[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 171 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 JUDGE RICHARD E. FIELDS 100TH BIRTHDAY

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                          HON. JOE CUNNINGHAM

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 2020

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th 
birthday of Judge Richard E. Fields of Charleston, South Carolina. I am 
in awe of his continued public service to the Lowcountry and his 
trailblazing legacy for the African American community of our state.
  After graduating from Howard University School of Law in 1947, Judge 
Fields was the first black attorney to open a law firm in Charleston. 
He found success after success an serve honorably as a South Carolina 
Circuit Court judge until his retirement in 1992.
  Judge Fields is a proud worshiper at the historic Centenary Methodist 
Church, where he was elected as Treasurer in 1950 and still holds that 
position to this date. For more than 50 years, he served as the 
delegate to the South Carolina Annual Conference and was a member of 
the Merger Committee that desegregated the white and Black conferences 
of the United Methodist Church during the late 1960s and early 1970s. A 
voting rights ``champion, Judge Fields helped form the Charleston 
County Political Action Committee where he organized black voters and 
helped elect Black South Carolinians to office.
  Anyone who knows Judge Fields can attest that he is a friend who 
quickly becomes family. He is more than willing to offer legal advice 
or spiritual affirmations and he does so with integrity and kindness. 
Not many people can say they have a U.S. Post Office named after them 
like Judge Fields; even less can say they have lived such a fulfilling 
and philanthropic life like Judge Fields. I thank Judge Fields for an 
incredible century of service to South Carolina.

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