[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14876-14877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          DR. JOSHUA CULBREATH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE SESTAK

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 14, 2008

  Mr. SESTAK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of a 
remarkable individual on the occasion of his induction into the United 
States Marine Corps Hall of Fame: Dr. Joshua ``Josh'' Culbreath, a 
native of Norristown, PA and an Olympic athlete, who distinguished 
himself as a community leader.
   Dr. Culbreath was a bronze medalist as a member of the United 
States' 400 meter hurdling team in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics,

[[Page 14877]]

part of an American clean sweep of the medals in that race. As a star 
track and field athlete, he was a state high school champion and was a 
three time national 440 yard hurdles champion, setting a world record 
in that event.
   Dr. Culbreath recognized that ``sport determined his destiny.'' A 
confident and self-motivated individual, he set seemingly 
insurmountable goals for himself. In addition to his brilliant racing 
career, Dr. Culbreath dedicated more than 60 years of his life as an 
educator and high school, college, and university track and field 
coach, sharing his knowledge, expertise, and love for track and field 
with aspiring athletes. The athletic accomplishments of his students 
are astonishing, as they won ten collegiate national titles. As the 
Director of Athletics at Morehouse College, Dr. Culbreath developed an 
athletic program that received national acclaim and Central State 
University named a new track, the Josh Culbreath Track, in his honor. 
Dr. Culbreath also took pride in tutoring his athletes, with more than 
90 percent of them graduating from college.
   The Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters awarded to Dr. Culbreath by 
Edward Waters College is clearly deserved. On the international stage, 
he represented the United States as a lecturer, coach and sports 
ambassador in Iraq and India. In particular, he must be commended for 
his humanitarian work with the International Cultural Exchange Program, 
which resulted in a groundbreaking integrated competition in Africa 
between Black and White athletes, who raced in Northern and Southern 
Rhodesia and Nysaland. In the United States he led integration efforts 
in Hollywood, Florida, using his stature as a record-setting athlete 
and talent as a communicator to unite people in that community. His 
work produced integration in housing complexes and at sporting events.
   Dr. Culbreath also served as a community leader by helping in the 
development and implementation of Plans for Progress in Philadelphia, a 
forerunner of the national Affirmative Action Program. He also assisted 
in the development of an affirmative action and equal employment 
opportunity program for the Sperry/Unisys Corporation. Through his work 
as a motivational speaker and lecturer, Dr. Culbreath has touched the 
lives of a diverse audience, appearing before corporate, governmental, 
and collegiate groups to discuss motivation and education, Olympic 
sports, and international athletics issues.
   Madam Speaker, I ask that we pause and salute Dr. Culbreath, father 
of Sandra Allen Penn, Khaliq T. Culbreath (deceased), Maliq R. 
Culbreath, Jahan L. Culbreath, and Camille A.M. Culbreath, for his 
amazing athletics achievements, his extraordinary accomplishments as a 
community leader and his commitment to improving the lives of others.

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