[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  ACKNOWLEDGING ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC SERVICE OF MEMBERS OF THE LINKS, 
                              INCORPORATED

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 4, 2013

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, March is Women's 
History Month, and I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge the 
advocacy and public service of the members of The Links, Incorporated.
  As an organization, The Links has made service to others the founding 
principle of the organization. Through friendship, we build 
relationships based on the premise that by our numbers, we are strong. 
With that strength, we can uplift others.
  The Links, Incorporated had as its humble beginning the friendship of 
two women, Ms. Margaret Hawkins and Ms. Sarah Scott. Formed in 1946, 
these women worked to engage the African American community in 
Philadelphia in civic, educational, and cultural opportunities. Each 
friend invited a friend, and today The Links, Incorporated, is 
represented by 274 chapters and more than 12,000 professional women of 
color.
  Through its various initiatives, The Links, Incorporated is breaking 
new ground in providing humanitarian support and closing the 
achievement gap in our schools. In my role as Chair of the National 
STEM Career Readiness Initiative, I have used my platform as a Member 
of Congress to raise awareness about the need for students' science and 
math literacy, and to increase the ranks of women and minority STEM 
students, engineers, scientists, and those in academia.
  Throughout the history of The Links, we have focused our efforts on 
children, as they will be the future generations of leaders. Recent 
initiatives include tackling childhood obesity in our communities, 
increasing the retention and graduation rates of minority students, and 
facilitating international involvement and global awareness to serve 
the educational, health, and cultural needs of people of African 
descent throughout the world.
  Mr. Speaker, throughout the month of March we will be acknowledging 
women in history who have taken courageous steps and made significant 
impacts in their communities. The Links, Incorporated, have taken up 
the call for more than six decades, and through their efforts have 
transformed the lives of individuals and communities throughout the 
world.

                          ____________________