[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 148 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5569-H5570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ROBERT HAYDEN POST OFFICE

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 3639) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 2075 West Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
as the ``Robert Hayden Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3639

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ROBERT HAYDEN POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 2075 West Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, 
     Michigan, shall be known and designated as the ``Robert 
     Hayden Post Office''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Robert Hayden Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kansas?
  There was no objection.

[[Page H5570]]

  

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3639, which names a post office 
in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Robert Hayden.
  Hayden was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended Detroit City 
College, now Wayne State University, before going on to earn a master 
of arts degree from the University of Michigan.
  During his lifetime, he published nine collections of poetry with 
much of his work touching on the Black American experience.
  In 1969, he began to teach at the University of Michigan, becoming 
the first Black faculty member in the university's English department.
  In 1976, he became the first African American to be appointed 
consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, a position that is 
known today as poet laureate.
  Hayden passed away in 1980 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to echo the gentleman from Kansas in 
expressing support for S. 3639 for the naming of the post office after 
Robert Hayden.
  My colleague stated well his career. He did publish nine different 
collections of poetry, including the very well-reviewed ``Heart-Shape 
in the Dust,'' ``Figures of Time,'' and ``A Ballad of Remembrance.''
  His writings leaned on his own study of American history, exploring 
the complexities of the Black American experience and situating it 
within the broader context of the development of the American story.
  In 1976, Hayden made history when he became the first African 
American to be appointed as a consultant in poetry to the Library of 
Congress.
  He passed away in 1980 in Ann Arbor.
  I urge all my colleagues to honor the life of Robert Hayden and his 
career in literature by naming a post office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
after this distinguished writer.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this 
bill naming a post office for Robert Hayden, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 3639.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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