[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3820-3821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   TRIBUTE TO CLARISSA WALKER AND DOROTHY WOOLFORK IN CELEBRATION OF 
                         WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN OLAV SABO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 15, 2001

  Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the historic achievements of 
American women this month, I wish to recognize two very special women 
from my Congressional district--Clarissa Walker and Dorothy Woolfork. 
For more than three decades, they have selflessly served the African-
American community in Minneapolis through their work at Sabathani 
Community Center.
  Ms. Walker--Sabathani's Family Resources Director--and Ms. Woolfork--
a Sabathani civil rights activist--have tirelessly aided those in need 
in the south Minneapolis community that Sabathani Community Center 
serves. I admire both of these women for their selflessness in reaching 
out to others to enact true social change.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell you a little more about the life 
experiences that shaped Clarissa Walker and Dorothy Woolfork's beliefs, 
and helped them become the dedicated women of conviction they are 
today.

                            Clarissa Walker

       A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Clarissa Walker settled 
     in Minneapolis in 1955. Her service to the Twin Cities 
     community began when she worked as an operating room 
     technician at the University of Minneapolis Hospital.
       In 1968, Ms. Walker was recruited to work for Sabathani 
     Community Center as a youth supervisor. She quickly moved up 
     the ranks, serving in various positions--social worker/
     counselor, assistant director, acting executive director, and 
     agency director of the Center. In 1971, she earned a 
     bachelor's degree in sociology. Since then she has done some 
     post-graduate studies in business management, and has become 
     a licensed social worker. Ms. Walker has served in her 
     current position as director of the Family Resource program 
     since 1985.
       Through the years, Ms. Walker has worked diligently to 
     enrich the Sabathani community in a number of capacities. She 
     has donated much of her time to several important agencies 
     and causes, including the Minnesota Extension Advisory 
     Committee; the Neighborhood Reinvestment Regional Advisory 
     Committee; the Second Harvest Food Bank Board; the United Way 
     First Call for Help Committee; the First and Secondary Market 
     Loan Committee; the Neighborhood Housing Services of America 
     Board; and the Project for Pride in Living Board. She has 
     also served as President of the Southside Neighborhood 
     Housing Services Board President, and has served on the 
     Central Neighborhood Improvement Association; the United Way 
     Budget and Allocation panel; the Senior Citizen Advisory 
     Committee to the Mayor; and the Lake Street Partners Board.

                            Dorothy Woolfork

       Dorothy Woolfork was born in rural Arkansas in 1916. The 
     daughter of sharecroppers, she was taught the value of hard 
     work and the importance of voting--both values she brought to 
     Minneapolis when she moved there in 1939.
       Upon arriving in Minneapolis, Ms. Woolfork learned about a 
     neighbor who was returning to the South to teach, because 
     Minneapolis did not hire black teachers. This experience, 
     along with the prejudices she witnessed growing up in the 
     South, inspired her to learn more about the political 
     process.
       Characteristically independent, Ms. Woolfork believes 
     strongly in the collaboration of community involvement and 
     government to make positive societal changes. She has 
     demonstrated this belief by serving on several boards, 
     including the Civil Rights Commission; the Board of 
     Equalization; the Bryant Village Initiative; the Bryant 
     Neighborhood Organization; and South Side Neighborhood 
     Housing, Inc. Furthermore, she served for fifteen years on 
     the Council of

[[Page 3821]]

     Black Minnesotans and earned the Council's Martin Luther King 
     Award. Ms. Woolfork served as the chairwoman for the 
     Minneapolis NAACP for twenty years, and she has been 
     recognized by the State of Minnesota and the City of 
     Minneapolis for her volunteer work. She has also received the 
     Harriet Tubman Award from the Bryant Neighborhood 
     Organization, and several other accolades.
       For over a generation, Clarissa Walker and Dorothy Woolfork 
     have worked to open the ``road less traveled'' to other women 
     seeking to enact positive societal change. Mr. Speaker, as we 
     celebrate Women's History Month, we should salute these two 
     exceptional women--ideal role models for women young and old 
     across this country.

     

                          ____________________