[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MS. JEAN WILEY, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND ACTIVIST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2020

  Mr. LEWIS. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ms. Jean Wiley, 
who transitioned from the world that she tirelessly fought to improve, 
on December 9, 2019.
  Born on June 11, 1942 to Elizabeth Thelma Holland Boyer Wiley and 
Joseph Alphonsus Wiley, Jean Wiley was a proud daughter of Baltimore, 
Maryland, where she completed her undergraduate degree at Morgan State 
University. As a testament to her work and legacy, many parts of our 
country--Michigan, Alabama, California, Washington, D.C., and Georgia 
to name a few--claim this amazing woman.
  In 1953, the Supreme Court integrated Washington, D.C., but a few 
miles up the road, Ms. Wiley grew up surrounded by the oppressive 
stench of segregation in Baltimore. In 1963, she and other students 
took matters into their own hands; police arrested Jean and her friends 
as they conducted a sit-in to desegregate Baltimore's theaters. Upon 
hearing that Howard University students were heading up the highway to 
reinforce their protest, Baltimore's Mayor released these brave young 
activists and integrated the facilities.
  Madam Speaker, I believe that taste of success fueled Ms. Wiley's 
life-long passion for civil and human rights. A few years later, Jean 
completed graduate studies at Michigan State University and began to 
teach at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute (now University). Professor Wiley 
challenged her students to expand their minds and inspired many to join 
the national movement for civil rights.
  I will forever cherish my memories from this period of our lives, 
when young people from all different walks of life became nonviolent 
foot soldiers in the fight for our freedom. After Hosea Williams and I 
attempted to lead a march from Selma to Montgomery on a day that became 
know as Bloody Sunday, Ms. Wiley and more than 500 Tuskegee students 
caravanned from Macon County to Montgomery, Alabama to protest in 
solidality for our right to vote. At the end of the summer, Congress 
passed, and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act 
into law on August 6, 1965.
  Madam Speaker, for many of us in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating 
Committee (SNCC), Jean was and will always remain a sister. Time and 
time again, she put her life and livelihood on the line in her pursuit 
of truth and justice. Jean taught volunteers to canvass, offered her 
home as a refuge, and even became the voice and face of SNCC during the 
summer of 1965, when she served as our national media relations 
coordinator. In this role, Ms. Wiley played the integral, critical role 
of sharing our work in the Deep South with the nation and the world. 
Whether we were boycotting, protesting, or testing voter registration 
procedures, Jean made sure that our work was not ignored.
  After serving on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. 
Wiley made her way to Washington, D.C. where she helped create the 
Center for Black Education. Throughout her life, Jean was committed to 
the betterment of the African Diaspora and refused to wait for 
oppressive forces to see the light on their own. Over the years, she 
shared her expertise with Howard University's WHUR radio station, 
Essence Magazine, and the Institute for the Black World, an Atlanta-
based think-tank.
  As a devoted educator, Jean also continued to teach at the University 
of the District of Columbia and the University of California at 
Berkeley. Whether in the classroom or in her home, Professor Wiley 
shared the lessons and tactics of the Civil Rights Movement with new 
generations--including her cousin, Ms. Kimberly W. Ross, who works 
closely with me and my office on Capitol Hill.
  As loved ones gather to reflect upon Ms. Jean Wiley's good and great 
work, I would like to pay tribute to the unbreakable bond of her 
adoring family--son, Cabral Stuckey Wiley; granddaughter, Breijanee 
Wiley; great-granddaughters, Shariyah Harris and Narii Parker; sisters, 
Joyce Dyson and Lois Wiley Benjamin; nieces, Shiree Dyson and Ayisha 
Dyson; and nephews, Keith Dyson, Toure Dyson, and Malcolm Wiley.
  Madam Speaker, the record should be clear: Ms. Wiley dedicated every 
ounce of her energy to the fight for justice. For these reasons, I 
proudly join all who knew, loved, learned from, and cared for this 
great leader in celebrating her life's work to transform the face and 
soul of our nation.

                          ____________________