[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 163 (Tuesday, November 15, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1473-E1474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING WILLIAM BYRON RUMFORD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 15, 2016

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of 
an outstanding member of the East Bay community the Honorable William 
Byron Rumford.
  He was born in Courtland, Arizona in 1915. As a child, he shined 
shoes, sold newspapers, and graduated from George Washington Carver 
High School in Phoenix in 1926. After finishing his studies at 
Sacramento Junior College in 1931, he earned his pharmacy degree at the 
University of California, San Francisco. After he graduated, he took a 
number of exams for employment and was discriminated against at every 
turn. He fought his way through by appealing his oral examination, 
ultimately becoming a member of the California Board of Pharmacy.
  Mr. Rumford worked in the Bay Area as an assistant pharmacist and as 
a venereal disease investigator for the state. In 1942, he co-invested 
in a pharmacy on Sacramento Street in Berkeley, which he later 
purchased and renamed Rumford's Pharmacy (now known as the Rumford 
Clinic). Later, he served as the director of the Oakland chapter of the 
Red Cross, president of the East Bay Health Association, and was on the 
region's Democratic Central Committee.
  Mr. Rumford went on to lead an impactful and significant political 
career, and ultimately became the first African American legislator

[[Page E1474]]

from Northern California. Inspired by the disparities he witnessed in 
his pharmaceutical career, he joined the Berkeley Emergency Housing 
Committee in 1942 and the Berkeley Rent Board in 1944. In addition, he 
worked with the unofficial Berkeley Interracial Committee which was 
intended to ease tensions between the Black community of Berkeley and 
White Southerners who were moving in. He was also a member of the 
Appomattox Club, which was one of the first African American political 
organizations in the country; there was little hope for an African 
American candidate at that time, so the organization supported White 
candidates who they believed were right on political issues affecting 
the African American community.
  Mr. Rumford did not seek to become a professional politician; 
instead, he was a neighborhood pharmacist who was passionate about 
addressing the biggest issues impacting his community. Eventually, Mr. 
Rumford ran for election in the California Assembly and won in 1949. At 
first he represented mostly African American areas of Oakland and a 
portion of South Berkeley. In 1960, however, the district was enlarged 
to include more of Berkeley and Albany. As an Assemblymember, Mr. 
Rumford produced several effective pieces of legislation. In 1949, he 
worked tirelessly to pass The Bill to End Discrimination in the 
National Guard, which lessened racial discrimination in the National 
Guard. He also introduced legislation early in his Assembly tenure 
pertaining to fair trade, small businesses, child polio immunizations, 
atomic energy conversion, and environmental pollution.
  Today, Mr. Rumford is best remembered for three pieces of 
legislation: the California Fair Employment Practices Act of 1959, 
which lessoned the impact of race on hiring decisions; the Good 
Samaritan Act of 1959, which garnered national attention as the first 
law in the country to protect professionals in emergency situations; 
and the law that bore his name: the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963, 
which failed to survive a referendum challenge, but was upheld by the 
Supreme Court of the United States. This act served as California's 
main enforcement authority against race-based housing discrimination, 
by way of housing covenants, until the passage of the Federal Civil 
Rights Act of 1968.
  His tremendous legacy paved the way for civil rights legislation 
nationally, and has been beautifully honored by the William Byron 
Rumford Memorial Project. This project is led by a diverse group of 
community members who see the rapid changing of South Berkeley's 
demographics as a ripe time to honor his leadership, activism, and 
community, while preserving the neighborhood's history.
  On a personal note, William was a trailblazer. Had it not been for 
him, I never would have been elected to the CA legislature. I owe him a 
debt of gratitude and I will be forever grateful.
  Today, California's 13th Congressional District salutes the legacy of 
the Honorable William Byron Rumford. His contributions have truly 
impacted countless lives through the East Bay area and the country. I 
join all of Mr. Rumford's loved ones and the community members involved 
in the William Byron Rumford Memorial Project in celebrating his 
incredible life and legacy.

                          ____________________