[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING REV. E. BAXTER MORRIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 25, 2021

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the late Rev. E. 
Baxter Morris, who passed away on May 2. His funeral took place on 
Saturday, May 15, at the church that he led for nearly half a century. 
Many of us in this House knew Rev. Morris as a gracious host when we 
traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, on the annual Faith and Politics 
Institute Civil Rights Pilgrimage. He and his congregants at the 
historic First Baptist Church welcomed us with a very moving service 
followed by a home-cooked meal that made us feel like we were part of 
their community. I spoke with him at those lunches and, like so many 
others, came to see his wisdom, patience, and grace. I know that Rev. 
Morris, who was the congregation's longest-serving pastor, will be 
deeply missed by all who knew him and worshiped with him.
  One of my most cherished memories of congressional pilgrimages to the 
First Baptist Church and other now-sacred places is sharing the 
experience with my dear friend John Lewis. John would remind us of the 
time in youth when he helped organize and lead the Freedom Rides. That 
effort began 60 years ago this spring. In late May 1961, around 1,500 
community members, Freedom Riders, and civil rights activists had 
gathered to worship at First Baptist Church, when they were besieged by 
a mob of as many as 3,000 white supremacists. Joining John Lewis inside 
were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fred Shuttlesworth, Diane Nash, James 
Farmer, and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, who was the senior pastor of the 
church at that time. It took a historic intervention by President John 
F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, which involved 
calling out the Alabama National Guard, to break that siege and save 
the lives of those inside. That incident, known now to history as the 
First Baptist Church Siege, was a pivotal moment in the effort to 
desegregate public transportation across the South.
  Thus when Rev. Morris became the senior pastor of First Baptist 
Church in 1972, it already had a storied history. He did his utmost to 
preserve that history and ensure that his congregants and visitors 
alike never forgot the important role that First Baptist Church played 
in the march for freedom, equality, and civil rights in our country. 
Indeed, at the lunches I attended with John and other Members of 
Congress, Rev. Morris would remind us that his church had been founded 
shortly after emancipation by those who had endured slavery. When a 
fire destroyed their original church building, the congregants banded 
together to build the current structure, donating bricks for its 
construction. For that reason, it is also known as the Brick-a-Day 
Church.
  Rev. Morris understood that his pastoral work reached far beyond the 
walls of First Baptist Church. He regularly volunteered his time as a 
mentor throughout the Montgomery community, and he served as Chaplain 
for the Montgomery Police Department for more than two decades. The 
Operation Good Shepherd program organized with other religious leaders 
from across the city endeavors to help law enforcement de-escalate 
encounters with residents and promote cooperation instead of 
confrontation. I know that his presence and contributions will be 
greatly missed across Montgomery and its region.
  I join in offering my condolences to Rev. Morris' wife, Rebie, and 
their family as well as the entire First Baptist Church community. I 
will never forget the wisdom he shared with us or his warm and kind 
welcome and the wonderful meals we had over the years fixed by the 
members of First Baptist.
  Now, he and John and Martin and Ralph and so many other great men and 
women of justice and courage march on together in eternal peace.

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