[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              TRIBUTE TO JUDGE JOSEPH CLEMENS HOWARD, SR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ney). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to note the passing from this life 
on September 16 of a great American. I rise to pay homage to a man of 
peace, United States District Judge Joseph Clemens Howard, Sr.
  Judge Howard served the cause of justice for many years, first on the 
Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, and later on the United States 
District Court for the District of Maryland.
  Some may think it unusual that I characterize this man who was such a 
fierce and tenacious fighter for justice as a man of peace. We must 
never forget, however, what Dr. Martin Luther King taught this Nation 
when he said, ``Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace is the 
presence of justice.''
  All too often in this life, we fail to recognize, Mr. Speaker, the 
greatness of the people around us. Judge Joseph Howard was a man, 
however, whose elevated stature as a human being, whose intellectual 
capability and moral character, as well as physical presence, demanded 
recognition.
  As a consequence of that stature, Joe Howard was acknowledged in his 
own time as both a legal scholar and as a trailblazer for civil rights.
  President Jimmy Carter nominated Judge Howard to serve on the United 
States District Court for the District of Maryland in 1979. That action 
on the part of President Carter was an historic event.
  In recognition of Joe Howard's capabilities and proven 
accomplishments as a member of the Maryland judiciary, both Maryland 
Senator Charles Mathias and our Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes 
strongly supported Judge Howard's nomination. The Senate gave its 
advice and consent, and on October 25, 1979, Judge Joseph Howard was 
sworn in as the first African American to ever serve on Maryland's 
United States District court.
  No one who loves justice has ever had cause to regret this historic 
event.
  I have been taught that a true leader stands up for what is right, 
whatever adversity that may bring, hanging on to his principles until 
the rest of the world catches up. This is how I will always remember 
Judge Joseph Howard.
  He cleared the path and set the standards of excellence and principle 
for all of us who followed him into the law. Those of us who were 
blessed to know Judge Howard understand that the principles he fought 
to advance are far from being secured. We will carry on in the certain 
knowledge that a man who loved humanity has chartered our course and 
won the opening argument.
  Judge Howard used to remind us that justice must always seek to 
improve the human condition. He quoted Eleanor Roosevelt's words so 
often:

       Human rights must begin in small places close to home. They 
     are the world of the individual person, where every man, 
     woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity and 
     equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights 
     have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.

  Judge Howard understood the fundamental truth in Eleanor Roosevelt's 
words. That conviction was the source of his greatness.
  Judge Howard's funeral last Friday was one of those brief moments 
when everyone, both black and white, became one heart and one mind. 
Baltimore came together last Friday to pay respect to the life of a man 
who taught us lasting lessons about the seeds of justice within the 
human spirit.
  ``There was a fury about Judge Joseph Howard, a sense of justice that 
lay at the center of his soul,'' recalled District Court Chief Judge J. 
Frederick Motz. ``At the same time, he was a man of compassion to all, 
whatever their station in life.''
  Maryland's Chief Judge, Robert Bell, concurred, observing, ``Joe 
Howard was a man who built bridges so that those who followed could 
cross to opportunity on the other side.''
  What touched me most deeply, Mr. Speaker, though, was the honesty and 
the candor with which those of us who spoke addressed the struggles in 
Joe Howard's life. We talked openly about how in 1968 as a young man 
and Assistant State's Attorney, Joe Howard had gone against the legal 
establishment of that time, challenging racial disparities in 
sentencing and pushing for a higher level of equity.
  We remembered how the system attempted to punish Joe Howard's pursuit 
of justice during his campaign for a seat on the Supreme Bench. In a 
free society, the seeds of justice can take hold and grow only in the 
shared soil of our respect for ourselves and each other as human 
beings.
  So, my colleagues and friends, I rise not to mourn the death of 
Joseph Clemens Howard, but to celebrate the life of a man who 
exemplified ``equal justice under the law.''
  To the beloved ones in Judge Howard's life, his wife, Gwendolyn Lynn 
Howard; his son, Joseph; his brother, Lawrence; and the entire Howard 
family, we simply say thank you for sharing with us the life of a great 
man. Judge Joseph Clemens Howard was beloved by all who loved justice, 
and he will be sorely missed.

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