[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11774]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM RASPBERRY

  (Mr. NUNNELEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a 
great man, Mr. William Raspberry of Okolona, Mississippi, who died 
Tuesday at the age of 76.
  He was hired by The Washington Post straight out of the Army and 
worked his way up from teletype operator to the op-ed page. At the 
time, he was only one of a handful of nationally syndicated and widely 
read African American columnists.
  And though Mr. Raspberry lived most of his life away from 
Mississippi, he never forgot Okolona. He devoted much of his time in 
retirement to the foundation in Mississippi that bears his name that 
helped children from at-risk families be prepared for entrance into 
kindergarten.
  He was a model of how to talk about complicated and divisive issues 
in a respectful and civil tone. In fact, he once said:

       Perhaps it was then that I found myself trying to write in 
     such a way that people who didn't agree with me might at 
     least hear me. Then I found they were talking back to me in 
     similarly civil tones. And it felt good.

  His attitude would be a model for all of us that debate public 
policy.
  William Raspberry was a fine man and a great Mississippian. He will 
be missed.

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