[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18175-18176]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO REVEREND ALEXANDER I. DUNLAP

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2012

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the late-
Reverend Alexander I. Dunlap. Born December 4, 1930 to Rev. I.D. 
Dunlap, an A.M.E. minister, and Elmira McCoy Dunlap, a teacher in the 
public schools of North Carolina, Rev. Dunlap was the child of parents 
who loved the Lord and who loved education; each of them was an 
integral part of the man he was to become.
  A.I., as he was affectionately known, lost his father at the early 
age of 10, yet he was proud to tell everyone that he was raised by a 
phenomenal woman who helped instill in him a sense of dignity and 
respect for himself and who told him that ``You may be as black as coal 
but you are just as good as any child God has ever made.''
  A.I. attended North Carolina A&T University where he received a 
Bachelor of Science degree. He joined the U.S. Army and served during 
the Korean War for four years and was honorably discharged. He 
continued to pursue his love of God and education by attending Gammon 
Theological Seminary in Atlanta where he received his Masters of 
Divinity degree. He also later took courses in Pastoral Counseling at 
Emory and Duke Universities.
  While still a young man in college, A.I. began his civil rights 
activities organizing sit-ins to protest the college Administration's 
policies. His love of community and commitment to the equal rights of 
every man, woman, and child continued to grow from the start of his 
career with the AME Church. As an Itinerant Elder, Rev. Dunlap 
travelled to many communities in Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, and 
finally to Illinois. Wherever he went, he made an impact. A.I. strove 
to ensure that everyone he encountered knew Jesus and were treated with 
the dignity and respect they deserved in all facets of their lives.
  During Rev. Dunlap's tenure as an A.M.E. minister, he participated 
and held positions some examples of his contributions: Special 
Consultant to the North Carolina Fund, which evaluated community action 
programs for the state of North Carolina; Faculty member and Vice 
President of Kittrell College in North Carolina; Chairman, Carolina 
Ford Fellowship; Chairman, Board of Directors for United Community 
Action: Director of Direct Action, Chicago's Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference; Chairman, Chicago Action Committee; Member, 
Board of Directors, Urban Training Center for Christian Mission; 
Chairman, 4th Episcopal Mass News Media, A.M.E. Church; Special 
Consultant to the late Bishop Frederick Jordan, Ecumenical Relations, 
National A.M.E. Church; Vice President, Danville, VA Ministerial 
Alliance; member of the Des Plaines Ministerial Alliance; Professor of 
Urban Programs for the Meadville Theological Seminary, affiliated with 
the University of Chicago; Director of Social Action, A.M.E. 
Ministerial Alliance of Chicago.
  Although Rev. Dunlap was very involved as a minister, he also found 
time to become involved in civic and political organizations. Some of 
these organizations and affiliations included Rev. Dunlap's Charter 
Membership in the Prince Edward County Christian Association, an 
organization that placed black pupils in schools after they had been 
closed to avert integration in Prince Edward county Virginia; Charter 
Membership in the Danville Christian Progressive Association, an 
organization that broke down racial segregation in education and 
employment; Charter membership in the Halifax County Voters Movement 
that registered 100,000 new voters in eastern North Carolina; Charter 
membership in the Coalition for United Community Action that helped 
break down discrimination in the Chicago Construction industry; the 
First Executive Director and founding member of Black Contractors 
United; President of the Dr. Martin Luther King Coalition in Chicago; 
Member of the Chicago Urban League; Chairman of the 2nd Congressional 
District of North Carolina; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the 
North Carolina voter Education Project.
  While A.I. was busy bringing people to Jesus and helping to create a 
better world for all, he also had a family. A blind date in Atlanta led 
him to the love of his life and wife of 44 wonderful years, Margaret 
Della Princess Esther Lee Dunlap, who predeceased him on

[[Page 18176]]

October 29, 2004. To that union four children were born: Michele 
Arnita, Alexander, Jr, Michael Andre and ``baby'' Barbara Andrea. He 
was a devoted husband and a generous and caring father. He would often 
state how people were amazed with all that he did that he had time to 
have one child, much less four. A.I. loved music and played the trumpet 
for many years, loved sports (especially basketball), was an avid 
reader, and an exceptionally skilled poker player.
  Through his efforts, A.I. helped open doors to African Americans in 
construction, education, housing and employment. He was responsible for 
helping to write some of the first Affirmative Action Programs for 
companies like Sears Roebuck and Co., Dearborn Park, CNA Financial, and 
Montgomery Ward to name a few. He sued the City of Chicago for the 
right to March in Marquette Park, one of the most segregated 
neighborhoods in Chicago in the 70s. For the city's failure to provide 
adequate protections for their peaceful demonstration, A.I. sued the 
City of Chicago and won his case in Dunlap v. City of Chicago (435 
F.Supp. 1295 (1977)).
  These are just a few examples of the long-lasting impacts that Rev. 
Dunlap made towards the greater objective of creating a more loving and 
just society.
  While the family of Shepherd A.I. Dunlap will miss him, we do not 
mourn his death. We are so grateful to God Almighty that he allowed him 
to be with us for 82 years. He leaves the following persons happy about 
his life--his children: Michele (Donald) Haughton; Alexander, Jr. 
(Darlene); Michael (Ophelia); Barbara; grandchildren: Nikhitut, 
Anjelica, Isaiah, Jillian, Chelsea, great-granddaughter Camia; a host 
of cousins, nieces, nephews, and a myriad of friends.

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