[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 157 (Friday, September 27, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         HONORING MARY E. PERRY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 27, 2019

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Mary E. Perry, a long-time community leader and advocate in Wake 
County, North Carolina, who is celebrating her 90th birthday on October 
15, 2019.
  Mrs. Perry has served as President of the Wendell-Wake County Branch 
of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
(NAACP) for 41 years, amplifying the voices of underrepresented 
community members. She also was elected the first African American to 
chair the Wake County Democratic Party and served for 20 years on the 
East Wake Advisory Council.
  Mrs. Perry's service is marked by a resolve to fight injustice--from 
the early days of the civil rights movement to the present fight for 
voting rights and equity in education, health care, and housing. In Jim 
Crow North Carolina, she endured threats as she challenged the practice 
of segregation at restaurants in Zebulon. This difficult and formative 
experience strengthened her determination to speak out and stand up for 
underrepresented communities. More recently, she served as a plaintiff 
in a NAACP lawsuit against North Carolina's discriminatory voter ID 
laws. Mrs. Perry also helped empower the next generation of youth 
leaders to follow in her footsteps by reactivating the Wendell-Wake 
County NAACP youth council.
  Her dedication earned her numerous accolades. The NAACP recognized 
her as the President of the Year in addition to granting her the 
Charles McLean Award and the Political Action Trailblazer Award. She 
received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from then-North Carolina 
Governor James B. Hunt and the Zeta Sigma Chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma 
Fraternity Social Act Award. Additionally, she is widely recognized for 
her devotion to community service, receiving the North Carolina Human 
Relations Council Community Involvement Award and the East Wake 
Community Service Award.
  In her hometown, Mrs. Perry has attended and offered leadership at 
the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church for over 70 years. She served as 
President of the Usher Board, Finance Committee Chair, and Vice Chair 
of the Board of Trustees. Mrs. Perry was educated in the Wake County 
Public School system and received a bachelor's degree from Shaw 
University in Raleigh, NC. She is the proud mother of four children and 
has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mrs. 
Mary E. Perry for her long and fruitful life of service and in sending 
her best-wishes for her 90th birthday.

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