[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 35 (Friday, February 25, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING WILLARD WALKER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 25, 2022

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Willard Walker, 
a civil rights era leader, devoted public servant, youth football 
coach, MSU alumnus, and friend to the Greater Lansing community. For 
more than 50 years, Mr. Walker has fought tirelessly for social 
justice, and the community is so much better for his efforts.
  Raised in Columbus, Georgia, by his grandmother, he joined the 
military after graduating from Albany State University.
  His first job out of the military was as a math teacher in Chicago. 
There, he fought to unite historically segregated schools. Willard met 
and married his first wife in Chicago, with whom he had two children. 
They eventually moved to Alabama, where Mr. Walker began work for the 
Birmingham Urban League, before arriving at Michigan State University 
in 1969, where he was the first Black student in the industrial 
relations department. He lived in Case Hall, a place he described as 
the epicenter for black student life.
  Mr. Walker has been influential in both local and state government, 
serving under four City of Lansing Mayors in various roles, including 
director of the Human Resources and Community Services Department, and 
on the Lansing Police Commission. At the state level he served as 
director of Michigan's School-to-Work Office, director of the Michigan 
Department of Commerce, and deputy director of the Neighborhood 
Builders Alliance--just to name a few.
  But beyond his many impressive titles, his work to ensure the Greater 
Lansing area is a more equitable and welcoming place is legendary. As a 
founding member of the Greater Lansing Area, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 
Holiday Commission, he was the first recipient of the Commission's MLK 
Legacy Award in 2010.
  In 2018, the City of Lansing Parks and Recreation Department 
dedicated the former youth sports facility, Ridsdale Park, in his 
honor, and it is now known as the Willard Walker stadium at Ridsdale 
Park. It gives me great happiness to know that through these awards and 
honors, his legacy of service will continue to provide a positive 
impact in the Greater Lansing community for generations to come.
  Mr. Walker is married to his current wife Victoria where they have 
been residents of Lansing's historic Westside for over five decades. 
Two years ago, he returned to local government to serve the City of 
Lansing as a consultant in Human Relations and Community Service, a 
department he ran for over a decade.
  It's an honor to represent a community leader like Mr. Willard Walker 
in Washington, and I am grateful for his personal and professional 
sacrifices to advance civil rights at the local, state, and national 
levels. May his efforts be forever celebrated, uplifted, and 
immortalized.

                          ____________________