[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 15 (Friday, January 24, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E73]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF JONATHAN WOLMAN AS HE RECEIVES THE LET FREEDOM RING 
                                 AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DEBBIE DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 24, 2020

  Mrs. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Jonathan Wolman's 
distinguished life and career as he receives the Rainbow PUSH Let 
Freedom Ring Award. Wolman's contributions to our community are worthy 
of commendation.
  Jonathan Wolman was the editor and publisher of The Detroit News for 
twelve years. Wolman's years at The Detroit News capped a career 
spanning five decades serving in newsrooms from Denver to Washington, 
DC. Before serving as a top executive at The Detroit News, Wolman 
previously worked as a reporter and as Washington bureau chief and 
executive editor at the Associated Press. Throughout his tenure, Wolman 
covered some of the biggest and most consequential stories of his time 
and was regarded as a compassionate, effective, and dedicated leader.
  After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Jonathan Wolman died on 
April 15, 2019 in Detroit. His passing is a loss for our entire 
community, but his legacy will be remembered for generations to come. 
Johnathan Wolman is--and will continue to be--recognized as one of the 
most outstanding and impactful journalists of the last century. He 
championed hard news coverage that was fair, transparent, and balanced 
and was instrumental in keeping the Detroit News among the best 
regional newspapers in the country. Beyond his work in journalism, 
Wolman applied his skills to lend support to civil rights issues, 
particularly the Fannie Lou Hammer's voting rights campaign in 
Mississippi that compelled thousands of African Americans to become 
registered voters.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
distinguished life of Jonathan Wolman. Wolman embodied all the 
characteristics of a dedicated journalist. He demonstrated a profound 
commitment not only to fairness, accuracy, and objectivity, but to 
tackling some of our nation's most difficult questions regarding race 
and economic equality. His work provides a lasting example for what we 
should all endeavor to accomplish--to effect change, speak the truth, 
and not sit idly by.

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