[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 61 (Thursday, April 8, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E353-E354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE LATE VIOLA JOHNSON CLARK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 8, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
valiant woman, the late Mrs. Viola Johnson Clark. Viola had a 
dedication and desire to serve others.
  She was born September 14, 1934 in Cary, Mississippi to James Johnson 
and Katie Brown. Viola was blessed to be a wife, mother of seven and 
grandmother and great grandmother.
  Viola's motto was ``Get an education'' because there is power in 
knowledge and no one can take it away from you, ``It's your way out''. 
She instilled this motto everywhere she went with everybody she met no 
matter the color, never meeting a stranger. Viola's motto led her to 
earn her GED certificate from Mary

[[Page E354]]

Holmes Junior College as well as several college hours towards her 
bachelor's degree.
  Because of her love for people she worked tirelessly with the Civil 
Rights Movement as a self-appointed Civil Rights Activist along with 
other notables; Unita Blackwell the first black mayor of Mayersville, 
MS and Fannie Lou Hammer, to coordinate voting drives, community 
projects, and family assistance programs in her community. Viola and 
her mother also opened the doors of their homes to accommodate freedom 
riders in the delta when no one else was willing or was afraid to do 
so.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in posthumously 
recognizing Mrs. Viola Johnson Clark for her passion and dedication to 
serving Sharkey and Issaquena counties and desire to make a difference 
in the community.

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