[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF RICHIE PEREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 29, 2004

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the floor of the U.S. 
House of Representatives to pay tribute to the life of Richie Perez--a 
longtime community activist who lived in Brooklyn.
  Richie Perez was a fighter. He fought for the rights of all people, 
and he fought against the devastating inequities that plague our 
society. He fought for the poor, the dis-
enfranchised, the downtrodden--and gave them a voice.
  His passion for activism began in the 1960s as a former member of the 
community-based organization for Puerto Rican empowerment called the 
Young Lords Party. He most recently founded the National Congress for 
Puerto Rican rights, acting as the co-chair of its Justice Committee, 
which works with families of victims of racial discrimination and 
police brutality.
  He was a mentor to many and a hero to even more. He imparted his 
ideas and philosophies onto others by teaching classes on the Puerto 
Rican experience in New York, mass media and social policy at New York 
City's Hunter College. Not only was he an activist and a teacher, but 
he was an author as well, publishing several groundbreaking written 
works.
  Richie Perez was a truth-seeker. Wherever he went, he spoke the 
truth, lived by the truth, and inspired the truth in others. He 
embodied the meaning of righteousness and what is good and real in our 
local communities. He believed in giving people a second chance, and in 
fighting back against the injustices that had imperiled them.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Richie Perez, and join 
with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to recognize his 
extraordinary life.

                          ____________________