[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF RATIBU JACOCKS SHADIDI

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                          HON. NORMA J. TORRES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 17, 2015

  Mrs. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ratibu Jacocks 
Shadidi, who passed away on December 10, 2015 at the age of 72.
  Ratibu was an active member of the community who provided great 
service to the residents of the Inland Empire through his compassionate 
nature and commitment to promote the welfare of others. His service to 
the public began at an early age when he joined the United States Army 
in 1961. Later, upon moving to Riverside in the 1970s, he worked as a 
Field Representative for California State Senator Ruben Ayala and 
helped many in the community receive assistance from state agencies. He 
then operated a local firm and became known for publishing a directory 
of enterprises operated by women and minorities, which is distributed 
throughout California to promote small businesses.
  A man of faith, Ratibu taught Sunday school at the Temple Missionary 
Baptist Church in San Bernardino. He is credited with inspiring several 
of his peers to become spiritual leaders and was known for seeing 
things in people that they couldn't see in themselves. Ratibu also is 
known in the community for forming the Inland Area Kwanzaa Group, and 
had hosted the annual Kwanzaa Karamu for more than two decades. In 
2007, he published a memoir in which he describes how his belief system 
helped guide him through difficult times in his life.
  For his contributions to the community and for his many other 
achievements, I would like to honor Ratibu Jacocks Shadidi and his 
family. While Ratibu will truly be missed by residents of the Inland 
Empire, his legacy will continue through all of those that knew him. He 
is survived by his wife of 34 years, former-California State 
Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, and their three daughters.

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