[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14912]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF DR. HOWARD MONROE FITTS, JR. ON THE OCCASION OF THE 
        38TH ANNUAL DURHAM NAACP FREEDOM FUND AND AWARDS BANQUET

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Howard Monroe 
Fitts, Jr. on his recognition as a Freedom Fund Honoree by the Durham 
Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People, NAACP. Dr. Fitts will receive this recognition next month in 
appreciation of his advocacy for civil rights and his diligent public 
service to the Durham community.
  Mr. Speaker, after completing a baccalaureate degree in biology at 
North Carolina Central University, NCCU, Dr. Fitts served as Teacher 
and Principal in Wilson County Public Schools. He was drafted into the 
U.S. Army in 1942 and served faithfully for three years before being 
honorably discharged in 1945 at the close of World War II. After the 
war, Dr. Fitts returned to academia where he earned a master's degree 
in Public Health Education in 1946, and a doctorate degree in Health 
Education from Columbia University in 1961.
  His involvement with the NAACP is deeply rooted, stemming back to his 
childhood when he worked alongside his father to sell the 
organization's official magazine, Crisis. During that time, the young 
Dr. Howard Fitts was exposed to movements led by the church, health 
agencies, and other civil rights organizations. This exposure made an 
indelible impression on him, leading to his active participation and 
advocacy within the Durham community. As a result, Dr. Fitts quickly 
rose to leadership positions in the NAACP and the influential Durham 
Committee on the Affairs of Black People, DCABP.
  Among many of his most notable work include his key involvement in 
the desegregation of the Durham's public school system, where Dr. Fitts 
testified during court procedures, arranged transportation for Black 
students to desegregated schools, and enrolled his own son as one of 
the first African American students at Morehead Avenue Elementary 
School.
  In addition to his civil rights leadership, Dr. Fitts has served as a 
public health educator for Chapel Hill, N.C.'s District Health 
Department, professor and Chair of the Department of Health Education 
at NCCU, and as a consultant to the World Health Organization. His 
resume is filled with notable board positions, and his extensive work 
spans the tenure of every Executive Director of the NAACP from Walter 
White in the 1930s to Kwame Mfume in the 1990s.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Dr. 
Howard Monroe Fitts, Jr. on this unique honor of being recognized as a 
Freedom Fund Honoree by the Durham Chapter of the NAACP. His lifelong 
contribution to his community and country cannot be overstated.

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