[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 159 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING OUR LADY OF VICTORY

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                           HON. RASHIDA TLAIB

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2023

  Mr. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize the parish of Our 
Lady of Victory and its founding mother, Anna Bates, as they celebrate 
eighty years of service in faith to the people of Detroit in Michigan's 
12th Congressional District.
  Our Lady of Victory's story begins in a store front on Eight Mile 
Road in 1943. Mother Bates was instrumental in ensuring that the parish 
had a home in Detroit in spite of segregation and other challenges to a 
predominately Black place of worship. In 1941, the city built an eight-
foot segregation wall that extended a half-mile long just blocks from 
the new Our Lady of Victory mission site. As tensions over disparity 
and racial injustice came to a head, resulting in the 1943 protests, 
the wall became a symbol for the increasingly unjust living conditions 
for Black residents.
  Spurred by the protest and increasing tension, Mother Bates spent ten 
years petitioning the archdiocese to create a house of worship for 
Black residents who were not permitted to enter any of the neighboring 
white Catholic Churches. Nearby Catholic parishes were adamantly 
opposed to welcoming Black Catholics. But Mother Bates persevered. Our 
Lady of Victory was finally recognized as a parish. Though the parish 
has relocated over the years, we are glad they are now housed in the 
St. Scholastica campus in Michigan's 12th District.
  Please join me in recognizing of Our Lady of Victory's legacy in the 
fight against racial injustice, as they celebrate eighty years of 
service and fellowship in faith.

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