teaching 
skills to good use, teaching some of his fellow soldiers how to read, 
write, and sign their names so that they could collect their paychecks.
  In 1954, seven years after Mr. Joe returned to the classroom, the 
United States Supreme Court issued its Brown v. Board of Education 
decision outlawing segregation in public schools. Inspired by this 
decision, Mr. Joe returned to school himself, earning his master's 
degree from South Carolina State College in 1956. He returned to the 
Lee County school system in 1957 as principal of the newly built Mount 
Pleasant High School in Elliott, where he served until his retirement 
in 1977.
  Mr. Joe's community involvement has continued in the decades since 
his retirement. In 1980, he was elected to a term in the South Carolina 
House of Representatives, serving from 1981 to 1983. He is an active 
member of St. Mark's Baptist Church in Bishopville where he has held 
various leadership roles and spearheaded numerous committees and 
projects.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in wishing Mr. 
Joe a very happy 100th birthday. It is a remarkable milestone befitting 
a remarkable man. I wish him good health and Godspeed.

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