[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING BAXTER LEACH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 10, 2019

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mourn the passing of Baxter 
Leach, a hero of the historic 1968 Sanitation Workers Strike that 
brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis, where he was 
assassinated. Mr. Leach, 79, passed away on August 27. Born on 
September 12, 1939, in Schlater (Leflore County), Mississippi, he 
worked as a sharecropper from the age of 12. He came to Memphis for a 
better life, took a job no one wanted for starvation wages, and ended 
up making history. In 1968, Mr. Leach helped organize sanitation 
workers for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
Employees (AFSCME)-backed strike protesting the inhumane working 
conditions that resulted in two sanitation workers being crushed to 
death inside a garbage truck compactor. This was a significant event in 
the civil rights movement and drew national attention to the poor 
working conditions of sanitation employees in the South. He was always 
generous with his time, keeping the memory of the strike, Dr. King's 
assassination and its aftermath alive for students, labor historians 
and visitors to the historic Lorraine Motel which has been transformed 
into the National Civil Rights Museum. He often quoted Proverbs 22: ``a 
good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor 
rather than silver or gold.'' Mr. Leach was a voice for the dignity of 
all workers and an advocate for civil rights and equality. Just last 
year, he received the National Civil Rights Museum's Freedom Award and 
played a prominent role in the MLK50 events commemorating the 50th 
anniversary of the strike and Dr. King's assassination. In addition to 
his Freedom Award, Mr. Leach received the keys to the cities of Memphis 
and Jackson, Tennessee, and received recognition from Operation PUSH, 
the National Action Network, the International Brotherhood of 
Teamsters; the University of Memphis School of Law, Cossitt and 
Benjamin L. Hooks Libraries; and the Henry Logan Starks ``Lighting Our 
World'' Award from Memphis Theological Seminary. In 2011, he joined all 
the living 1968 sanitation workers in being inducted into the White 
House Hall of Fame by President Obama. On that same visit, he and his 
fellow strikers were inducted into the U.S. Department of Labor's Hall 
of Honor by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. Often sought out as a guest 
speaker, he typically finished his speeches with the unforgettable 
motto of the picketing strikers' placards: ``I AM A MAN.'' When he 
retired in 2005, Mr. Leach had worked for the City of Memphis for 43 
years. In 1984, he and his wife, Jimmie, established Melanie's Soul 
Food Restaurant which served the Mid-South until it was destroyed by 
fire in 2012. Melanie's was one of the absolute best soul food 
restaurants, and Mr. Leach served pastors and community leaders like 
they were royalty. After the disastrous fire, he and Jimmie established 
Girlee's, another great soul food restaurant. By the end of his life, 
he had worked with presidents, union organizers, academics and a wide 
circle of admirers. At his funeral on Saturday, AFSCME International 
president Lee Saunders said that, even though he never finished high 
school, talking with Mr. Leach made you feel good about yourself, a 
rare quality. He also called Mr. Leach a bold pioneer and a steadfast 
and true trade unionist, and a friend. Retired AFSCME secretary-
treasurer Bill Lucy, who saw the 1968 strike to its successful 
conclusion, spoke of Leach's work improving working conditions and said 
a part of Leach's character was to never quit. Mr. Lucy also said Mr. 
Leach was ``one of a group of men who made the decision to change the 
course of history.'' Mr. Leach was a big man physically but he was also 
a big man in every facet of his personality--in heart, courage, 
generosity and integrity. I wish to extend my deep condolences to 
Baxter Leach's family and friends. America has lost a true hero. His 
was a life well lived.

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