[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LEGACY OF BETTY LIGGINS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 21, 2019

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Betty Liggins, 
a nurse and community civil rights activist, whose work tackling 
rampant crime and drugs in her neighborhood helped create a safe 
environment for families to thrive and grow.
  Although she lost her final battle on May 8, 2019, her legacy as a 
nurse working out of her mobile health clinic and helping those in need 
lives on. Ms. Liggins' service was inspired by a chance meeting with 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a civil rights march in Chicago, where 
Dr. King encouraged her to go back to school, finish her education, and 
help others. Inspired by his words, she attended the University of 
Arizona where she received her degree and became a Licensed Practical 
Nurse (LPN) and vowed to use her talents to champion the causes of the 
voiceless.
  Ms. Liggins received many awards for her service to our community. 
She received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ``Drum Major Award'' and 
the National Jefferson Award in 1993 which was awarded in our nation's 
capital. Her activism and leadership helped lift our community beyond 
what we could ever imagine, and she was recognized as one of the 25 
Most Influential African Americans in Southern Arizona.
  Ms. Liggins also took pride in her political activism and worked 
tirelessly to register voters and use the ballot box for change. An 
active member of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (NAACP), she continually advocated for criminal justice 
reform to give incarcerated young African Americans a chance at a 
better life. Bearing witness to the blatant racism and prejudice of her 
youth endowed her with the grit and determination to ensure that that 
mistakes and trauma of the past were not inflicted on future 
generations.
  In that vein, she took on the education system and advocated for 
better policies to improve the graduation rates of African American 
students. Instead of being discouraged by a justice system that 
sometimes turned a critical eye to the poor, and a health system that 
put corporate interests over the health of her community, she remained 
motivated to create positive change.
   Betty Liggins didn't hold back. Her life is an example of how 
ordinary citizens with ordinary means can always stand up against the 
evils of injustice and poverty and accomplish extraordinary things.

                          ____________________