[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13261-13262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          CELEBRATING LABOR LEADER LEROY KING'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 9, 2013

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
distinguished San Francisco labor leader, a civil rights activist, and 
my dear friend, Leroy King, on the occasion of his 90th Birthday.
  Committed to the principles of equality and justice for all people, 
King has been a fierce advocate for San Franciscans through his union, 
through city and state government, and through church and community 
groups. Today, I am proud to honor his decades of work to achieve 
social justice and a better life for working families in San Francisco.
  King served as Northern Regional Director of the International 
Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) for more than 30 years. He became 
a member of ILWU Local 6 in 1946 and later led a coalition of members 
to overturn a discriminatory system that elected only whites to union 
office. He dedicated years to helping create a fully inclusive, 
integrated workforce.
  King's fire and passion for action in support of his beliefs has 
never dimmed. While in his 80s, he was arrested for staging an act of 
civil disobedience with hotel and restaurant workers who were fighting 
to improve working conditions. He also joined San Francisco teachers 
and education support professionals when they occupied the offices of 
the City's Board of Education to dramatize the unmet needs of students.
  King was instrumental in the union's creation of the St. Francis 
Square Cooperative Housing development, which opened in 1963 in the 
Fillmore District and was a national model for creating racially-
integrated housing for working families. King and his family moved into 
St. Francis Square when it opened, and he continues to live there 
today.
  A staunch supporter of civil rights champion Cesar Chavez, King is 
often credited for bringing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Bay area 
for a civil rights rally in 1967. In 2009, the National Education 
Association honored King with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial 
Award for promoting peace and advancing social and economic justice by 
embodying King's inclusive leadership and nonviolent philosophy.
  As a long-time civic and public affairs leader, Mr. King served on 
the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission for over 30 years. As 
Commissioner, he fought to preserve the African-American and Japanese-
American heritage of the Fillmore District.
  With great pride, I designated him as my appointee to California's 
Electoral College. On December 15, 2008, he cast my official vote for 
Barack Obama as the first African American President of the United 
States.
  From his courageous service in World War II to his extraordinary 
dedication to the City of San Francisco and the State of California, 
Leroy King is peerless leader will always be a strong and unwavering 
voice for the voiceless.

[[Page 13262]]



                          ____________________