[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 145 (Tuesday, August 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO BISHOP DOUGLAS MILES

 Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a 
beloved pastor, an inspirational leader, and a lion for justice: Bishop 
Douglas Miles. He passed away on August 3 of this year at the age of 
72, and I would like to take this time to honor his life and his 
legacy.
  Bishop Miles was a lifelong Marylander, born in Baltimore City and 
raised in Lafayette Courts in East Baltimore. By the time he entered 
Johns Hopkins University as an undergraduate, he had determined that he 
would become a doctor and set out to earn his medical degree. He wanted 
to serve the weak and heal the sick. It was an auspicious career choice 
because, while he eventually switched majors and earned his degree in 
humanistic studies, Bishop Miles would commit five decades of his life 
to serving and to healing communities across Baltimore.
  He first embarked on that mission by helping to found the 
organization Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development, or BUILD, 
where he served as cochair. In this role, Bishop Miles fought to build 
a better and stronger Baltimore for all by expanding job opportunities, 
supporting schools, strengthening neighborhoods, and improving housing. 
His efforts to force real action on housing at BUILD resulted in the 
construction of at least 767 affordable homes throughout the city over 
a 14-year span, and his leadership was pivotal in revitalizing the 
Oliver neighborhood in East Baltimore after a tragic fire that claimed 
seven lives.
  When he wasn't pushing for progress with BUILD and the many other 
organizations he helped lead, including the Industrial Areas 
Foundation, the College Bound Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins BLocal 
initiative, he was running his beloved Koinonia Baptist Church, which 
he founded in 1992. As pastor, he used his gift for oratory and his 
deep religious faith to guide his congregation with spirit and grace. 
He was a titanic force, who could command an audience with equal vigor 
at the pulpit, the podium, and the policy table.
  But regardless of whether he was delivering a sermon on the 
scriptures or leading a rally for social change, Bishop Miles always 
spoke his mind and lived his values fully. Just a few weeks ago, I met 
with him and a group of advocates about how to close the racial 
homeownership gap in this country and help every American achieve their 
full potential. He dedicated his life to holding the powerful to 
account and raising the voices of those who had too often been left out 
and left behind. I was honored to work with him over the years to 
strengthen our healthcare system, expand access to affordable housing, 
and prevent teen tobacco use, and I am forever grateful for his 
leadership on a host of other issues from gun violence to education to 
public safety to immigration. His dedication to the causes he held dear 
left an indelible mark on our communities, and you can find proof of 
his lifelong service in the countless lives he changed for the better 
throughout Baltimore City.
  He is gone too soon, but his legacy and his spirit live on in all the 
Marylanders he helped shape and inspire, both as a faith leader and as 
an advocate for justice. Bishop Miles taught all of us what it means to 
live a life dedicated to serving your community, and it is a lesson we 
must never forget. In living, he inspired a generation to fight harder 
for those in need. In passing, his memory will continue to push future 
generations to serve and to heal, as he did.

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