[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 186 (Friday, October 30, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LESLIE ``LES'' OUTERBRIDGE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 30, 2020

  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and 
legacy of Leslie ``Les'' Outerbridge, a man who lead a life of selfless 
bravery and held a keen devotion to justice. Born in 1936, Les 
Outerbridge was raised in Chicago's Cabrini--Green Homes and initially 
attended Wells Community Academy High School at the age of 12, later 
leaving high school in 1953 at the age of 15 and volunteering to serve 
his country in the United States Air Force. An avid athlete as a young 
man, Outerbridge played three sports, football, basketball, and 
baseball on his Air Force installation. Later in his life, Outerbridge 
would return to school, receiving a Bachelor's in Science from Chicago 
State University in 1981.
  Feeling that he still had more to give to his community and country 
after serving in the armed forces, Outerbridge joined the Chicago Fire 
Department in 1961. While dutifully and bravely serving his community, 
Outerbridge was not afraid to simultaneously fight the fires of 
injustice within the fire department. For much of the 1960s and 1970s, 
the percentage of minorities serving in the fire department was under 
five percent. Furthermore, when African-American or Hispanic 
firefighters were given the opportunity to put their lives on the line 
for their fellow Chicagoans, they found themselves stifled by a 
systemically racist department that made promotion unattainable.
  Unable to stand by and watch this injustice pervade the department he 
was a part of, Outerbridge sprang into action. Working with key 
community leaders and activists including Father George Clements and 
Kermit Coleman, an attorney, and civil rights organizations including 
Operation PUSH and the Urban League, Outerbridge set out to end the 
unfair treatment of African-Americans in the Chicago Fire Department. 
Along with his fellow firefighters Jim Winbush and Wesley Thompson, 
Outerbridge founded the Afro American Firefighters League (AAFL).
  Madam Speaker, it is difficult to understate the positive impact of 
the Afro American Firefighters league on the Chicago Fire Department. 
Outerbridge and the AAFL worked diligently to document the racial 
discrimination they found within the Department, and their work would 
lead to the United States Department of Justice filing suit against the 
City of Chicago, resulting in a consent decree that mandated the 
Department increase its total number of African-American firefighters 
from 125 to at least 400.
  While work remains to be done to build a Chicago Fire Department that 
is reflective of the city it serves, the legacy of Outerbridge's work 
continues. In 2011, a lawsuit brought by African-American Chicago 
firefighters made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United 
States, which ruled that over 6,000 African-American applicants for 
positions within the Chicago Fire Department could pursue a disparate 
impact claim against the city. The Supreme Court's ruling helped pave 
the way to a settlement that allowed almost a thousand applicants to 
reapply, and the possibility of monetary reward as compensation for the 
discrimination they faced. From the Cabrini-Green Homes to the Supreme 
Court--that is how far the lasting and enduring legacy of Les 
Outerbridge stretches.
  In 2002, Outerbridge would author and publish a book detailing his 
life's remarkable journey titled ``Memoirs of a Black Fire Fighter: Les 
Outerbridge, 1961-1995''. Those close to him Outerbridge will remember 
him as passionate historian and an avid photographer.
  My best wishes and prayers are with the Outerbridge family and all 
those who had the distinct privilege of knowing Leslie Outerbridge 
during his remarkable life.

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