[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 206 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MAJOR COY PAYNE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GREG STANTON

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 19, 2019

  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of 
Coy Payne, the first African-American to serve as mayor in the state of 
Arizona, who passed away Sunday, December 8, 2019, at the age of 90. 
Arizonans will remember him as a trailblazer who overcame the struggles 
of poverty and racism to dedicate his life to serving his community. 
From his time as a soldier in the Korean War, to his time teaching 
elementary school students, to his time as a civil rights leader, Mayor 
Payne's enduring legacy was love for his community.
  The second of nine children born to sharecroppers in Sulphur Springs, 
Texas, on May 22, 1929, Payne's family relocated to Eloy, Arizona in 
the 1940s, where they worked the fields to earn enough money to buy a 
car. They relocated to Chandler shortly after, where Payne attended 
segregated schools in Chandler and Mesa. After graduating from the only 
high school he could attend, George Washington Carver High School in 
downtown Phoenix--an hour bus ride and 30-minute walk away from home--
Payne was drafted by the U.S. Anny to serve in the Korean War. After 
returning from Korea, he received a degree in education from Arizona 
State University and taught in the Chandler Unified School District-the 
very district that denied him an education as a child. He continued 
teaching students there for more than thirty years.
  It was during this time as an educator and administrator that he also 
became an advocate. He joined the Chandler Human Relations Committee 
and worked to improve race relations in Chandler. In 1980, Payne won a 
seat on Chandler City Council. And in 1990, Payne won a landslide 
victory in the mayoral election, becoming the first African American to 
serve as a mayor of any city in the State of Arizona. Chandler's 
population ballooned 96 percent during his tenure as mayor--and he 
steered that growth in a positive direction. The impact of his 
leadership is still felt in City Hall, and his spirit of service is 
carried on by the many he influenced and mentored. Thank you, Mayor 
Payne, and Godspeed.

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