[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2558-H2559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY TO MRS. VERNETTA JORDAN GLASS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate and pay 
tribute to an outstanding citizen of the United States, and I am 
pleased to add that she is a member of my family, the Glass family.

[[Page H2559]]

  Before my mother married my father, her maiden name was Glass. The 
lady that we celebrate today and acknowledge as she celebrates her 
100th birthday is Mrs. Vernetta Jordan Glass.

                              {time}  1130

  I am pleased to wish her a happy birthday and to wish all of my Glass 
relatives well as we celebrate a family reunion in Detroit, Michigan.
  Vernetta Jordan Glass was born on May 27, 1923, in the historic town 
of Mound Bayou, Mississippi.
  Mound Bayou traces its origin to the 1820s to a White planter, Joseph 
Davis, the older brother of Jefferson Davis, who was President of the 
Confederate States, which left the Union and formed the Confederacy, 
which led to the Civil War.
  After the war, Joseph Davis sold his land to a former slave, Benjamin 
Montgomery, and it was Isaiah T. Montgomery who led the founding of 
Mound Bayou in 1887.
  Vernetta was born on May 27, 1923, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and 
grew up in this all-Black town. She went to school and church, 
participated in community activities, and was taught values by her 
parents that have guided her life to this day.
  She married Winston L. Glass, and she and her late husband migrated 
from Mississippi to Detroit, Michigan, in 1947, where they created for 
themselves very productive lives and raised seven highly educated and 
accomplished children.
  After retiring from her nursing career, Vernetta increased her 
volunteer activities at her church, the community center, the Charles 
H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra Hall, senior citizens centers, and other community places of 
interest.
  Understanding the value of electoral politics and the civil rights 
movement, for many years, Vernetta worked as a judge of elections.
  She is grandmother to more than 50 grandchildren and great-
grandchildren and enjoys visits from friends and family. She also loves 
music and gardening and is a superb Scrabble player.
  As she reaches the ripe age of 100, I am pleased to wish this dynamic 
lady, who has accomplished so much, a happy birthday. By the way, I am 
extraordinarily pleased that she is my cousin.

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