[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 29420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 29420]]

               TRIBUTE TO DAISY GASTON BATES OF ARKANSAS

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
American and an honored daughter of Arkansas. Daisy Gaston Bates was an 
author, a newspaper publisher, a public servant, a community leader. 
And some would say most importantly, a civil rights activist. Mrs. 
Bates passed away last Thursday and we in the great state of Arkansas 
are celebrating the life of one of our greatest citizens.
  Mrs. Bates believed in justice and equality for all of us. No doubt 
it was that love of freedom and equality that compelled her crusade in 
1957 for the rights of nine African-American children to attend Little 
Rock's all-white Central High School. Daisy Bates played a central 
role, as Arkansas president of the National Association of Colored 
People, in the litigation that lead up to that confrontation on the 
school steps. This was a defining moment in the history of the civil 
rights movement.
  According to her own accounts and those of the Little Rock Nine, the 
students would gather each night at the Bates' home to receive guidance 
and strength. It was through the encouragement of Daisy Bates and her 
husband that these young men and women were able to face the vicious 
and hateful taunts of those so passionately opposed to their attendance 
at Central High.
  Mrs. Bates and her husband, L.C., also published a newspaper, the 
Arkansas State Press, which courageously published accounts of police 
brutality against African-Americans in the 1940's and took a stance for 
civil rights. Eventually, Central High was integrated and Daisy and her 
husband were forced to close their newspaper because of their civil 
rights stance. Advertisers withdrew their business and the paper 
suffered financial hardships from which it could not recover. She and 
L.C. were threatened with bombs and guns. They were hanged in effigy by 
segregationists.
  But Daisy Bates persevered. She did all this, withstood these 
challenges, because she loved children and she loved her country. She 
had an internal fire, instilled in her during a childhood spent in 
Huttig, Arkansas. And this strong character shone through as she 
willingly took a leadership role to battle the legal and political 
inequities of segregation in our state and the nation.
  Mrs. Bates continued to work tirelessly in anti-poverty programs, 
community development and neighborhood improvement. She published a 
book, for which another remarkable woman, Eleanor Roosevelt, wrote the 
introduction. Daisy also spent time working for the Democratic National 
Committee and for President Johnson's administration.
  Many people honored Daisy Bates during her lifetime. In 1997, Mrs. 
Bates received for her courage and character, the Margaret Chase Smith 
Award, named after the second woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. 
Daisy Bates carried the Olympic torch from a wheelchair during the 1996 
Atlanta games. Many more, I am sure, will honor her after her death. I 
am proud to honor her today in the U.S. Senate.
  Mrs. Bates will lie in state on Monday at the State Capitol Rotunda 
in Little Rock. Ironically, this is only blocks away from the school 
where that famous confrontation occurred in 1957. And in another twist 
of fate, the Little Rock Nine are scheduled to receive Congressional 
Gold Medals in a White House ceremony with President Bill Clinton this 
Tuesday, the very same day Daisy Bates will be laid to rest.
  This great woman leaves a legacy to our children, our state and our 
nation; a love of justice, freedom and the right to be educated. A 
matriarch of the civil rights movement has passed on but I'm encouraged 
by the words of her niece, Sharon Gaston, who said, ``Just don't let 
her work be in vain. There's plenty of work for us to do.''
  Mr. President, there is still much work to be done to bring complete 
civil rights and equality to our nation. Today, as we pause to remember 
Daisy Gaston Bates, I hope we will be renewed and refreshed in our 
efforts.

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