[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 22 (Monday, February 8, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             DELANO STEWART

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 8, 2016

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
an extraordinary leader and pillar of the Tampa Bay legal community, 
Mr. Delano Stewart.
  Delano Stewart retired in July 2015 after an illustrious 50-year 
legal career in the state of Florida. A graduate of Hillsborough County 
public schools, Mr. Stewart went on to matriculate from Morehouse 
College and Howard University Law School. His memorable career began as 
the first African-American Assistant Public Defender in Hillsborough 
County's history. In 1970, he went on to open the first integrated law 
firm in the state of Florida. In addition to his legal work, Mr. 
Stewart was the first African-American elected to the Board of 
Directors of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and the first 
African-American member of the Rough Riders civic club.
  Mr. Stewart's memorable career was shaped by many stalwart figures in 
the civil rights movement. At the age of 12, inspired by a visit from 
Thurgood Marshall, who was in Tampa as an NAACP attorney assisting in 
the African-American teachers' campaign for equal pay, Mr. Stewart 
desired to become a lawyer. His passion for the civil rights movement 
was further stoked upon traveling to Washington, DC for Dr. Martin 
Luther King Jr.'s ``I Have a Dream'' speech. Additionally, Mr. Stewart 
is proud to champion Garland Stewart, the first African-American 
administrator in Hillsborough County school district history who played 
a key role in integrating the district, as the greatest influence on 
his life.
  Beyond his legal career, he founded The Delano S. Stewart Diversity 
Award which is given each year to an individual for lifetime 
achievements in improving the lives of African-Americans and promoting 
diversity in the legal profession.
  During this new chapter of his life, Mr. Stewart plans on spending 
more time with his wife and their six children and eight grandchildren 
as well as working on his novel. In Delano Stewart's own words he is 
not retiring, rather he is finding new ways to help people with his 
specialized legal training. Mr. Speaker, I join the Tampa Bay community 
in honoring Mr. Delano Stewart for his lifelong commitment to fairness 
and justice for all.

                          ____________________