[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24896]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO AMELIA BOYNTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PARKER GRIFFITH

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 2009

  Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of 
Amelia Platts Boynton. Mrs. Boynton is member of the civil rights group 
that formulated strategies for nonviolent social resistance in Alabama 
and is most widely known as an activist and organizer for the march 
over the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL.
  Mrs. Boynton was a proud supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King and used 
her home in Selma as a center for Selma's civil rights battles, which 
was used by King and his lieutenants, Congressmen and attorneys from 
around the nation, to plan the demonstrations known as the ``Selma to 
Montgomery Marches''.
  On March 7, 1965, during a march which later became known as Bloody 
Sunday, Boynton was viciously attacked. Following that event, her 
character and courage helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965.
  Mrs. Boynton is Vice Chairwoman of the International Schiller 
Institute. She is a 98-year-old author, playwright, speaker and 
organizer, speaking out publicly for justice, and inspiring people of 
all ages, nations, and backgrounds.
  Madam Speaker, I wish to congratulate Amelia Boynton on a remarkable 
career and a heroic life and wish her the best as she continues to be 
an influential civil rights pioneer.

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