[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3963-H3964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MARVIN ARRINGTON, SR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Georgia (Ms. Williams) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my 
constituent, Mr. Marvin Arrington, Sr., a giant in the Atlanta 
community, where he served as one of the city's longest running 
councilmembers, a father, a friend, and a judge.
  An Atlanta native, Judge Arrington graduated from Henry McNeal Turner 
High School and went on to graduate from what was at that time Clark 
College on a football scholarship. He began his legal studies at Howard 
University School of Law before returning home to Atlanta and 
integrating Emory University School of Law, where he was one of the 
first two Black students to graduate from the law school.
  At age 28, Judge Arrington was elected to the Atlanta Board of 
Aldermen and continued serving after the city charter amendment changed 
the board into a city council. In 1980, he became Atlanta City Council 
president, a position he held for nearly two decades. In 2002, he was 
appointed judge in the Fulton County Superior Court, where he sat on 
the bench until his retirement in 2012.
  During Judge Arrington's trailblazing tenure in public service, he 
helped build and shape Atlanta into the great city that it is today. He 
left his imprint on the city's public transportation system and 
expanded Zoo Atlanta into the award-winning attraction that it is 
today.
  In the early 1990s, Judge Arrington was one of the driving forces on 
the team who brought the 1996 Summer Olympic Games to the city of 
Atlanta. While he was at it, he used the lead up to the summer games to 
convert run-down public housing projects to quality, affordable 
housing.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a saying in Atlanta, ``Atlanta Influences 
Everything,'' and that is true in part because of Marvin Arrington, 
Sr.'s, great work to influence the growth of Atlanta. In fact, in 2019, 
the city council chambers were named after him to honor the tremendous 
impact that he had on our city.
  Judge Arrington was a member of Big Bethel AME Church, the Gate City 
Bar Association Hall of Fame, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 
Incorporated. For 16 years, he was a member of the board of trustees 
for Emory University. He served in many roles--elected, appointed, and, 
yes, volunteer--but in all things he demonstrated a deep commitment to 
equity, justice, and empowering young people.
  Marvin Arrington, Sr.'s, life of service and sacrifice is a reminder 
for everyone of the rent we pay for living in this society. Atlanta is 
the city that I chose to call home, and it was the work of leaders like 
Marvin Arrington, Sr., that made it the city to choose.
  I send my deepest condolences to his daughter, Michelle Arrington; 
his son, Fulton County Commissioner, Marvin Arrington, Jr.; and his 
entire family. Marvin Arrington, Sr.'s, legacy will inspire future 
leaders for generations to come.

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