[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H56-H58]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1815
         HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF RICHARD GORDON HATCHER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor and privilege to come 
before the House this evening to celebrate the memory of a major 
trailblazer in our Nation, one who was a fierce crusader for justice 
and equality, an American who was a quiet man, with a quiet demeanor, 
but a giant in terms of his accomplishments, his courage, and the 
things he did not only for his local constituency, the city of Gary, 
Indiana, but the African American community and America at large.
  Mr. Speaker, I am speaking of the one and only, the first Black mayor 
of Gary, Indiana, Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher.
  Sadly, Mayor Hatcher passed away at the age of 86 on the 13th of 
December, 2019. Although he is no longer with us, his legacy lives on. 
His legacy, his work, his love, his sacrifices continue to be felt in 
these very Halls of Congress, throughout the city hall of Gary, 
Indiana, and indeed, throughout these State legislative halls, these 
halls of municipal governments in cities all across this Nation.
  Mayor Hatcher was one who carved and made a way for African Americans 
who are elected officials even to this very day. When Mayor Hatcher was 
first elected mayor of Gary, Indiana, there were but few elected 
officials of African American descent in the Nation, but there now 
exists over 10,000 African American elected officials. In some 
supernatural sense, because of the hard work, the insight, the courage, 
and the commitment of Mayor Hatcher, his sterling example, we all stand 
on the shoulders of Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher.
  Mayor Hatcher's surprise victory over the political machine in Gary, 
Indiana, in 1967 was indeed a watershed moment for Black political 
participation in this Nation. Along with the election of Mayor Carl 
Stokes, the first African American mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Mayor 
Hatcher became the first Black mayor of a major U.S. city, the city of 
Gary, Indiana.
  Mr. Speaker, in his two decades of service as Gary's mayor, Mayor 
Hatcher fought valiantly in his beloved Gary and throughout his beloved 
Nation for fair political representation for those whose voices had 
been previously dismissed, disregarded, and downright ignored for most 
of American history.
  When Mayor Hatcher was elected to lead a deeply segregated Gary, 
Indiana, only two of the city's department heads were African 
Americans, in a city that was actually over 50 percent African 
American. Within 10 years of Mayor Hatcher's tenure as mayor, 25 of 
Gary's 40 department heads were African Americans.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, those who worked for Gary's government began to 
look more like Gary's citizens, those who were supposed to be working 
on behalf of the citizens of Gary, Indiana.
  As mayor of Gary, Mayor Hatcher worked very closely with his 
congressional delegation and the Democratic administration in the White 
House. He secured millions of dollars in Federal funding for job 
training programs for Gary's citizens and subsidized housing for Gary's 
citizens, building up a vibrant economy in his beloved city of Gary, 
similarly and singlehandedly, in some instances, ensuring that those 
communities that were previously underserved received their fair share 
of city services, Federal funding, and Federal dollars.
  Mayor Hatcher's herculean efforts to ensure fair representation 
extended far beyond Gary. As a young man, I was inspired and intrigued 
by the electoral and political processes and systems because of the 
tenure, political career, and outstanding accomplishments of Mayor 
Richard Hatcher.
  Mayor Hatcher was a visionary, a man who not only talked the talk, 
but he walked the walk. On the streets of Gary, he was highly visible.
  With all of that, his vision even surpassed and transcended Gary. In 
1972, he organized the inaugural and historic National Black Political 
Convention in Gary. I was there. I attended. I saw it in action. This 
National Black Political Convention convened with two goals: 
establishing an independent Black political agenda and electing more 
Black officials to public office. Never before, not at any time, had 
this been done.
  Over 8,000 individual American citizens attended this historic 
occasion, including some who are icons even today in our Nation, 
including Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Coretta Scott King, Betty 
Shabazz, Bobby Seale, and my colleague from Chicago, Congressman Danny 
K. Davis. Many, many others were involved, inspired, educated, and 
learned the value of the vote and heard for the first time that a 
voteless people is a hopeless people, all because of the single vision 
of this one American giant, Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored and humbled to speak in this well about 
this giant of a man, telling all who have a listening ear and a seeing 
eye about the work of Mayor Hatcher and that historic National Black 
Political Convention. It was not just fighting the windmills, Don 
Quixote-like. It produced results.
  At the time of this convention, there were just 14 African American 
Members of Congress, just 14. Today, there are 56 African American 
Members of Congress, 56 living and breathing, hardworking Members of 
this Congress who are a result of the vision of Mayor Hatcher and who 
were inspired by his life and what he had accomplished.
  He was our inspiration. He gave all of us an exceedingly high 
standard that we live by even today.

                              {time}  1830

  Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher spurred a wave of Black civic 
participation that reverberated all throughout America. In 1973, just 1 
year, 365 days, after the Gary convention, Detroit elected its first 
African American mayor, Mayor Coleman Young, Atlanta elected its first 
African American mayor, Mayor Maynard Jackson, and Los Angeles elected 
its first African American mayor, Mayor Tom Bradley. All across this 
Nation, major cities all across this Nation saw a witness, and 
participated and celebrated the election of mayors in major cities all 
across this Nation.
  The legacy, the inspiration, the example, the instruction just didn't 
stop in 1973. Even some 10 years later,

[[Page H57]]

Mayor Harold Washington was elected mayor of the city of Chicago 
following the Gary model.
  Congressman Davis and I were on the front lines in Mayor Washington's 
election. He challenged us to register 50,000 new voters, and we rose 
up to the challenge, a la just like being cognizant of what was going 
on in Gary, Indiana.
  That voter registration, that election rocked the entrenched Chicago 
political establishment, political machine. The renowned Richard J. 
Daley's Democratic machine was overturned in 1983, inspired in no small 
respect by Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher in the city of Gary, Indiana.
  It just didn't stop there, Mr. Speaker. The story didn't end there. 
It kept developing, it kept materializing. The civic awakening that was 
started in Gary, Indiana, with the election in 1967 of Mayor Hatcher, 
which ensued with the election of Mayor Harold Washington, inspired a 
young man who was living in Los Angeles to move to Chicago, Gary's 
neighbor. He wanted to be a part of what was going on in Chicago, in 
Gary, Indiana, in urban areas, and major cities throughout the Nation. 
It inspired him, a young law student named Barack Obama, to move to 
Chicago, to the south side of Chicago to start community organizing and 
ultimately to become a State senator from the State of Illinois, then 
to become the U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois, and then finally 
to become President of these United States.
  So in no uncertain terms, the overwhelming outstanding achievements, 
the miraculously determined achievements of Mayor Richard Gordon 
Hatcher led to the election of Barack Obama as President of the United 
States.
  Mayor Hatcher was pivotal in Reverend Jesse Jackson's transcendent 
1984 and 1988 Presidential campaigns.
  In 1988, Mayor Hatcher served as his campaign vice chairman, and 
Reverend Jackson in that historic campaign earned over 6.7 million 
votes and Reverend Jackson, through the hard work and the inspiration 
of Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher, won 11 primary contests.
  You can't undervalue, underestimate how important that was. This 
happened before the election of Barack Obama.
  We all stand indebted to Richard Gordon Hatcher and his life, the 
life that he lived and the life that he led.
  Mayor Hatcher's victory was a clarion call to all of us who aspired 
and are inspired to serve as elected officials in our Nation.
  If we work hard, harness the imagination, speak to the real need of 
our constituents, we could also raise our voices in the spirit of 
equity and fairness, justice; that we could all stand not only in the 
well of the Congress, but in the State houses, in the city halls of our 
Nation and of States and municipalities all over this country, even in 
the White House.
  We miss Mayor Hatcher. We will miss his counsel.
  Again, he was a man who was not a self-promoter. He was quiet, in 
some sense professorial, in some sense laid back, but a mighty, mighty, 
mighty, mighty warrior, a mighty man, a giant.
  I am just grateful for all that he has done for this Nation, all that 
he has done for poor people all across this Nation, for the middle 
class all across this Nation, all that he has done for African 
Americans not only in Gary, and certainly in Gary, but in Chicago, Los 
Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, other places all 
across this Nation.
  He inspired young people, young professionals to look at public 
service as being an honorable pursuit, an honorable career, profession, 
and get in there and do something not just for yourself, but do 
something for your Nation, for your community, and for people who need 
a voice, those who are voiceless.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my condolences to Mayor 
Hatcher's family, his wife, Ruthellyn, his daughters, and let them know 
that our prayers are with them, and their loss is great, our loss is 
great. We lost a friend, we lost a colleague, we lost a champion, but 
in some sense, we lost someone who was a steadfast, rock solid 
inspiration to us all.

  We mourn the loss of this American giant, former Mayor Richard Gordon 
Hatcher.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Visclosky), a gentleman who represents the city of Gary right now, 
another man of unmatched wisdom and intellect, the chairman of the 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and my friend and colleague.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I deeply appreciate Mr. Rush yielding 
time to me. I also thank him for organizing this Special Order. I thank 
my colleague from Chicago, Mr. Davis, for participating, and earlier 
today, Andre Carson, a Member from Indianapolis, for also expressing 
deep regard for Mayor Hatcher.
  Mr. Speaker, I also appreciate the gentleman's eloquence in 
describing the incredible contribution that Richard Gordon Hatcher made 
to our world and, in particular, those most in need. He is absolutely 
correct: it certainly transcended the city of Gary and his immediate 
responsibilities.
  Everyone here knows the vast and immeasurable contributions that 
Mayor Hatcher has provided to advance the cause of civil rights and 
racial equality in all of our communities and throughout our Nation.
  On a personal level, I would note that my father, John Visclosky, 
also was mayor of Gary. While the mayors may not have always agreed on 
every issue, Mayor Hatcher always treated my father with respect and 
grace, and for that, I will always be grateful.
  Everyone he met and worked with was treated with similar dignity and 
respect.
  Mayor Hatcher's value of respect is one we should all strive to 
emulate.
  It was through this value that he became a trailblazer for the city 
of Gary and our Nation. It was also through his selfless leadership and 
desire to bring other people along that led to countless other 
trailblazers for civil rights.
  One of those trailblazers who was inspired by Richard Gordon Hatcher, 
as Mr. Rush pointed out so eloquently, was my predecessor from the 
First Congressional District of Indiana, Representative Katie Hall.

                              {time}  1845

  When Mrs. Hall was sworn into office as U.S. Congressperson from the 
First District, she became the first Black woman from Indiana to serve 
in the United States House of Representatives. Again, as Mr. Rush 
pointed out, there are many more African Americans in this Chamber 
today.
  Representative Hall was also the Member of Congress who sponsored the 
legislation that was signed into law that established Dr. Martin Luther 
King's birthday as a Federal holiday. As we take time honoring Dr. King 
this month, let us remember that that legislation's sponsor was 
mentored by Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher.
  As a resident of Gary, I would conclude by saying that I knew Richard 
first and foremost as a dedicated husband and a proud and loving father 
and grandfather. In his three beloved daughters and six grandchildren, 
it is plainly evident that he has instilled his exemplary dedication to 
hard work, the value of education, and a commitment to public service.
  Again, I appreciate that this time was organized. Let us never lose 
sight of the example that Mayor Hatcher provided for all of us to 
follow.
  I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the gentleman from Indiana 
for his candid remarks, and he also stands in the wonderful splendor of 
Mayor Hatcher's legacy and of his work and his commitment to public 
service.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. 
Davis), who is my colleague, my true friend, my coconspirator.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, let me, first of all, 
thank Representative Rush for his leadership, his vision, his 
diligence, and how well he has reminded us of those glory years during 
the 1960s and 1970s that we call movement years.
  As I looked at the photograph of Mayor Hatcher, I couldn't help but 
smile thinking that, in 1967, that is the way we looked. We obviously 
had more hair. It was a different color.
  And it is a great reminder of what it was like during that period of 
time. There was so much momentum in the air in terms of hope for change 
in America from what America had been to some to what America was to 
become.
  I was thinking that, with just a little different twist, I might have 
ended up in Gary, Indiana, rather than in Chicago, Illinois; because, 
as we were leaving the South, coming to other places

[[Page H58]]

to live and work, I didn't know that I had a bunch of relatives who 
lived in Gary who were also involved in politics: the Allen family who 
grew up, some of them, with Mayor Hatcher at the same time. My cousin 
Dozier Allen, and then his son, who is now on the county board, and his 
cousin, who was on the county board before that, Roosevelt Allen. If I 
had known that the Allens were there and were my cousins, I might have 
gone to Gary instead of coming to Chicago.
  But I remember 1967. I remember 1972. I can remember those huge 
crowds of people who converged on Roosevelt High School where the 
National Black Political Convention was taking place and all of the 
eloquent speakers who were there: poets, Baraka, Ron Dellums, and 
Charlie Diggs from Detroit. It was the most exciting thing I had ever 
done, I mean, just to be in the presence of all this action.
  It seemed as though each speaker would be more eloquent and more 
compelling than whoever spoke before them. And, of course, Mayor 
Hatcher, as the host and the person who had brought everybody together, 
was just off the charts.
  You have pointed out how much his presence, not only on an individual 
basis, means as a motivator, stimulater, and activator for so many 
others throughout the country who decided they wanted to do this. They 
could do this because Richard Hatcher had shown the way.
  And the individual cities that looked at Gary.
  Of course, Gary was a different Gary: steel mills, steel jobs, 
opportunities, people were flocking. So a lot of folks who don't look 
at history in terms of understanding and knowing how things became and 
have become the way that they were, I mean, it is good to see Gary on 
the way back.
  It has been good to work with Mayor Rudy Clay, with Mayor Karen 
Wilson, and with others who are using what Mayor Hatcher did.
  It is good to know his daughter. It is good to have come in contact 
with the individuals who are there who have refused to give up.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Mr. Visclosky for being a real part of 
the rebirth and redevelopment and reconstitution and reinstitution of 
Gary, Indiana, to become one of our cities that we knew in the past and 
so we can think of what is yet to come.
  I thank Congressman Rush again for his vision. I thank him for his 
foresight, for his insight, and for giving us to share, along with 
Representative Carson and Representative Visclosky and himself, so that 
people who really didn't know the history of Mayor Richard Gordon 
Hatcher might have a better understanding of what his presence has 
meant, not just to Gary, but to America.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, as I close this significant moment in the 
annals of this Congress, let me just say to the family of Mayor Hatcher 
once again, as I reflect on my public career, as I reflect on all of us 
who are public officials who represent African American communities, as 
I reflect on all public officials, but particularly those of us who 
have historically been denied the opportunity to serve, I want to thank 
this wonderful man for giving me and others the audacity: the audacity 
to act, to believe, to run, to get elected, to lead.
  Mr. Speaker, I give thanks to Mayor Hatcher for showing us the way to 
contribute, to add our voices to the plight of those who are seeking 
the American Dream, and for giving us the audacity, the audacity to 
act.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________