[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 197 (Thursday, November 30, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5993-H5994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                       REMEMBERING SAUNDRA GRAHAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember three 
generational leaders who have earned the honor of being eulogized in 
this great Chamber and in perpetuity in our Congressional Record: 
Saundra Graham, Pearline James, and Mukiya Baker-Gomez, three 
incredible Black women whose love for community was manifest in their 
historic achievements and legacy they invite us all to aspire to.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the passing of Ms. Saundra Graham. 
Saundra Graham's contributions to Cambridge and the Commonwealth far 
outpace her impressive and well-earned list of titles: first woman of 
color elected to the Cambridge City Council, the first woman of color 
to be the vice mayor, six-term State representative, secretary to the 
National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, founder of the 
Massachusetts Childcare Coalition, cofounder of the Riverside 
Cambridgeport Community Development Corporation, among others.
  Saundra Graham truly was a trailblazer on a mission to do good along 
the way, and she wasn't afraid to make good trouble in the name of 
justice both inside and outside of politics.
  She was a tenacious truth-teller, and I count myself amongst those 
who will miss her righteous reprimands. Her impact is an indelible one 
which will endure throughout our Commonwealth and in her loving family, 
which I know was her greatest legacy as she was a proud mother, 
grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother.
  May she rest in peace and power.


                    Paying Tribute to Pearline James

  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
incredible woman of faith, Pearline James. In church, I grew up singing 
a song, ``They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love.'' Indeed, Mrs. 
James was God's love in action.
  Pastor Pearline James served God and her community as an associate 
pastor at Full Life Gospel Center in Dorchester. She did this with 
love, dedication, and compassion for all God's children.

[[Page H5994]]

  It is no surprise, as one of 21 siblings and the second eldest, that 
she was a mother and nurturer to many. She brought life and love to 
every child and family that passed through her and her beloved husband 
Evans' childcare center in their home, J.P. Family Childcare, in the 
1970s. She was passionate about education, and at the age of 60, she 
returned to school, earning a degree and graduating with a 3.8 GPA.
  While Mrs. James laid in hospice, the true impact of the love she 
imparted to the city was on full display, and nurses were quoted saying 
she had no less than 300 visitors.
  Her daughter Denella said her mother often would invoke the lyrics of 
``It Is Well With My Soul,'' a gospel hymn whose words include: 
``Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well 
with my soul.''
  She is survived by the great love of her life, Evan, by her 
daughters, Denella, Rosemarie, and Debby, and 10 grandchildren and 15 
great-grandchildren.


                      Honoring Mukiya Baker-Gomez

  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a woman, leader, 
mentor, and brilliant strategist on whose shoulders so many electoral 
firsts stand on, including myself, Mukiya Baker-Gomez.
  In 2018, I became the first person of color to represent the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives in the 
Commonwealth's 230-year history. That foundation, that possibility, the 
literal electoral blueprint to winning elections in Boston and building 
coalitions, began with Mukiya Baker-Gomez. Her political acumen and 
shrewd counsel were enviable, and her commitment to community 
unwavering and unshakeable, especially to Black people.
  Her every move and impact outside of politics has been even greater. 
She played a key role in an inclusive economy, fighting to ensure that 
contractors of color would be prioritized. She was a historymaker, 
although she never chased a title.
  It was important to me to eulogize her because I will not have her 
contributions erased or unacknowledged.
  I thank Mukiya for everything. I love and miss her.
  She is survived by the love of her life, Kevin; her loving children, 
Talisha and Kenyatta; her siblings; and a host of family by blood and 
by bond.
  I thank Mukiya for her sacrifice and tenacity and for always speaking 
truth to power.

                          ____________________