[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 61 (Thursday, April 8, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E360-E361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ALVIN SYKES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 8, 2021

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, it is with sorrow and a heavy heart that 
I rise today to commemorate the life and legacy of the late Alvin 
Sykes, who passed away on March 19th. Alvin was a monumental man--one 
who dedicated his life to seeking truth and justice for those who were 
long denied it because of the systemic injustice that was so prevalent 
in the civil rights era. While he was only on this Earth for sixty-four 
years, the reverberations of his actions will extend for much longer.
  Born in 1956, Alvin came of age during the height of the civil rights 
movement. Following the eighth grade, Alvin left formal education and 
continued his learning in the libraries of Kansas City, Missouri. As a 
young man, he was deeply moved by the assassination of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., solidifying his lifelong commitment to carrying on 
the banner of civil rights. While it was the death of Dr. King that 
galvanized Alvin, it was a personal tragedy that entrenched his 
methodology. In 1980, Steve Harvey, a young KC jazz musician and close 
friend of Alvin, was murdered. Despite the original trial ending in an 
acquittal, Alvin dug deep through legal resources and collected enough 
information to reopen the case. Establishing the Steve Harvey Justice 
Campaign, Sykes collected thousands of signatures in an effort to 
demonstrate the public's desire to seek justice. In the end, his hard 
work paid off. Because of his efforts, the man responsible for Mr. 
Harvey's murder was found guilty of his crime and sentenced to life in 
prison. With his first case behind him, Alvin turned his eyes to issues 
of nationwide injustice. Renaming the Steve Harvey Justice Campaign, 
the Justice Campaign of America, Alvin and his fellow activists sought 
to right the wrongs of injustice anywhere that they could find it.

[[Page E361]]

  While his work on Mr. Harvey's case was notable in its own right, 
Alvin found national recognition for the integral role he played in the 
development and passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime 
Act. Identifying the legal barriers stymying the prosecution of civil 
rights era cold cases, he pushed for the creation of a bill that would 
enable the federal government to reopen and pursue racially motivated, 
pre-1969 cold cases. As a direct result of the bill's passage, over one 
hundred cases were reopened and investigated under the U.S. Department 
of Justice's Cold Case Initiative. Consequent to his actions and 
passion for justice, over a hundred families across the country have 
been able to gain some sense of closure where none had been before.
  Alvin's work to rectify the shortcomings of the civil rights era 
justice system did not stop with the passage of the Emmett Till 
Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. In 2010, Alvin was able to reopen the 
murder case of Leon Jordan, a former Kansas City policeman and 
cofounder of the city's local, Black political organization known as 
Freedom, Inc. Equipped with his intimate understanding of the legal 
system and with newfound evidence, he sought to bring forth justice for 
Mr. Jordan. While his investigation and efforts into the case did not 
lead to a prosecution, Alvin did not consider this a failed effort. As 
he once stated, ``My brand is that I go for the truth and, if possible, 
justice. That formula hasn't failed me yet. Find the truth. After that, 
justice may be possible.''
  Alvin's lifelong commitment to finding the truth and seeking justice 
and closure for those whom it had been denied is one that deserves to 
be memorialized in the annals of history. Without his guiding hand, 
historic legislation within the state of Missouri and in the halls of 
Congress may not have been brought into reality. Madam Speaker, please 
join me in celebrating and honoring the life and accomplishments of 
Alvin Sykes, a man that was truly larger than life. Let his legacy live 
on in the closure and peace that his work may still bring to the 
families that have yet to find answers.

                          ____________________