[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 185 (Thursday, October 21, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1126-E1127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING CALDWELL DURHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 21, 2021

  Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I wish to dedicate some time today to 
commemorate the 100th birthday of Caldwell Durham. Born in Raymond, 
Mississippi, more than two decades before Brown v. Board of Education, 
there was no guarantee that Caldwell Durham (Electrical Engineer Class 
of 1951 at IIT) or his brothers and sisters would have access to an 
education. If it were not for the courage and idealism of his parents, 
Chaney and Curtis Durham, Caldwell might have had a very different 
life.
  At 100, he has worked tenaciously while enjoying a successful, 
barrier-breaking career as an aerospace engineer. He married the love 
of his life, Burnette Short Durham, and together they raised three 
children. He has four grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a 
host of nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, cousins and in-
laws. He stays in

[[Page E1127]]

touch with associates, including fellow Illinois Institute of 
Technology alumni Michael Hill (CS '82) and Perri Irmer (ARCH '81), 
colleagues, and friends, who help him stay connected to his passions on 
a global scale.
  What's his secret? Caldwell chuckles at the thought of trying to 
distill a century of living into a few pithy words of advice. ``Are you 
sure you want the whole story?'' he asks.
  The story begins when Caldwell was born on September 12, 1921 in 
Raymond, Mississippi, the seventh of eight children. As with all 
parents, Caldwell's wanted to give their children the best possible 
start in life. His mother, Chaney Durham, was determined to ensure her 
children had the opportunity to obtain an education.
  So, Curtis and Chaney Durham bought a house 750 miles away and in 
1923, they moved their family to Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, 
about two miles away from Armour Institute, the institute that would be 
reborn as Illinois Institute of Technology in 1940.
  There, the Durham children did exactly what their mother hoped they 
would. They went to school. Caldwell graduated from DuSable High School 
in 1939 and from Woodrow Wilson Junior College in the spring of 1941. 
That December, the United States entered World War II.
  Caldwell knew that if he was drafted, he'd have little control over 
where or how he was deployed. He heard about a U.S. Army Air Force 
airborne training program which would train volunteers to work on 
aviation electronics. Durham volunteered and was accepted to the 
training program, assigned to a segregated unit of Black soldiers. 
Caldwell excelled and his training laid the foundation for the rest of 
his career.
  After the war, Caldwell used his engineering training to get a job 
working for Western Electric, as a ``wireman,'' building and installing 
hardware for telephone stations. He was the only Black wireman working 
for Western Electric, establishing a pattern that he would repeat 
throughout his career.
  In the late 1940s, one of Caldwell's colleagues mentioned that he was 
thinking about quitting his job at Western Electric to go back to 
school. Caldwell thought that with his academic and professional 
background and the financial support of the GI Bill, he might be able 
to do the same. In 1949, he took a class at the university only a 
couple of miles from his family's home--Illinois Institute of 
Technology.
  There, Caldwell engaged his remarkable capacity as an engineer and 
excelled. An IIT professor encouraged Caldwell to apply to attend IIT 
as a full-time student, so he did. A few months later, he was admitted 
to Illinois Tech, where he earned a bachelor of science in electrical 
engineering and again, he excelled.
  As graduation approached in 1951, Caldwell found little success 
finding a job in the Midwest, as few firms at the time had an interest 
in hiring a Black engineer. One of his professors at IIT suggested he 
look for a job on the west coast, so Caldwell applied for a job at 
Lockheed in California.
  In June 1951, Caldwell Durham moved across the country in pursuit of 
greater opportunity, this time with his own family.
  The Durhams settled in L.A. and Caldwell quickly earned the respect 
of his colleagues. Caldwell spent the next ten years working for 
Lockheed, beginning his aerospace career in earnest, designing and 
testing airplane instrumentation for the U-2 Spy Plane, first-
generation jet aircrafts like the F-94C Starfire Interceptor, and the 
iconic L-1049 Super Constellation.
  In 1961, Caldwell attended a conference where he ran into Okomoto, 
one of his former Lockheed colleagues, who had since gone to work for 
Space Technology Laboratories (STL). Okomoto persuaded his manager to 
interview Caldwell for a job in his office.
  Caldwell spent the rest of his career at STL, which later came to be 
known as TRW. There, he worked in the Ballistic Missile Flight test 
Instrumentation section, participating in the specification and 
development of instrumentation systems for several ballistic missiles. 
Over a period of 28 years he truly became a rocket scientist. In 1978, 
he became head of the Instrumentation Section. He was the only black 
section manager in TRW's Missile Program Office. In 1989, he retired 
with honors and commendations.
  Success like Caldwell's isn't a foregone conclusion for anyone. But 
his parents likely wouldn't be surprised. Chaney Durham knew that all 
of her children had potential and she did everything she could to give 
them the chance to express it. She knew that the best way to give her 
children this gift was through access to education.
  Because of his education, Caldwell was able to compete for 
opportunities that others like him had rarely been allowed to pursue 
before. And because of his talent and determination, he enjoyed a 
successful career. He and Burnette also committed themselves to passing 
on the lesson of the power of an education to their own children. 
Today, all three of Caldwell's children achieved post-graduate degrees, 
and he counts lawyers, doctors and a news anchor among his children, 
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  This legacy of excellence began almost one hundred years ago, all 
because one family made the decision to prioritize access to education 
over their own comfort. Because of that, the descendants of Chaney and 
Curtis Durham, now five generations strong, have what Chaney always 
dreamed of: a chance at a better life through the power of education.
  Caldwell's 100th birthday was September 12, 2021. He likes to say 
he's lived a charmed life. So, what is his secret? ``You know, I don't 
know,'' he says with a laugh, ``I think exercise is part of the 
equation.''

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