[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 7, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H527-H530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BLACK HISTORY MONTH OVERVIEW
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, each year in February, we have the
opportunity to study the past and use it as a learning tool to move
closer to a future of social equity for all. As we are now in the midst
of Black History Month, it is both fitting and necessary that we look
inward to our own communities and the legacy of the pioneers who paved
the way.
From the foundations of our great State to the present time,
Michigan's Seventh District, which I am proud to represent, has been
home to many pioneering Black men, women, and organizations who have
made significant contributions to every aspect of life in our State.
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The great State of Michigan stood tall as an anti-slavery State in
the Civil War and played an important role in aiding Freedom Seekers on
their path via the Underground Railroad.
Today, Michigan is a hub of arts, culture, athletics, and innovation,
thanks to the contributions of our diverse citizenry who call it home.
It is my profound honor, for the fourth time annually, to highlight
stories of Black Michiganders, past and present, from the Seventh
District and to read their stories into the archives of this great
Chamber.
Honoring the Canady Family
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to a legendary
Lansing family that has broken barriers across generations and
continues to make history to this very day.
The story begins in 1927 when the family matriarch, Ms. Hortense
Canady, was born in Chicago. While she didn't grow up in Michigan, she
came to Michigan State University to pursue her graduate studies after
attending Fisk University, where she met her husband, Clinton.
In the Lansing area, Hortense and Clinton, a World War II veteran and
member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, settled, put down roots, and left
an indelible mark on our community.
Clinton became a well-known and well-loved dentist, while Hortense
put her passion for education and civil rights into action, becoming
the first African American elected to the Lansing School Board of
Education in 1968. Four years later, she and several other board
members were recalled for advocating for desegregation, but Hortense
did not let that deter her from working toward her core belief that
everyone deserves access to quality education.
She sat on the State's Women's Commission, served as the first
executive director of the Lansing Community College Foundation, and
helped fund a debutante club in Lansing to fill a void for young Black
women, who at the time were not permitted to share in this tradition.
Hortense founded the Lansing alumnae chapter of her sorority, Delta
Sigma Theta, and served as its national president from 1983 to 1988.
She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 and was
named one of Ebony magazine's Most Influential People. Hortense Canady
died in 2010 at the age of 83.
Not only was Hortense Canady impressive in her own right, but her
children have continued to blaze their own trails.
Her daughter, Alexa Canady, is the first African-American woman in
the Nation to be a neurosurgeon and served as the chief of neurosurgery
at the Children's Hospital of Michigan from 1987 until her retirement
in 2001. She devoted her brilliant mind and numerous talents to healing
and welfare for thousands of young patients over the course of her
career. Like her mother, she was inducted into the Michigan Women's
Hall of Fame. She was also named a Michigander of the Year by the
Detroit News in 2002.
All three of Hortense Canady's sons became attorneys, including the
Honorable Judge Clinton Canady III. Before ascending to the bench,
Canady
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practiced law for 37 years. He was a founder of the Lansing Black
Lawyers' Association, director of the Ingham County Bar Association, a
commissioner for the Lansing Board of Water and Light, a member of the
NAACP, and served on the board of the Lansing Symphony Association,
Central Michigan Legal Aid, and so many other organizations.
Elected to the Ingham County Circuit Court in 2010, Judge Canady
served through his retirement in 2022 but returned on assignment to
help address the backlog of cases during the COVID pandemic.
He and his wife, Rita, have two children who are continuing the
Canady tradition of service, one as an administrative law judge in
California and the other at the United States Department of State.
The Canady family is part of the very fabric of the Lansing
community, a fabric stitched with their incredible work ethic and
commitment to breaking new ground and to clearing a path for others to
follow.
Madam Speaker, I ask that their accomplishments be forever enshrined
in the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives.
honoring elsie mcpherson-brown
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I honor the groundbreaking service
of a Livingston County woman who never even planned to live in the
area, much less to make history there. Fortunately, life had its own
plans for Elsie McPherson-Brown, and the community is so much better
for it.
Livingston County sits at the crossroads of several major highways,
and when Elsie McPherson-Brown was driving one of them to go visit
family and friends, she took a wrong turn and ended up in the northern
community of Hartland, Michigan.
Elsie liked what she saw on that unexpected outing. After further
investigation, including meeting with the superintendent and school
principals, she convinced her husband to relocate to Hartland from
Detroit with their two elementary school-aged boys.
It is worth noting that Livingston County was and is to this day an
overwhelmingly White community, but Elsie and her family were
undeterred. From the beginning of their time in Hartland, Elsie dove
into community service, volunteering in her kids' classrooms, chairing
teacher appreciation day events, and serving on the PTO.
In 2003, Elsie took her service to a new and historic level when she
successfully ran for the Board of Education of Hartland Consolidated
Schools, becoming the first African-American woman and only the second
African American in modern history to be elected to public office in
Livingston County.
Her story is not without challenges, particularly when it comes to
race relations. She often shares how a grocery store manager insisted
her personal check was fraudulent because he refused to believe that a
Black woman was living in Livingston County at the address that was
stated. There were local police officers who questioned her youngest
son and refused to believe he was heading home for the same reason.
Elsie chose to rise above and set her focus and her intention on the
things that she loved about the community and the commonalities she
shared with her friends and neighbors.
Supported by the voters, Elsie served 10 years on the school board
and fulfilled her goal of having a voice and shaping the education of
the next generation.
She was known for her calm demeanor, her colorful outfits, and the
many hats she wore about town, perhaps representative of the different
hats she wore in life: wife, mother, advocate, trailblazer.
While she has stepped down from public office, today she continues
her life of quiet service to the community in her work in the
Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
Elsie McPherson-Brown may have stumbled upon Hartland accidentally,
but it is no accident that she changed the course of Hartland's
history.
Madam Speaker, her story deserves to be told, uplifted, and forever
preserved here in the permanent Record of the people's House.
honoring dr. samuel edward holloway
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I honor a man who was a trailblazer
in athletics and education and used his talents to break barriers and
change the lives of generations of young people.
Dr. Samuel Edward Holloway lived to serve others: his Nation, his
community, and his family. It is fitting that as we mark Black History
Month, we shine a light on his place in the history of Michigan's
Seventh District and the many doors he opened for others to pass
through.
Before he was Dr. Holloway, he was simply Sam. He was a young man who
came to Michigan with his father and left the Deep South as part of the
Great Migration north.
After spending his childhood in various parts of the Midwest, Sam and
his family settled in Michigan in the 1940s, where he would eventually
join the Ann Arbor High School class of 1951.
Sam's athletic abilities were evident from a very young age. He was
crowned State champion in his wrestling class during his high school
years. Also clear was his desire to use his life for the greater good
as he enlisted in the United States Army upon graduation and was
honorably discharged in 1953.
It was then that Sam began embarking on what would become his
lifelong calling: public education. He received his bachelor's and
master's degrees from Eastern Michigan University, during which time he
also began his teaching career.
So it was, at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963, when
Samuel Edward Holloway became the first Black faculty member in the
history of South Lyon Public Schools. During his tenure there, he was
credited with becoming the first Black person to serve as head
wrestling coach for any high school team in the State of Michigan.
Eventually, Sam earned his Ph.D. in education and went on to serve in
numerous districts, including Ypsilanti Public Schools and Romulus
Public Schools.
In the late 1970s, he became a building administrator at Pioneer High
School in Ann Arbor, a full-circle moment for a man who had graduated
from that very district.
He held that post until his retirement in 1990, a retirement that he
and his wife, Janet, enjoyed to the fullest. Still an athlete at heart
and in practice, Holloway competed each year in the Arizona Senior
Olympics and rode his motorcycle across the United States and Europe.
Dr. Samuel Edward Holloway passed away in 2022, leaving behind his
devoted wife, his four children, a large and loving extended family,
and an incredible legacy.
Dr. Holloway didn't set out to be a pioneer. He simply wanted to do
the things he loved in service to others.
Madam Speaker, I ask that the permanent Record of the people's House
reflect his groundbreaking contributions and the gratitude of the
institutions forever changed by his presence.
Honoring Orrin and Luvina Wilson
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to two of the most
beloved residents to ever call the St. Johns, Michigan, community home:
Orrin and Luvina Wilson.
Settling in Clinton County post-Civil War, the Wilsons were a ``power
couple'' before the term existed, but it was never about seeking power
for themselves. Rather, the Wilsons lived their lives in quiet but
devoted and groundbreaking service to their Nation and to their
neighbors, and forever changed the face of St. Johns.
Orrin was just 16 years old in 1864 when he enlisted in Michigan's
all-Black regiment, the 102nd United States Colored Infantry, Company
K, out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He served until the war's end and
returned to Michigan, where he met and married his bride.
The two would soon settle in St. Johns, where they lived for the next
60 years. In addition to his military service, Orrin was a trailblazer
in so many ways.
First, he took up the trade of barbering and owned his shop for
nearly 50 years, serving a mostly White clientele out of the old Steel
Hotel in downtown St. Johns.
He was also a founding member of the local chapter of the Grand Army
of the Republic, a national union of Civil War veterans, and served as
its post commander for a time. Not only was he the only Black member of
the St. Johns Charles Grisson Post of the Grand Army of the Republic,
it is believed that he is the only Black man in
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the State of Michigan to hold such a leadership position outside of the
all-Black posts in cities like Detroit.
Luvina was a trailblazer in her own right, serving as president of
the local chapter of the Women's Relief Corps, an auxiliary
organization of the Grand Army of the Republic. The WRC not only
supported the mission to aid Union veterans but also assisted former
Army nurses and promoted patriotism through education. Just like her
husband, Luvina is believed to be the only Black woman in the State to
have ever led an all-White post.
Orrin and Luvina raised their two sons together, George and Arthur,
who continued the family barbering trade. The family was active in St.
Johns United Methodist Church, where Orrin served as a trustee and
treasurer for three decades. They were married for 58 years, linked by
their common goal of creating a better, more just community and Nation.
United, they also were in death, leaving this world just 1 day apart
in late December 1928. The two were buried together in the veterans
section of the Mt. Rest Cemetery, with flags flown at half-mast and a
large funeral procession going past the family home on South Clinton
Avenue.
Madam Speaker, may their life story and memory be a blessing and an
inspiration to all of us, forever preserved here in the permanent
Record of the people's House.
Honoring Mike Garland
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I pay tribute to a basketball coaching
legend who helped lead the Michigan State University Spartans men's
basketball team to 19 NCAA tournaments, 10 Big Ten championships, 7
Final Fours, and a national championship.
As impressive as those statistics are, former MSU Assistant Coach
Mike Garland quite literally came back from the dead and is now using
his second chance at life to pay this incredible gift forward.
As much as Mike Garland loved coaching basketball, and as many great
things as his teams accomplished on the court, he was content with his
decision to retire from MSU in June 2022. He was looking forward to
spending more time with his wife, his kids, and his grandkids.
Not long after, however, he went into cardiac arrest while driving
his car. Fortunately, two Good Samaritans were driving by at the time.
They saw Garland's car go off the road and into a tree. They called 911
and performed CPR until paramedics and police arrived. In total, 13
people worked on Garland for an agonizing 18 minutes to restart his
heart.
It turned out the electrical failure in Garland's heart was the
result of a birth defect, one that required open heart surgery to fix.
Three months later, Garland was back up and running, quite literally,
on the treadmill. Not long after that, he honored all of those who
helped save his life with an emotional public thank-you at the MSU
Breslin Center, home to many of his greatest coaching moments.
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Today, the Breslin Center is also home court for his new passion: a
foundation he launched called Champions of the Heart.
Through this nonprofit, Garland works to inform the Spartan community
and others on how to save lives during episodes of cardiac arrest.
Attendees at these free trainings learn how to perform CPR, how to
recognize sudden cardiac arrest, and how to use an automatic external
defibrillator.
Mike Garland is a man who has lived two lives, both defined by
statistics. In the first, his focus was on wins, losses, and free-throw
percentages.
His second life, however, is summed up in a single stark numerical
reality: Only one person in ten survives a cardiac arrest.
For all he has done to defy the odds and change the course of history
for himself and for others, I ask that his story be recorded in the
permanent Record of the people's House.
Recognizing Reverend Lillian Archibald
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a woman who defied not
only the odds but her own family's wishes to become a pioneer in the
pulpit at a landmark Black church in Livingston County, Michigan.
Though her father was a devout Baptist preacher in the early part of
the 20th century, Lillian Archibald was taught from a young age that
ministry was strictly for men. The fourth of five children, Lillian's
father was clear in his message to his daughters: Love the Lord, but
find another calling of work.
Skeptical but obedient, Lillian attended a business college in her
hometown of Memphis and spent time as a missionary before starting a
family of her own. Tragically, the youngest of her four children was
killed in 1977 in a crash between a car and a train.
Despite her profound grief, Lillian took solace in her unshakable
faith and made the decision that it was time to answer the call that
had been placed upon her heart.
Lillian enrolled at Payne Theological Seminary and enlisted in the
ministry at age 50. She spent some time as an itinerant elder before
being ordained as a full minister in 1985. And, of course, she broke
the news to her father, who she says grew very quiet before finally
giving his blessing.
She brought that blessing to Michigan, first serving 6 years
assisting the pastor at a church in Jackson, Michigan, before being
assigned to pastor St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Brighton--the only African-American church in predominantly White
Livingston County in 1990.
With her melodic voice and charismatic style, Reverend Archibald is
credited with breathing new life and hope into her congregation where
she stayed for 4 years.
During her tenure, the church grew in size and in spirit, and began
reaching out to the community and joining other churches with a sense
of common purpose and passion.
Though her time in Livingston County was brief, her impact was
profound. She received numerous recognitions for her commitment to
community, including her work with victims of domestic violence at the
Women's Resource Center in Howell and her efforts to shelter the
unhoused through Habitat for Humanity.
Perhaps one of her greatest gifts was the mentorship she offered to
other women contemplating the ministry. Reverend Archibald is still
warmly remembered today by many of them as a compassionate guide and a
listening ear.
Just as her courageous ministry and her golden voice still guide the
work of St. James AME Church, I ask that her memory be forever
enshrined in the permanent Record of the United States House of
Representatives.
Honoring Rodney Whitaker and Xavier Davis
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to two members of the
Michigan State University faculty who have contributed to the rich
artistic landscape of our great State and helped shape the next
generation of musical talent, all set to a distinctive jazz beat.
As a young recording artist in Detroit, Rodney Whitaker likely never
imagined he would one day build and lead one of the most distinguished
jazz degree programs and performing faculties in the world. But the
legendary bassist known for his distinctive ``bear-sized'' tones, today
serves as director of jazz studies at MSU, a program he has transformed
into a world-class training ground whose students have gone on to
perform alongside some of the top jazz artists in the world.
It is a case of those who can do, teach. Whitaker himself spent 7
years as a bassist with Wynton Marsalis' Septet and the Lincoln Center
Jazz Orchestra, followed by a quarter-century touring around the world,
collaborating and performing with legendary jazz artists from Dizzy
Gillespie to Diana Krall.
He continues to teach master classes at universities around the
world, all while serving as the artistic director at the MSU Professors
of Jazz, the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, the Dr.
Phillips Center Jazz Orchestra in Orlando, Florida, and the Gathering
Orchestra in Detroit to name a few of his many involvements.
He has earned one of the highest distinctions in academia, the title
of University Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass and he is proud to
serve as a special assistant to the dean's office, directing the
College of Music's diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts.
In 2006, he was nominated for the Juno Award, Canada's equivalent to
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the Grammy, and in 2011, he received an Emmy nomination.
Just last year, he was named 2023 Detroit Jazz Hero by the Jazz
Journalists Association.
But strip away all the titles, all the awards, and Whitaker is simply
a man who understands the power of the gift that he has been given and
the necessity to pass it on. In his own words, Dr. Rodney Whitaker
said: That is my truth. I love passing on the knowledge of the
history of music, and it is life-changing to see that lightbulb go off
in someone. It certainly changed my life.
For all the lives he has enriched, changed, and set to music, I ask
that his contributions forever live here in the permanent Record of the
United States House of Representatives.
Madam Speaker, I would also like to shine a light on the incredible
accomplishments of another member of the Michigan State University jazz
community: Associate professor of jazz piano, Xavier Davis.
It was 1994 and Xavier Davis, then a college student from Grand
Rapids, Michigan, was performing with a small ensemble at a convention
in Boston when his tunes caught the ear of the legendary jazz vocalist
Betty Carter, a native of Flint, Michigan. Carter scooped him up and
brought him to New York, hiring him to work exclusively as a pianist
for her jazz trio.
Davis spent many years in New York, cultivating his talent, learning
from and playing with some of the greatest names in jazz, including:
Carl Allen, James Williams, Billy Hart, Regina Carter, and Wynton
Marsalis. He served as musical director for the Boys Choir of Harlem
during its 1999-2000 season, he played keyboard for the television
series ``The Cosby Show,'' and has been featured on more than 50
albums, including a Grammy-winning collaboration with Christian McBride
in 2012.
We are so fortunate that after 6 years of teaching at the famed
Juilliard School in New York, Davis brought his talents back home and
has been teaching jazz piano at Michigan State University since 2014.
In addition to the many students who have benefited from his
instruction, Davis has also dedicated himself to uplifting his own
hometown of Detroit through his music.
Supported by a grant from Michigan State University's Humanities and
Art Research program, Davis began composing music about Detroit, which
eventually became a powerful album titled ``Rise Up Detroit.''
Through his music, Davis focused on the role Detroit has played in
the lives of African Americans and in the world at large, highlighting
the Underground Railroad, the Great Migration, and the boon days of the
auto industry.
Professor Davis is a gifted composer, arranger, and producer of
music, and widely recognized as one of the most accomplished jazz
pianists in the world. He is also a proud Michigander, continually
giving back to the community and the State that put the music in his
soul. While he is a recording artist, it is my distinct pleasure to
record his accomplishments and convey my gratitude for his
contributions here in the permanent Record of the people's House.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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