[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2791]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING ESSIE MAE REED DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2008

  Ms. CASTOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Essie 
Mae Reed of Tampa, Florida. Ms. Reed devoted her life to the poor and 
underprivileged in Tampa. She became their voice.
  Born in Savannah, Ms. Reed moved to Tampa as a child. For decades she 
was the representative for Central Park Village housing project 
families. Ms. Reed's eagerness to help others stretched beyond her 
closest neighbors. Her role as Central Park Village's spokeswoman began 
in 1967 when she created the Tenant's Association to represent the 
nearly 4,000 families in public housing in Tampa. She served the 
Association without pay and worked as a housekeeper to make money for 
her family. She fought for a Boys & Girls Club in the housing complex. 
She took children to Hillsborough Community College on the weekends for 
enrichment activities. She publicized the unsanitary conditions and had 
hot water heaters installed in the apartments so residents could shower 
in warm water. She ensured children received lunch at school. But her 
biggest accomplishment was overturning the policy excluding single 
mothers from being allowed to live in public housing.
  In 1971, Ms. Reed ran for Tampa City Council. She was the first black 
woman ever to run, and when they charged her a substantial qualifying 
fee, she sued the city to have the fee waived. The federal district 
court ruled that the fee was unconstitutional because it excluded some 
candidates on the basis of socioeconomic status.
  Madam Speaker, Essie Mae Reed is a Tampa treasure. She stood up for 
so many that didn't have a voice and improved lives throughout my 
community. She is an example that people, individuals, are capable of 
performing enormous feats. Ms. Reed didn't learn to read until she was 
40, and she said it best: ``People thought we was nobody because of 
living in the slums, but we could all be something given an 
opportunity.''

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