[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23480]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DR. VASCO SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 2009

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of a great Memphian and a great American, Dr. Vasco Smith. Dr. Smith 
was one of the true stalwarts of civil rights in the city of Memphis 
and in the nation. Dr. Smith lived a life of service and sacrifice.
  Vasco Smith served our nation in the Air Force in the Korean War. A 
graduate of LeMoyne College in Memphis and Meharry Medical College in 
Nashville, Dr. Smith was a dentist by profession. In 1955, he and his 
wife, Maxine, returned to their beloved Memphis, completely segregated 
at the time, and used their passion and commitment to become leaders in 
the Civil Rights movement.
  In 1962, Dr. Smith convinced the owner of the segregated Malco 
Theatre in downtown Memphis to gradually integrate by selling tickets 
to African-Americans in the ``whites only'' orchestra level of the 
theatre. In their pursuit to end racial discrimination, the Smiths 
endured numerous death threats, many arrests by the police, and the 
tragic murders of their friends Dr. Martin Luther King and Medgar 
Evers.
  In 1973, Dr. Smith became the first African-American elected to an 
at-large position on the Shelby County Commission where he served until 
1994. Dr. Smith was a compassionate and effective County Commissioner. 
He and I served together as Commissioners from 1978 to 1980. During 
this time on the Commission, we worked together to build the Regional 
Medical Center, our charity hospital and trauma center in Shelby County 
that serves people who would otherwise have no access to health care. 
He and fellow County Commissioner Jesse Turner, Sr., who also served as 
National Treasurer for the NAACP, were known as ``the freedom 
fighters.'' They fought for civil rights in Memphis and stood up when 
others did not. They were always the voices of conscience, 
reasonableness, and morality in our community.
  Vasco Smith was a loving husband to Maxine Smith. As Wendi Thomas of 
the Commercial Appeal noted, it is difficult to think of either Smith 
without the other because they were a team; indeed, together they were 
a force for change and progress. Maxine Smith served as the Executive 
Secretary of the Memphis branch of the NAACP for more than forty years 
and continues to serve on the NAACP National Board of Directors. For 
two decades, Maxine Smith served on the Memphis City School Board. She 
served on the Tennessee Board of Regents for over a decade. Married 56 
years, Maxine and Vasco Smith were true soulmates. Together, they had 
one son, Dr. Vasco ``Smitty'' Smith, III, a dentist like his father, 
who made his parents very proud.
  Dr. Vasco Smith was a special man to me because he showed moral 
rectitude of a type that's rarely seen. He knew justice beyond color 
and will be remembered in Memphis as a great civil rights leader, a 
husband, a father, a professional, and a great Memphian.
  He will be buried Friday. I will be there with him. His was a life 
well lived.

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