[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 3, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE LIFE OF THE HONORABLE KENNETH A. GIBSON

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONALD M. PAYNE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 3, 2019

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in 
honoring the life and legacy of a great man, a visionary leader, and a 
trailblazer--Kenneth A. Gibson.
  In 1970, voters in Newark, New Jersey, elected Mr. Gibson as our 
city's first Black mayor. He went on to serve four terms as mayor. 
Mayor Gibson passed away on March 19 at the age of 86. Mayor Gibson 
walked into Newark City Hall during a tumultuous time in the city's 
history. He was steadfast in fighting to ensure that, in his words, 
``wherever American cities are going, Newark is going to get there 
first.'' Mayor Gibson brought home federal funds to help improve public 
housing. He made improvements to public health services, which led to 
reductions in infant mortality and tuberculosis. And Mayor Gibson 
helped start a revitalization of downtown Newark that continues today.
  Mayor Gibson's words, vision, and legacy will live on through the 
work of those who came after him. The modern development of Newark, New 
Jersey, cannot be separated from the legacy of Kenneth A. Gibson. It 
was his life and legacy that paved the way for transforming Newark.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the life of Newark, New 
Jersey's first Black Mayor, the Honorable Kenneth A. Gibson.

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