[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20051]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING JUDGE HAROLD BAREFOOT SANDERS, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 22, 2008

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I mourn the 
passing of one of my political heroes, the legendary U.S. District 
Judge Harold Barefoot Sanders, Jr.
  Madam Speaker, Judge Sanders is best known for overseeing a 
desegregation plan for the Dallas Independent School District from the 
1980s until 2003. Judge Sanders also directed the overhaul of state 
schools for mentally retarded people and served as a legislative 
counsel to President Lyndon Johnson.
  Madam Speaker, from his core, Judge Sanders symbolized civil rights. 
He knew that fairness took work, and his diligence is why he was able 
to make history and inspire a generation of my Texas colleagues. As an 
assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice, he was 
credited with helping pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a Texas 
legislator, he helped write the Texas Mental Health Code. And as a 
federal judge, in a ruling that I believe took more courage than any 
other, he declared Dallas' segregated schools illegal.
  Madam Speaker, President John F. Kennedy appointed Judge Sanders as 
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas in 1961. President 
Jimmy Carter elevated him to the federal bench in 1979. Judge Sanders 
was a help to me personally with my acclaimed national and 
international Peace Initiative. His counsel and assistance were 
instrumental to its success. I know Judge Sanders as a man revered for 
his intellect and compassion. I will truly miss him; the void he is 
leaving will not soon be filled.
  Madam Speaker, Judge Harold Barefoot Sanders, Jr., born in Dallas, 
graduated from North Dallas High School in 1942 and went on to serve as 
a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve until 1946. He received his law 
degree from the University of Texas in 1950 and served three terms in 
the Texas Legislature. In 1952 he married Jan Scurlock, who survives 
him. He is also survived by daughters Martha Kay Crockett of Dallas and 
Mary Frances Korsan of Santa Monica, CA; a sister, Martha Ann Schneider 
of Dallas; brother, Charles Addison Sanders of Durham, NC; and 10 
grandchildren.

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