[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO ROY WILKINS IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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                         HON. MARTIN OLAV SABO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 9, 1999

  Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to take part in the celebration 
of Black History Month this year by recognizing a distinguished civil 
rights leader from the state of Minnesota--Mr. Roy Wilkins, who led the 
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 
1955 to 1977.
  Roy Wilkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901, but he grew up 
in St. Paul, Minnesota--raised by an aunt after his mother died when 
Wilkins was only four years old. He attended Whittier Grade School and 
graduated from the Mechanic Arts High School. Wilkins attended the 
University of Minnesota, and graduated from the University in 1923.
  After serving as editor of the University of Minnesota's newspaper, 
the Minnesota Daily, Wilkins started his professional career in Kansas 
City, where he served as managing editor of the Kansas City Call, an 
African-American newspaper. He used his role on the newspaper staff to 
encourage fellow blacks to vote and take advantage of the opportunity 
to make their political concerns known.
  Upon joining the NAACP in 1931, Wilkins set to work identifying and 
correcting examples of racial injustice. He investigated working 
conditions for blacks on Mississippi levees, targeting those cases in 
which blacks were unfairly treated like slaves.
  As the years passed, the fruits of Wilkins' labors as a civil rights 
advocate grew more obvious, and now he is widely recognized as the 
``Father of Civil Rights.'' Perhaps his greatest victory in the NAACP 
included the United States Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown vs. 
the Board of Education, which overturned the ``separate-but-equal'' 
doctrine in the South's educational system. Furthermore, Wilkins is 
extensively credited for his role in helping to pass the Civil Rights 
Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, as well as the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
  To recognize Wilkins' pivotal achievements, President Lyndon Johnson 
presented him with the country's highest civilian honor, the Medal of 
Freedom, in 1967.
  Roy Wilkins served the NAACP for a total of 46 years. Although 
Wilkins passed away in 1981, his legacy lives on in an extraordinary 
piece of public artwork in St. Paul, Minnesota--the Roy Wilkins 
Memorial.
  The Roy Wilkins Memorial was unveiled in 1995 on the Capitol Mall of 
the Minnesota State Capitol. The Memorial, with its intriguing symbolic 
features, serves as a fine reminder of the life and work of this 
revered man. The walls of the monument signify the obstacles and 
barriers created by racial segregation, while the spiral shape of the 
sculpture represents the cycle of Wilkins' achievements in the form of 
advancements for minority rights. This spiral extends above and through 
the walls of the monument to illustrate how racial equality can be met 
by means of effective legislative actions. Finally, the Memorial's 
obelisk, decorated with African relics, is a moving tribute to the 
ancestors of modern-day African Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, today I challenge my colleagues--and all Americans--to 
become active participants in Black History Month and all that it 
represents. I encourage them to learn more about Roy Wilkins, and, if 
possible, to visit the Roy Wilkins Memorial in Minnesota and see this 
fine monument for themselves. This is just one example of the many ways 
we all can recognize, explore and honor the civil rights leaders who 
guided our nation toward racial equality and understanding.

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