[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 7, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HAPPY 95TH BIRTHDAY TO ANNIE RUTH NICKS

  (Mr. JAMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JAMES. Madam Speaker, while we often recognize noteworthy and 
acclaimed personalities, we have so many other great, unsung heroes and 
amazing souls who do a ton of heavy lifting with little to no 
recognition. Yet, if truth be told, they serve as the glue, sturdiness, 
strength, and all that is good about America. They go about their jobs 
quietly, without having the expectation of recognition. In fact, they 
do what they do because it is God's work, it is the right thing to do.
  I am privileged to be in a position where I can acknowledge one such 
unsung hero who happens to be the grand matriarch of my family. Born 
February 14, 1929, to William E. and Lillie Mae Ward, she is my 
grandmother, Ms. Annie Ruth Nicks. In a few days, we are blessed to 
celebrate her 95th birthday.
  I am standing here on the shoulders of giants, her shoulders, four 
generations removed from slavery, because my grandmother has always 
covered me in prayer, has always had my back when I needed her the 
most, and because she didn't kill me as a child when I put a hole in 
her wall, flung applesauce on her ceiling, and played with matches too 
close to the house in the Mississippi summertime. I thank my Grandma 
and wish her a happy birthday.

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