[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11461]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 11461]]

           HONORING DR. MARTIN OF GREAT BLACKS IN WAX MUSEUM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Elmer 
Martin, cofounder and president of the Great Blacks in Wax Museum 
located in my district of Baltimore.
  Dr. Martin can very well be described as an educator and historian. 
In fact, he was well-educated, earning a Bachelor's Degree in sociology 
from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri in 1968, a Master's 
Degree from Atlanta University in 1971, and a doctorate in social 
welfare from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 
1975. Dr. Martin was a professor at Morgan State University and also an 
author of several books dealing with the African American community.
  The adjectives that I believe most aptly describe Dr. Martin's spirit 
are ``visionary'' and ``dreamer.'' Dr. Martin had a vision of how to 
breathe life into African American history. He envisioned a museum that 
would tell the story of a people stripped of their culture, language, 
families and religion and brought to a foreign land to survive as 
slaves; the story of a people that, despite this injustice and years of 
continued racial strife, has still triumphed. Dr. Martin's dream was to 
instill pride in African Americans while at the same time educating 
this Nation about our history and culture.
  His dream became reality in early 1980 when he bought a store front 
with $30,000 he had saved to purchase a home and opened the Great 
Blacks in Wax Museum, the first wax museum dedicated to African 
American history. He initially commissioned four wax figures--Frederick 
Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, Harriet Tubman, and Nat Turner--which 
were hauled to schools, churches and malls for history lessons. The 
figures were popular at the museum and the museum was on its way.
  What better way to memorialize the story of African Americans than 
through life size wax figures and scenes of historic events. From slave 
ships to enslavement, through reconstruction and Jim Crow, before and 
after segregation and throughout the present civil rights era, every 
period of African American history is presented. The museum honors 
African Americans that played key roles during each of these periods, 
slaves, abolitionists, educators, religious leaders, politicians, civil 
rights activists and inventors.
  Not only did he found a museum, but Dr. Martin's mission included 
youth advocacy, classroom and cultural awareness programs. Further, 
employment and job training programs are sponsored to encourage at-risk 
youth to develop their entrepreneurial skills. Community service is 
also a focus, providing citizens the opportunity to improve their 
neighborhoods while taking part in cultural activities.
  Today, the museum is a 10,000 square foot facility located in a 
community rich with its own African American history and attracts about 
275,000 visitors annually. It is a tribute not only to African 
Americans but now to its founder, Dr. Martin. Sadly, last week Dr. 
Martin passed. However, his dream still lives on.
  Every person that visits the Great Blacks in Wax Museum will get an 
education not only in African American history but the history of this 
Nation, for our history is this Nation's history. Every person that 
visits the museum will feel the aura that exudes from the realistic 
figures of those persons that made significant contributions to the 
African American community and this Nation. And every person that 
visits the museum will leave with an understanding of how a race of 
people turned strife and struggle into victory. Yes, Dr. Martin's dream 
of educating us about African Americans will live on.
  In paying tribute to this great dreamer and visionary and his family, 
I encourage all Members of this body to visit the Great Blacks in Wax 
Museum and personally experience Dr. Martin's dream. Finally, I say 
thank you to a great dreamer. And, as he stated, ``Thank you to that 
higher power that grants all dreamers the courage to dream.''

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