[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4691-H4692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING MS. YOLANDA JACKSON

  (Ms. Sewell of Alabama was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a dear friend and 
extraordinary woman of faith, and a living testament to courage and 
resilience: Ms. Yolanda Jackson.
  This week, the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University 
of Alabama at Birmingham will present Yolanda with its Iron Strong 
Award for her courageous battle with breast cancer. I cannot think of 
anyone more deserving of this recognition.
  I have known Yolanda for more than 20 years. We became fast friends 
as neighbors in 2005, after we moved into the same apartment complex in 
Birmingham, Alabama. But our connection actually began years earlier. 
While working as a human resource consultant for the city of Selma in 
the early nineties, Yolanda became known to my mother, Nancy Gardner 
Sewell--Selma's first Black city councilwoman--and she adored Yolanda. 
It was a wonderful reminder of how small and how special our Alabama 
family can be.
  Over the past two decades, we have celebrated life's blessings 
together, and we stood beside one another through some of life's 
toughest moments. Yolanda has been there for me, just as I try to be 
there for her, and I am extraordinarily grateful for her friendship. My 
life is richer because she is in it.

  Not long after moving to Birmingham in 2005, Yolanda was diagnosed 
with breast cancer. She would go on to face two more cancer diagnoses 
in 2022 and again in 2024--three cancer diagnoses, three difficult 
battles, and three remarkable victories.
  Throughout every step of that journey, Yolanda received exceptional 
care from the physicians, nurses, and staff at the O'Neal Comprehensive 
Cancer Center at UAB. Her final treatment was in October of 2025. Her 
treatment was a success. Today, I am grateful to say that she remains 
in remission.
  When you ask Yolanda where she finds her strength, her answer is 
simple: her faith. She believes that even at our hardest moments, God 
is at work, and that through suffering, he walks beside us, gives us 
strength to endure, and uses our trials to shape our character, deepen 
our faith, and make us into the people he wants us to be.
  Yolanda has lived that belief every day of her life. She encourages 
everyone facing cancer to hold on to hope, to stay positive, and never 
stop fighting. She believes we all need someone to love, something to 
look forward to, and something to live for.
  For Yolanda, that purpose shines brightest through her beautiful 
family. In 2019, she welcomed and adopted two precious twin boys, Ayden 
and Jayden, into her life. Last year, she opened her heart again by 
adopting their younger brother, Kyrie. Those three boys are truly 
blessed to have such a loving, faithful, and determined mom.
  Today, we celebrate Yolanda. We also celebrate the extraordinary work 
of the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. Their groundbreaking 
research, innovative treatments, and compassionate care have 
transformed countless lives, and Yolanda's story is a powerful 
testament to their mission.
  Today, we celebrate an iron strong survivor, my dear friend Yolanda 
Jackson. More than that, we celebrate an iron strong woman, a faithful 
servant, a devoted mother, loyal friend, and an inspiration to everyone 
blessed enough to know her.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Yolanda on this well-deserved honor. Her 
courage, her faith, and her unwavering hope inspires everyone who has 
been privileged to know her.
  I ask my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to 
join me in congratulating Ms. Yolanda Jackson and wishing her beautiful 
family many years of continued health,

[[Page H4692]]

happiness, and God's abundant blessings. I love you, Yolanda.

                          ____________________