[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8908-S8909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO REVEREND ALVIN C. HATHAWAY

 Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a 
faith leader and community activist from my home State of Maryland who 
has recently stepped down from his post as senior pastor at Union 
Baptist Church: Reverend Alvin C. Hathaway. I would like to honor his 
service to the people of Maryland and enter the details of his journey 
into the Congressional Record so that current and future generations 
may learn from and study his inspiring career.
  The story of Reverend Hathaway's life is deeply bound to the story of 
Union Baptist Church. Alvin Hathaway grew up on Druid Hill Avenue in 
West Baltimore in a family that believed deeply in combining education 
and service--four doors down from the church itself--and he came of age 
in a neighborhood shaped and nurtured by faith. That community had 
cradled other great leaders too--leaders who,

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like Reverend Hathaway, bent the arc of history toward justice. 
Thurgood Marshall had lived along the same avenue where he grew up. The 
late great Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings was one of his high 
school classmates. And at an early age, Reverend Hathaway was mentored 
by another legendary son of Baltimore City and civil rights champion, 
Reverend Vernon Dobson, with whom he helped organize and found BUILD, 
Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development. That organization has 
been serving the people of Baltimore City for over 40 years, helping to 
improve affordable housing, create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, and 
so much more.
  Through BUILD, Reverend Hathaway left his mark on Baltimore City 
early in his career, and his legacy of good works will continue to 
endure through that powerful organization. But he has never been one to 
rest on his laurels, and Reverend Hathaway continued throughout his 
life to find new ways of serving at the intersection of faith and 
social justice--and of giving back to the church and the community that 
raised him. After earning a B.A. from the McKendree University School 
of Religion and an M.A. from Saint Mary's Seminary and University in 
Baltimore, Reverend Hathaway pursued a Ph.D. at the United Theological 
Seminary in Ohio, and he chose the history of Union Baptist Church as 
the focus of his academic study. Through his deep research into the 
narrative and legacy of that church, Reverend Hathaway became a steward 
of the church's culture, traditions, and values. I submit that no one 
knows Union Baptist Church better than Reverend Hathaway.
  He then returned to Baltimore City, becoming senior pastor of Union 
Baptist in 2007, and he channeled his efforts in that role toward 
renovating the very traditions of the church that he had studied and 
lived for so many years. Reverend Hathaway marshalled the full force of 
his religious wisdom and oratorical gift to guide the West Baltimore 
community forward, through both good times and bad times. His swelling 
sermons moved a generation--and grew the faith.
  But Reverend Hathaway learned early that the duties of a faith leader 
don't end at the bricks of the church walls. He took the values of his 
religious devotion and aimed them at the ongoing fight to realize the 
full promise of civil rights and equal opportunity. His efforts have 
spanned issues of health equity, civil rights, wages, and employment, 
but perhaps his greatest fight of them all has been waged through his 
dedication to expanding access to education. As senior pastor, Reverend 
Hathaway was deeply committed to bolstering the church's Head Start 
Program so more children from the surrounding area could receive high-
quality early education. I have had the privilege of visiting the Union 
Baptist Head Start with him to see, firsthand, the impact his work has 
had on the community. Reverend Hathaway's legacy can be seen in the 
wide smiles of the children who benefit from that initiative--and who 
benefit from his efforts to grow and strengthen that vital program.
  While senior pastor at Union Baptist, Reverend Hathaway also served 
as a longtime leader of Promise Heights, an organization committed to 
improving outcomes in West Baltimore's Community Schools. He has helped 
guide the course of higher education through his role on the board of 
the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was an early and 
outspoken advocate for bridging the digital divide and narrowing the 
homework gap so more students could access the internet. And even now, 
after his retirement, he is leading the fight to transform the now 
vacant lot of P.S. 103 in West Baltimore into the Justice Thurgood 
Marshall Center, which will focus on programs supporting education, 
justice, and ethics.
  He has done all this, and more, over the course of an extraordinary 
career marked by a commitment to his faith, a dedication to the people 
of Baltimore City, and a belief in the power of community. Though he 
has retired as the leader of Union Baptist Church, I know that he will 
carry on in the work that has defined his tenure as senior pastor--and 
defined his entire life. I am proud to call him a full partner in the 
work of building a more perfect union, and I will continue standing 
shoulder-to-shoulder with him in our shared endeavor to invest in the 
success of all.

                          ____________________