[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E451-E452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MR. ROGER GIVENS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2016

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. 
Roger Givens.
  Roger Givens was born and raised in the Sunflower County town, Rome, 
Mississippi. He

[[Page E452]]

is the seventh of eight children of the late Freddie and Lillie Davis 
Givens, Sr. Mr. Givens is 67 years old. He is currently employed with 
MINACT, Inc. as the Business & Community Liaison at the Finch-Henry Job 
Corps Center in Batesville, Mississippi, partially named after one of 
his mentors, the late civil rights leader, Dr. Aaron E. Henry and 
Governor Cliff Finch.
  Givens accepted his current position after a distinguished career 
with the Mississippi Employment Security Commission (now Mississippi 
Department of Employment Security). He retired from the Commission in 
2004 as the first African-American State Director of the Employment 
Service Division.
  Givens is currently serving in numerous local, state and regional 
organization positions, continuing his life long practice of serving 
his community. He is recognized amongst his family, his colleagues, and 
his community as a man of service and passion to help those in need and 
improve his community. Givens and his wife of ten years are now 
residents of Grenada, Mississippi. He is the father of three daughters 
and grandfather of seven. He is a member and Deacon of the Greater 
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Gore Springs, Mississippi.
  Givens attended and graduated from Hunter High School in Drew, 
Mississippi. After high school he attended and graduated from Coahoma 
Community College in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He continued his 
education at Jackson State University receiving his Bachelor of Science 
degree in 1969. Immediately after receiving his degree, Givens assisted 
his parents in accomplishing a long time goal of moving off a Sunflower 
County plantation to Clarksdale, Mississippi.
  Because of the Coahoma Community College president's knowledge of 
Givens and three other siblings, Givens' father was given a job at 
Coahoma Community College by the president upon a request by Givens and 
his older brother. While assisting his parents complete the move, 
Givens was hired as a Counselor by the Mississippi Employment Security 
Commission in Clarksdale. Being married to his hometown girlfriend 
while in college, Givens also assisted his mother-in-law and five in-
laws move off the same Sunflower County plantation to Clarksdale.
  Givens left the Mississippi Employment Security Commission after four 
months to teach in the Clarksdale Public School system. Since the 
school district was desegregated in the middle of the year, Givens was 
not immediately offered a contract for the next year because the school 
district was required to seek a balance of white-black teachers. He 
returned to the Employment Commission for the summer and committed to 
stay after a full time position was offered.
  After only one year in Clarksdale, Givens mother-in-law passed and he 
and wife accepted the responsibility of caring for the five in-laws 
left without parents. The in-laws, along with Givens three daughters, 
remained in the household together until each completed high school or 
moved on to join the workforce or military.
  After three years in Clarksdale, Givens lost his father to a heart 
attack. Givens committed to remaining in Clarksdale to be near his 
mother. Also, his work in the community, to include the Head Start 
program and the local chapter of the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People, was well under way and close ties had 
been developed with many local officials. The community involvement and 
encouragement from local officials, including Dr. Aaron Henry, resulted 
in Givens becoming active in state, regional and national advocacy 
groups for Head Start. He served several terms as President of the 
Mississippi Head Start Parents Association and was a founding member 
and two terms President of the National Head Start Parents Association.
  After working in a non-status position with the Employment Security 
Commission for approximately three (3) years, in 1972 Givens became the 
first African-American to receive a permanent status position in the 
Clarksdale office. In 1975 he was selected to enter the agency's 
Counseling Masters Program at Mississippi State University. The same 
year he was promoted and selected to start and be Coordinator of the 
Employment Security Commission's Ex-Offender Placement Program based at 
the Mississippi State Penitentiary. He received his Masters degree in 
Counseling from Mississippi State University in 1978.
  In 1980, Givens became the first African-American to be appointed the 
State MonitorAdvocate/Complaint Specialist. He relocated his family to 
Jackson to work in the Employment Security Commission's headquarters.
  In 1986, Givens was appointed the Manager of the Greenwood Employment 
Office, the first African-American to manage an office in the 
Mississippi delta. Within months of relocating his family from Jackson 
to Greenwood, Givens' family started receiving telephone threats from 
callers identified as the KKK advising him to leave the city because 
the position of manager was for whites. Acts of violence and damage to 
his home were committed in the following weeks. The threats and 
violence ended after an investigation by the local law enforcement and 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During the same year Givens' co-
workers elected him the first African-American to be president of the 
Mississippi Chapter of the International Association of Workforce 
Professionals (IAWP). During his term as president, the Chapter 
improved in employee participation and service to members, obtaining an 
international ranking of number 6, the highest in Chapter history. 
During his five years as the Greenwood Employment Office Manager, 
Givens was deeply involved in community organizations as the Chamber of 
Commerce and the Greenwood Voters League.
  In 1991, Givens was appointed the Employment Security Commission Area 
Supervisor for the Mississippi delta, the first African-American in the 
state to hold an Area Supervisor position. Partially, because of Givens 
commitment to staff development and equal opportunity, the minority 
office managers in the delta increased from 0 out of 9 to 6 out of 9 
during his tenure as Area Supervisor. After a reorganization of the 
Employment Service Division in 1996, Givens supervisory responsibility 
was expanded to include all of north Mississippi.
  Givens was appointed State Director of the Mississippi Employment 
Security Commission Employment Service Division in 2001. During his 
tenure in the position, he continued his commitment to staff 
development, teamwork, customer service and equal opportunity. This 
resulted in broad support within the Employment Service Division and a 
noticeable increase in minorities in management positions throughout 
the state.
  In 2005, after retiring from the state, Givens was hired by MINACT, 
INC., a minority owned company based in Jackson, Mississippi, upon the 
recommendation of a senior MINACT official, who was a former Head Start 
employee aware of Givens years of community involvement and career with 
the state. Givens considered it a blessing to be in a position to use 
the experience and knowledge from his life long career and community 
service to help the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center accomplish the mission 
of preparing youth and young adults for the workforce and life in 
general.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Roger 
Givens for his dedication to this great state.

                          ____________________