[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 115 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING REVEREND CURTIS WEST HARRIS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. A. DONALD McEACHIN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 2021

  Mr. McEACHIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Reverend 
Curtis West Harris, for whom a post office in my district is being 
named next week following enactment of H.R. 3847 last year. He was an 
influential and well-respected member of our community, who fought for 
social justice all his life.
  Reverend Harris was a trailblazer. Born in Dendron, Virginia, on July 
1, 1924, Reverend Harris attended Virginia Union University in Richmond 
and then began work at Allied Chemical in Hopewell. During his time 
there, Reverend Harris served as a union shop steward and worked to 
promote diversity by advocating for the employment of African Americans 
in positions beyond janitors. When met with opposition, Reverend Harris 
sued Allied Chemical for violating regulations prohibiting 
discrimination.
  Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1959, Reverend Harris continued his 
fight for social justice. In 1960, he was sentenced to sixty days in 
jail for staging a sit-in at a segregated drugstore in Hopewell. 
Reverend Harris was arrested over a dozen times for peaceful protest 
and civil disobedience.
  Reverend Harris joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's 
(SCLC) national board and would eventually become the leader of the 
SCLC's Virginia Chapter for over thirty years. During his time with the 
SCLC, Reverend Harris became one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s top 
lieutenants, marching with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. 
In 1966, Reverend Harris organized a march to fight plans for a 
landfill in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Hopewell, ultimately 
coming face to face with the Ku Klux Klan at the steps of the Hopewell 
City Hall.
  In addition to his service with the SCLC, he served in leadership 
roles for the Hopewell Chapter of the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, at the Virginia Council on 
Human Relations, and with numerous organizations.
  Reverend Harris was highly respected within his community. He was 
active in local politics, serving as an elected member of the Hopewell 
City Council for over 25 years, and eventually as Hopewell's first 
Black mayor.
  Throughout his time in public service, Reverend Harris fought 
tirelessly for civil rights and educational and environmental justice.
  On December 10, 2017, Reverend Curtis Harris died at the age of 93. 
He was buried in Appomattox Cemetery, which he fought to integrate in 
1960.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life 
and accomplishments of Reverend Curtis West Harris and in celebrating 
the renaming of the post office in Hopewell in his honor.

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