[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15367-15368]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          PRAISING SOUTH CAROLINA BLACK HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2003

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this Friday I will have 
the distinct privilege of attending the 13th Annual South Carolina 
Black Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Columbia, SC. Ten South 
Carolinians will be inducted this year. Below is a list of the 
inductees:
  The late Ethel Martin Bolden, a pioneer librarian; retired U.S. Army 
Col. John Theodore Bowden, Jr., a former professor of military science 
at South Carolina State University; Dr. Agnes Hildebrand Wilson 
Burgess, a distinguished Sumter educator; Dr. Alma Wallace Byrd, 
Benedict College professor and former state legislator; Charlie Mae 
Cromartie, former health care professional and businesswoman; Jim 
French, editor of The Charleston Chronicle; Lottie Gibson, a Greenville 
civil rights activist; the late Esau Jenkins, a John's Island civil 
right's activist; the late Rev. Dr. Westerberry Homer Neal, Sr., pastor 
of seven Midlands area churches; and Geraldine Pierce Zimmerman, 92-
year-old Orangeburg community activist.
  Ethel Bolden worked in Richland County public schools for 39 years 
and established the first black elementary school library at Waverly 
Elementary School. She also served at W.A. Perry Junior High School, 
and because of her competence and interpersonal skills, she 
successfully integrated the faculty at Dreher High School. She was a 
trustee of Richland County Public Library and worked tirelessly for 
construction of the modern library downtown, which opened in 1993. She 
passed away in October 2002.
  Col. John Bowden began his military career in 1960 after completing 
the ROTC program at South Carolina State University. In 1983, he 
returned to the campus as commanding officer of the ROTC. Under his 
command, the unit became one of the best in the nation, supplying more 
commissioned officers to the U.S. Army than any other in the state or 
nation. He retired from the military in 1986 and since has worked in 
administrative positions at S.C. State, Voorhees College and Claflin 
University.
  Dr. Agnes Burgess was the first black to be named Teacher of the Year 
in South Carolina and came out on top as a National Honor Roll Teacher 
in 1969. She taught French and journalism at Lincoln High School and 
served as advisor to the newspaper, which won 13 consecutive first-
place ratings in the Scholastic Press Association competition. Also, 
she was the first black ever to be elected president of the South 
Carolina Education Association. In 1975, she joined the faculty at the 
University of South Carolina's College of Education and served as 
director of the Center for Community Education until her retirement in 
1979.
  Dr. Alma Byrd has served as a member of the Richland District #1 
School Board and was a state legislator from 1991-1999. She was 
instrumental in placing the portraits of several noted black South 
Carolinians in the State House. She was a founding member of the James 
R. Clark Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and long-time president of the 
Columbia section of the National Council of Negro Women.
  Charlie Cromartie was head evening nurse at Columbia Hospital prior 
to becoming owner/manager of Cromartie Enterprises. Her community 
service include being an advocate of

[[Page 15368]]

Richland School District One board of Education, member of the League 
of Women Voters, poll manager of Ward 9, and past illustrious 
commandress of Cairo Temple No. 123. For more than 50 years, she has 
held leadership positions in Bishops Memorial A.M.E. Church.
  Jim French established The Charleston Chronicle in 1971, six months 
after retiring as a U.S. Navy chief journalist with 26 years of 
service. He was a photo-journalist for the Navy's All Hands magazine. 
He was the first military reporter assigned to the Mekong Delta of 
Vietnam with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division, and was station 
manager for radio and television stations on naval bases in Spain, Cuba 
and Puerto Rico. His weekly columns in The Chronicle challenge blacks 
to stand up and demand their rights as American citizens. He and his 
newspaper have received numerous awards from organizations in the 
Lowcountry.
  Lottie Gibson has been a spokesperson for black and poor people in 
the Piedmont area for more than three decades. She is a member of 
Greenville County Council and was in the forefront May 17 when 5,000 
supporters of the NAACP held a protest rally against the council for 
refusing to approve her proposal for an official paid holiday to honor 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  Esau Jenkins was a successful farmer and businesswoman who made an 
indelible mark as a crusader on behalf of poor black citizens of the 
Sea Islands from the 1940s until his death in 1972. His first project 
consisted of purchasing a bus to transport island children to public 
schools in Charleston. In 1948, he organized the Progressive Club to 
help educate adults who wanted to read the Bible, newspapers and the 
section of the state constitution required of those who wished to 
register to vote. In the 1950's, he worked with noted human rights 
activists Septima Pointstett Clark and Bernice Robinson to establish 
citizenship schools on John's Island, Wadmalaw Island and Edisto 
Island. And during the 1960s he continued to develop social, economic 
and political programs under the umbrella of the Citizens Committee of 
Charleston.
  Rev. Dr. Westerberry Neal, a Hopkins native, was a pastor for nearly 
60 years and public school teacher for 35 years. He was affectionately 
known as ``Mr. Baptist of South Carolina.'' He was a trustee of Morris 
College in Sumter for 50 years and chairman for 35 years--the longest 
record of any chairman of an institution of higher learning in the 
state and nation. Additionally, he served on the board of directors of 
Victory Saving Bank for 28 years and was chairman for 15 years. Dr. 
Neal passed away on March 4, 2003 at the age of 94.
  Geraldine Zimmerman helped her hometown become a better place by 
serving as a volunteer with many organizations, including the United 
Way, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Orangeburg Literacy 
Association, the NAACP, and Church Women United. In the 1960's, she 
worked successfully to get recreational facilities for black youth. She 
also led a group of concerned citizens in the restoration of a 100-
year-old cemetery that is now on the National Register of Historic 
Places. In recognition of her many achievements, the City of Orangeburg 
selected her as a Citizen of the Year and has erected a community 
center in her honor.
  I ask all of my colleagues to join me in thanking these ten 
individuals for their dedicated service to their communities and for 
their prime examples of leadership to our youth.

                          ____________________