[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 29, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E311-E312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO BISHOP FREDERICK C. JAMES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 29, 2022

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear 
friend, legendary faith leader, consummate community activist and 
astute political observer.
  Bishop Frederick C. James, a stalwart of the African Methodist 
Episcopal Church (AMEC) and civil rights activities, will celebrate his 
100th birthday on April 7, 2022. He was born in Prosperity, South 
Carolina, to Rosa Lee Gray and Edward James in 1922. His father, a 
mechanic with a 7th grade education, died when he was just 10 years 
old, and his mother, instilled in him the desire to see the good in 
everyone.
  Bishop James graduated from Drayton Street High School in Newberry, 
South Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and English 
from Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina in 1943 and answered 
a call to the ministry at an early age. In 1947 he graduated from the 
Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. and furthered 
his studies at Dickerson Theological Seminary in Columbia and Union 
Theological Seminary in New York, New York.
  Bishop James began his ministerial career as pastor of Friendship AME 
Church in 1945 and Bishop Memorial AME Church in 1946, both in 
Columbia, and added Wayman AME Church in Winnsboro South Carolina to 
his charge in 1947. In 1949, James became Dean of Dickerson Theological 
Seminary and pastor of Chappelle Memorial AME Church in Columbia in 
1950.
  In 1953, Bishop James moved to my hometown of Sumter, South Carolina, 
to become pastor of Mt. Pisgah AME Church, which is when I came to know 
him. He was very active in the activities that led to Briggs v. Elliott 
the initial federal court case that resulted in the 1954 Brown v. Board 
of Education Supreme Court decision. I was serving as President of the 
NAACP Youth Council at the time, and we went on to have a lifelong 
friendship and close bond.
  In 1960, James was elected director of social action for the AME 
Church, and became close with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His career 
was dedicated to faith and social activism, and he rose to great 
heights in both arenas.
  Beloved among those in the AME movement, he was elected the 93rd 
Bishop of the AME Church in 1972. He served the 18th and 15th Episcopal 
Districts from 1972 to 1976, the 12th from 1976 to 1984, the 7th from 
1984 to 1992, and the 2nd from 1993 to 1996. Among his many 
accomplishments, Bishop James led AME-sponsored colleges Shorter 
College, in Little Rock, Arkansas to full accreditation in 1981 and 
Allen University to full accreditation in 1992. He also served as 
Ecumenical Bishop and Chaplaincy Endorsement Officer of the AME Church 
in 1992. In 1996, Bishop James retired from leadership in the AME 
Church.
  Bishop James' interest in civic engagement began while he was very 
young. He joined the NAACP as a teenager and actively became involved 
in voter registration efforts. He was very active in the student 
movement while on the campus of Allen University.
  While living in Sumter, he helped organize and chair the Sumter 
Citizens Committee. He also served as president of the Effective Sumter 
Movement, These groups organized demonstrations, raised bail to get 
protestors out of jail, and met with local white organizations and 
government officials in the effort to change hearts and minds.
  In addition to his civil rights activism, Bishop James served as 
chair of Allen University's Board of Trustees and of the Howard Junior 
High School Center in Prosperity, South Carolina. He was also a board 
member of the Columbia Housing Authority. In 1994, Bishop James was 
selected by his good friend, President Bill Clinton, to serve as a 
member of the delegation to attend the inauguration of South African 
President Nelson Mandela.

[[Page E312]]

  Bishop James is a former member of the White House Advisory Board on 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities and of the U.S. State 
Department's Advisory Board on Religious Freedom and served as National 
Vice President of the Interfaith Alliance. Bishop James is a life 
member of the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and is a 33rd degree 
Mason. He was also the first African American to serve on the board of 
directors at the National Bank of South Carolina and as a member of the 
Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce.
  Among his many honors, Bishop James holds an honorary doctorate of 
humanities from Monrovia College in Liberia. He received South 
Carolina's highest honor, the Order of the Palmetto, in 2003. In 2020, 
Bishop James received the Leon A. Love Lifetime Achievement Award from 
the South Carolina African American Heritage Foundation and ``Columbia 
SC 63: Our Story Matters.'' He has been inducted into the South 
Carolina Black Hall of Fame and the Columbia Housing Authority Wall of 
Fame.
  Bishop James married Theressa Gregg on December 30, 1944, and the 
couple enjoyed 76 years of marriage before she passed away on January 
25, 2021.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the centennial anniversary of Bishop Fred James' birth. He was a mentor 
to me and so many others as he preached the gospel and the need for 
equality and justice for all. This important milestone, is a good time 
to let Bishop James know that we all feel blessed by his efforts to 
fulfill the charge of Micah to, ``act justly, love mercy, and walk 
humbly.''

                          ____________________