[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 135 (Wednesday, August 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5614-S5615]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING RONALD V. DELLUMS

  Ms. HARRIS. Mr. President, our Nation mourns the loss of one of 
California's greatest civil rights leaders, whose nearly three decades 
in Congress and many more years in public service helped to shape the 
lives of countless individuals both at home and abroad.
  Ron Dellums was born the son of a longshoreman and raised in Oakland, 
CA, a community he would later come to represent both as a Member of 
Congress and as mayor. A 1953 graduate of Oakland Technical High 
School, Ron enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1954, where he served for 2 
years, before graduating from San Francisco State College in 1960 with 
a degree in psychology. Two years later, Ron received a master's degree 
in social work from the University of California, Berkeley.
  Immediately following graduate school, Ron immersed himself in public 
service, first through a series of social work jobs at the California 
Department of Mental Hygiene, and, eventually, as an elected member of 
the Berkeley City Council in 1967. As councilman, Ron became an 
outspoken advocate for historically underrepresented and underserved 
communities in Berkeley and Oakland, in addition to becoming an anti-
war advocate.
  The convergence of the free speech and anti-war movements in the Bay 
Area in the 1960s drove Ron to launch a campaign for Congress on a 
platform for civil and human rights. He was elected to Congress in 1971 
as the first African American from northern California. For the next 27 
years, Ron

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waged battle on a number of social issues plaguing distressed 
communities, including increased funding for education, jobs, housing, 
healthcare, and combatting infant mortality and lack of access to 
affordable housing.
  As the first Black chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, 
Ron forcefully advocated peace through diplomacy and disarmament in the 
midst of debates on the Vietnam war and excessive military spending. 
Ron also became a vocal opponent against LGBTQ discrimination in the 
military. A cofounder of the Congressional Black Caucus, Ron advocated 
passionately to end American support for the apartheid regime in South 
Africa, eventually sponsoring legislation to bring forth economic 
sanctions and divestment by American companies and U.S. citizens.
  In 1998, Ron left Congress and remained active as a local and 
national civil rights leader. His departure from public service, 
however, was short lived, and in 2007, Ron was elected mayor of the 
city of Oakland in the midst of our Nation's worst economic recession 
since the Great Depression. As mayor, Ron secured a record number of 
Federal grants for the city of Oakland, supporting major infrastructure 
projects, including port developments at the Oakland Army Base and 
public transportation wins for California's East Bay.
  Ron was a dear friend, trailblazer, and champion for civil and human 
rights, whose service and dedication to the United States will forever 
be cherished and remembered. His legacy will continue to inspire past, 
present, and future Members of Congress who dare to fight for what is 
right in the face of political unpopularity and resounding odds.
  We wish every Californian and those whose lives were touched by Ron 
peace during this difficult time, especially his wife, Cynthia, and his 
children, Michael, Pamela, Piper, Brandon, and Erik.

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