[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING SHERMANN THOMAS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Black History 
Month by uplifting Chicago's own urban historian, the one, the only 
Shermann ``Dilla'' Thomas. Dilla reminds us that our past can teach us 
something important about our present.
  I agree with Dilla that everything dope about America comes from 
Chicago. Dilla's Chicago pride is matched maybe by only my own. A 
lifelong Chicagoan, husband, and father of seven, Dilla gained 
prominence following the COVID-19 pandemic as he used social media 
platforms to share the forgotten stories of Chicago's local 
neighborhoods in just 60 seconds.
  Since then, he has expanded his unique talent for making history 
accessible and storytelling captivating through guided tours, history 
lessons, speaking engagements, and lectures to countless organizations, 
institutions, and businesses in the Chicago area.
  My personal favorites are Dilla's videos sharing the stories from 
Illinois' Third Congressional District in our own neighborhoods, 
including Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, and Logan Square.
  By connecting the stories of Chicago's great migration that brought 
millions of Black southerners to Chicago to the wave of global 
migration from Ukraine, Central America, and Venezuela we see today, 
Dilla connects us through storytelling, honoring our shared experiences 
and our shared humanity.
  At a time when we seem to be forgetting history, Dilla's powerful 
voice could not be more pertinent to this moment.
  It is my honor, on behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, 
to commend Shermann ``Dilla'' Thomas for reminding millions of us of 
our interconnectedness, which extends beyond race and culture. I wish 
him the best of luck as he embarks on a new role at the DuSable Black 
History Museum.
  May he keep telling our stories and reminding us of our history. I 
congratulate him.


                    Honoring Glennette Tilley Turner

  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to uplift Black History Month 
by celebrating my constituent, a lifelong teacher and a local historian 
in DuPage County, Ms. Glennette Tilley Turner.

                              {time}  1030

  For decades, Ms. Turner has dedicated herself to preserving the 
stories of the Black resistance and of the multiracial coalitions that 
struggle against injustice.
  Moving to Wheaton in 1968, Turner researched and studied DuPage 
County's history and participation in the Underground Railroad, an 
organized network led by formerly enslaved African Americans resisting 
American chattel slavery.
  In 1978, Ms. Turner published her first book, ``The Underground 
Railroad in DuPage County, Illinois.'' In it, she reminds us that, in 
the past, our country has faced moments that tested our courage and 
integrity and that, in those moments, we need brave leaders to step up 
and resist injustice.
  May we remember that historians like Ms. Turner will one day document 
how we stood up in this precise moment. So, on behalf of Illinois' 
Third Congressional District, I commend Glennette Tilley Turner for her 
remarkable service as an educator, a powerful historian, and a cultural 
steward.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Turner. Her contributions have been entered 
into the Congressional Record.

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