[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 10, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H4173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING BISHOP CALVIN WOODS, SR.

  (Ms. Sewell of Alabama was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. SEWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the extraordinary life and 
legacy of a civil rights icon and a beloved Birmingham pastor, Bishop 
Calvin Woods, Sr., who passed away on August 16, 2025, at the age of 
91.
  Bishop Woods was a cherished member of the Birmingham community whose 
moral leadership served as a guiding light during the civil rights 
movement and beyond.
  Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Bishop Woods attended Parker 
High School before earning his bachelor's degree from Miles College. He 
went on to complete several more degrees at the Universal Baptist 
Institute and Union Baptist Seminary, as well as the School of Truth.
  In 1956, Bishop Woods began his nearly six decades of involvement in 
the civil rights movement, cofounding the Alabama Christian Movement 
for Human Rights alongside his brother, Reverend Abraham Woods, and the 
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth.
  Bishop Woods worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King and 
participated in numerous civil rights demonstrations, including the 
Birmingham campaign and the 1963 March on Washington. Following the 
shooting of five African-American protesters at a Birmingham 
supermarket, Bishop Woods planned public protests and later filed a 
lawsuit challenging the unjust suspension of schoolchildren for 
demonstrating against segregation.
  Despite being beaten, arrested, fined, and imprisoned, Bishop Woods 
was never afraid to stand up for what he believed was right. As a 
result of his fearless advocacy, he was appointed by Dr. King as a SCLC 
City Convener for the Birmingham Ministers Leadership Conference.

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  Bishop Woods was a devoted man of God whose love for his family and 
his community was unmatched. He spent more than three decades as the 
pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham, and held numerous 
leadership roles in the community.
  He served as a board member of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 
and a member of the National Baptist Convention Board of Directors.
  In 2006, Bishop Woods was named president of the Birmingham SCLC, and 
one year later, he became president of the New Era Baptist State 
Convention.
  Madam Speaker, on a personal note, I am forever grateful for the 
sacrifices that Bishop Woods made in the name of equality and justice 
for all. He stands as a testament to the power of ordinary Americans to 
achieve extraordinary social change. I know that I get to walk the 
Halls of Congress as Alabama's first Black Congresswoman because of his 
courageous efforts.
  The city of Birmingham, the State of Alabama, and our entire Nation 
are indebted to him for his tireless fight to end segregation.
  On behalf of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy 
of Bishop Calvin Woods, Sr.
  Madam Speaker, may he rest in peace and may his legacy live on in the 
lives that he touched and in the change that he sparked.

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