[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 36 (Thursday, February 25, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E172-E173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND HONORING ARTHENIA JOYNER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. STEPHANIE N. MURPHY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 25, 2021

  Mrs. MURPHY of Florida. Madam Speaker, as part of our national 
celebration of Black History Month, I am paying tribute to African-
American leaders from Florida who have made outstanding contributions 
to our community and our country. These accomplished men and women have 
not always received the recognition they have earned.
  Today I rise to honor Arthenia Joyner. Born in Lakeland and raised in 
Tampa, Ms. Joyner has been a champion for justice and equality from a 
young age, participating in her first civil rights demonstration as a 
high school junior in 1960. She studied political science at Florida 
A&M University, where she also earned her law degree.

[[Page E173]]

  Ms. Joyner served as a legal assistant to State Representative Joe 
Lang Kershaw, the first African-American state legislator in Florida 
since the Reconstruction era. After law firms refused to hire her, Ms. 
Joyner opened her own law practice in 1991. She was the first Black 
lawyer to practice in Polk County and the first Black woman to practice 
law in Hillsborough County.
  Throughout her career, Ms. Joyner has worked to combat racial and 
gender inequality. In recognition of her efforts, she received multiple 
presidential appointments by President Bill Clinton, serving as a 
member of the U.S. delegation to the 1994 World Population Development 
Conference in Cairo and to the 1995 U.N. Fourth World Conference on 
Women in Beijing. Ms. Joyner proudly participated in the ``Lawyers 
Against Apartheid Day'' at the South African Embassy in Washington, DC 
on January 8, 1985, where she was arrested alongside former U.S. 
Attorney General Ramsey Clark and others.
  Ms. Joyner was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, where 
she served from 2000 to 2006. She was then elected to the Florida 
Senate, serving until 2016. In 2014, she became the first Black woman 
chosen as Senate Majority Leader. Throughout her career as a 
legislator, Ms. Joyner distinguished herself for her skill, leadership, 
and commitment to her constituents.
  Arthenia Joyner has spent a lifetime overcoming adversity, breaking 
barriers, and fighting for justice and equality.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring and celebrating Arthenia 
Joyner.

                          ____________________