[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 90 (Thursday, May 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E688-E689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF THERESA TURNER BURROUGHS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 2019

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary life and legacy of the late Theresa Turner Burroughs. 
Mrs. Burroughs, a champion of the right to vote, was a beloved member 
of the Hale County community who, through grace, grit and love, helped 
move her hometown of Greensboro, Alabama towards a more just and equal 
future. Sadly, Mrs. Burroughs passed away on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 
the age of 89.
  Mrs. Burroughs was the youngest of eleven children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Napoleon and Mattie Turner near Moundville, Alabama on August 14, 
1928. Due to a flood, the family moved to Greensboro, Alabama, where 
she remained throughout her life. Mrs. Burroughs graduated from Hale 
County Training School in 1946 and later from the Bestita School of 
Beauty. She was married to the late Walter Kenneth Burroughs, who 
retired from the United States Army. Mrs. Burroughs was the mother of 
four children: Paula Renee, Kathy Sue, Leslie Erroll and Toni Teresa.
  From a young age, Mrs. Burroughs became fascinated by the right to 
vote and wondered why that right was solely given to white citizens in 
the Black Belt. During the Jim Crow era, the board of registrars at 
Alabama's Hale County Courthouse prevented African Americans from 
registering to vote. Undeterred, she went to the Hale County Courthouse 
to register to vote on the first and third Monday of each month, where 
she sometimes waited for hours before being tested with irrelevant 
questions. She was quizzed on how many red jelly beans there were in a 
jar and was asked to recite the second line of the second paragraph of 
the U.S. Constitution and the American Creed, among other tasks, but 
was denied the right to vote time after time. After two long years, 
Mrs. Burroughs' determination paid off, and she successfully registered 
to vote.
  Mrs. Burroughs carried these experiences with her throughout her 
life. Mrs. Burroughs said it was a joy to finally be able to cast her 
ballot but remarked that it should not have been so difficult to do so. 
She knew just how precious her right to vote was and worked hard to 
ensure her own voice and those of all the citizens in the Greensboro 
community were counted at the ballot box. She never missed a chance to 
exercise that sacred right, voting in elections at every level.
  Mrs. Burroughs showed the depth of her bravery and dedication to the 
Civil Rights Movement when she marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 
Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 along with hundreds of other Foot 
Soldiers to protest for their right to vote. That day, Bloody Sunday, 
she was brutally beaten and arrested by state troopers and sheriff's 
deputies.
  Mrs. Burroughs is best known for her stewardship of the ``Safe House 
Museum'' in Greensboro, Alabama, which she founded in 2002. The museum 
is located in the same house where local residents hid Rev. Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. from the Ku Klux Klan on a visit to West Alabama in 
1968. The Safe House Museum is a reminder of the pivotal role the Black 
Belt of Alabama played in the Civil Rights Movement. It houses 
photographs, biographies and historical artifacts to document and 
educate future generations about the local struggle for the right to 
vote. The walls of the museum are lined with mug shots of Foot 
Soldiers, including one of Mrs. Burroughs holding a towel and glasses 
to protect her eyes from tear gas. A black ''X'' police

[[Page E689]]

drew on the bottom of her mug shot signifies her status as a leader 
among the marchers.
  Mrs. Burroughs always sought greater equality in her community and 
demanded to be treated equally, igniting her career and passion for 
advocacy. Never one to back down, she continued her efforts as an 
activist leading the Hale County Civic Improvement League, one of the 
oldest grassroots civil rights organizations in the nation. The 
organization was instrumental in sparking change in Greensboro and Hale 
County by soliciting and supporting minority candidates to run for 
local office, including city council, county commission, sheriff, 
school board and more.
  She remained engaged and active in her community throughout her life 
and helped elect Greensboro's first African American Mayor, John Owens. 
Her exemplary reputation and prominence in Hale County drove many 
political candidates, both local and regional, to seek her council and 
support for their campaigns. Mrs. Burroughs also was instrumental in 
securing various programs for the city of Greensboro and Hale County, 
and led the charge to rename Depot Street to Martin Luther King Drive.
  On a personal note, I am deeply honored that I got to know Mrs. 
Burroughs as one of the real matriarchs of the Civil Rights Movement in 
Alabama. Mrs. Burroughs was instrumental as the keeper of the archives 
surrounding the role that Greensboro, Alabama played protecting Dr. 
King from the KKK in 1968. As founder of the Safe House Museum, it was 
because of her efforts that future generations will learn about the 
sacrifices and bravery of so many known and unknown Foot Soldiers for 
justice. Mrs. Burroughs honored me by attending my first election night 
victory party in November 2010 in Selma, when I was elected Alabama's 
first black Congresswoman. I celebrated her as one of the ``Black Women 
Pioneers in Alabama'' that night. So many of us stand on the broad 
shoulders of Mrs. Theresa Burroughs that her bright light will always 
glow through the many lives that she has impacted.
  On behalf of Alabama's 7th Congressional District, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in remembering the exemplary life of Theresa 
Turner Burroughs, a civil rights icon and a true American heroine, who 
helped change Alabama and the entire nation for the better. May we 
celebrate the totality of her life today and honor her great 
contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

                          ____________________