[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 66 (Thursday, April 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MAUDE FORD LEE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2019

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor 
my dear friend, Maude Ford Lee. Maude was a long-time civil rights 
activist and truly one of a kind. A native of Tallahassee, Maude spent 
her life advocating for equality. She participated in a bus boycott in 
her hometown in the 1950s. That action led Tallahassee to desegregate 
its public transit. She moved to West Palm Beach in the 1960s and spent 
decades working as a manager of county social programs. Among her many 
accomplishments, she was the first black candidate elected to the Palm 
Beach County Commission, where she served for ten years. Her husband, 
the late Percy Lee, ran the Urban League of Palm Beach County.
  Maude lobbied for the creation of commission districts as the only 
way for a black candidate to win a seat in a mostly white county. 
Through her efforts, single-member districts were created, expanding 
opportunities for African Americans to run and win in those districts.
  After stepping away from politics, Maude became president of the West 
Palm Beach chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (NAACP). In that role, she continued her advocacy for 
the needs of the African American community, working to address 
inequities locally and nationwide. She reveled in another first, the 
2008 election of Barack Obama as president. ``This is our greatest 
accomplishment,'' she told the Palm Beach Post at the time.
  Madam Speaker, if there was such a thing as a community servant, than 
Maude Ford Lee was it. She will always be remembered for her tireless 
efforts to bring resources to Florida and the African American 
community. Her legacy of public service speaks for itself, and she will 
be dearly missed by all who knew her. I offer my deepest condolences to 
Maude's family, during this extremely difficult time.

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