[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 15750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF MAYNARD JACKSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to 
speak on the untimely passing of Maynard Hollbrook Jackson. I was 
blessed to know Maynard Jackson for almost 40 years. Maynard Jackson 
was a wonderful human being, a gifted, brilliant politician. He was the 
kind of individual who was not afraid to take risks. Maynard Jackson 
was always getting in the way for the common good.
  In 1968, moved by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
and Robert Kennedy, he ran for the United States Senate in the 
Democratic primary against incumbent Senator Herman Talmadge. He later 
made history by becoming the first African American mayor of a major 
southern city. His leadership as vice mayor of Atlanta and later as 
mayor of Atlanta for three terms transformed our city into the gateway 
to the New South. As mayor, Maynard Jackson emerged as a role model for 
other big-city mayors and younger elected officials. We often heard, if 
Maynard Jackson can do it, so can we. His accomplishments created a 
greater sense of possibility, a greater sense of hope, a greater sense 
of optimism.
  Mr. Speaker, it is so ironic and almost eerie, really strange that 
Maynard Jackson's passing would happen at almost the same time as the 
Supreme Court's decision in support of affirmative action. He was one 
of the great champions for diversity, inclusion, and fairness, not just 
in government and business but in all areas of American life.
  Perhaps Maynard Jackson's greatest accomplishment as mayor was the 
building of the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. Under Maynard 
Jackson's leadership, Atlanta Hartsfield became one of the largest and 
busiest airports in the world. At one time, Atlanta Hartsfield included 
more minority contractors than any other airport in the country. 
Maynard Jackson insisted that if majority contractors were to 
participate in construction of the airport, so would minority 
contractors.
  Maynard Jackson must be remembered as one of the founding fathers, 
not just of the new Atlanta, not just of the New South, but of the new 
America. He will be missed by all of the good people of Atlanta, all of 
the good people of Georgia, and the Nation and around the world. As 
mayor, he established in a profound way the sister city program. Many 
of our cities around the world became sister cities of the city of 
Atlanta. He traveled far and broad to carry the message of hope.
  Mr. Speaker, my prayers are with his wife, Valerie, his children, and 
all members of the Jackson family. We all mourn for the family. We 
mourn for the citizens of Atlanta, for the citizens of Georgia, and for 
all of his friends.

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