[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING BEATRICE LUMPKIN

  (Mrs. Ramirez of Illinois was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary 
life and legacy of Beatrice Lumpkin, who passed away June 14, 2026, at 
the age of 107 years. Bea was the living, marching, fighting embodiment 
of solidarity forever.
  Many of us know Bea because of her unwavering commitment to worker 
power, civil rights, and educational justice. A Chicago Public Schools 
educator and leader with the Chicago Teachers Union, Bea was a fixture 
at marches, rallies, and picket lines across our city.
  She started her activism early. At the age of 9, she marched with 
striking textile workers. Across her century of activism, Bea was on 
the front lines of the struggle for justice and equity. From marching 
alongside Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Marquette Park, to 
being instrumental in Harold Washington's campaign for mayor 43 years 
ago, to supporting the recent unionization of Starbucks employees, Bea 
showed up for her neighbors, for Chicago, and for our movement.
  In 2018, my colleague, Representative Jan Schakowsky, took to the 
floor to celebrate Bea's 100 years of fighting for justice and 
inspiring generations of activism.
  Today, I rise to thank Bea for reminding us that there is joy in the 
struggle, in solidarity, and on the front lines of the fight for 
justice because joy, in fact, is an act of resistance.
  On behalf of Chicago's Third Congressional District, I honor the 
memory and the life's work of Beatrice Lumpkin, a true champion for the 
working class and a giant in our movement.


             Honoring Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr.

  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jae Jin Pak and 
Timotheus Gordon, Jr., two leaders who cofounded the Chicagoland 
Disabled People of Color Coalition and who serve as research associates 
at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University 
of Illinois Chicago.
  Throughout their careers, they have dedicated themselves to unifying 
disabled, autistic, deaf, and neurodivergent people of color, fostering 
collective pride, strengthening advocacy skills across our communities, 
and building intersectional solidarity.
  Through the arts, culture, and relentless advocacy, they champion 
disability justice, advancing the principles of accessibility and 
radical inclusion within communities of color.
  By cultivating brave spaces that center the lived experiences of 
disabled people of color, they dismantle systemic barriers to inclusion 
and empower individuals to forge their own path to reclaim their 
identities and their dignity.
  They are the architects of a more inclusive, equitable Chicago.
  On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my proud 
honor to be able to commend Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr., for 
their dedication to disability justice, radical inclusion, and the 
innate dignity of all people.

                              {time}  1030


                Recognizing Sovereignty for Puerto Rico

  Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 
Chicago Young Lords and their protests of 1969, the first marches for 
Puerto Rican self-determination in Chicago's history.
  It is fitting that I honor a revolutionary organization fighting for 
Puerto Rican liberation and the rights of all oppressed people on the 
eve of our 250th anniversary of the United States of America. While 
America will declare its commitment to no kings, we also must demand no 
colonies.
  That is because 57 years after the summer of 1969, 57 years after 
Jose Jimenez traveled to Puerto Rico to visit the shrine of its 
nationalist leader, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, 57 years after the Chicago 
Young Lords mobilized 10,000 people to march carrying Don Pedro Albizu 
Campos signs from Lincoln Park to Humboldt Park in support of 
independence in Chicago's Puerto Rican parade, Puerto Rico is still a 
United States colony.
  We cannot celebrate 250 years of freedom while ruling a colony for 
128 of them. We cannot celebrate our independence while denying the 
Puerto Rican people the dignity of self-determination.
  That is why, here on behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional 
District, I publicly commend the Young Lords for teaching us that when 
we support Puerto Rico's self-determination, we are supporting, in 
fact, the right of sovereignty for people everywhere.

                          ____________________