[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 635]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO REV. JOHNNY SCOTT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Reverend Johnny Scott has announced his 
retirement after 31 years as president of the NAACP East St. Louis 
Chapter. As a faith leader, businessman, civil rights activist, husband 
and father, Rev. Scott has dedicated his life to justice and equality. 
He is a man who cares about making sure things are done right. East St. 
Louis--my hometown--is a better place for Reverend Scott's years of 
service.
  A native of Indianola, MS, Johnny Scott went to Mildred Louise 
Business College in East St. Louis and later LaSalle University in 
Chicago. He completed his theological studies at the Midwest 
Theological Seminary.
  Rev. Scott was working as bookkeeper by trade, when he was approached 
about serving as president of the East St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP 
in 1982. He accepted, but didn't expect to be in the role for more than 
a year. At the time, he believed that it ``was not his type of work.''
  It turned out to be exactly his type of work. He kept his office 
doors open 8 hours a day, 6 days a week for the following 32 years.
  While he was with the NAACP, Reverend Scott led the effort to create 
opportunity for and prevent indignities against people of color. He 
made sure there was scholarship support for thousands of students over 
the years he served. He played a key role in the U.S. Department of 
Justice's settlement with the City of Belleville over racial bias in 
hiring. He helped with sensitivity training for local police. He played 
a part in mediating disputes around racial epithets used in public. And 
he represented communities of color on issues from cross burnings to 
State control of local schools. It is no surprise that membership in 
the NAACP Chapter in East St. Louis grew under his leadership.
  On behalf of a grateful community, I thank the Reverend Scott, his 
wife Gretta Scott and his three children. He stood and gave voice to a 
community through 30 years of progress and setbacks, celebration and 
injury. His leadership has touched East St. Louis deeply. It has been 
an honor to work alongside Reverend Scott, and Loretta and I wish him 
and his family the best as he opens the next chapter in his life.

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