[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17403]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSWOMAN MARCIA FUDGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I come today unscripted to speak to you 
about a lady that made a difference in the lives of this Nation. Fifty-
nine years and one week ago, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat so 
she could make a stand for civil rights and justice. She said she was 
only tired of giving in.
  That day, her remaining in her seat, made a difference for a person 
like me, a young girl in 1955, who vowed to make a difference because 
this woman, known as the ``Mother of the Modern Civil Rights 
Movement,'' took a stand.
  In the Third Congressional District last week, Governor Bob Taft, the 
Central Ohio Transit Authority, my Third Congressional District, and 
the Ohio State University stood together and hosted hundreds of 
individuals to talk about redefining our communities, standing up for 
justice.
  I am proud that Congressman Hakeem Jeffries joined a panel with other 
scholars like Sharon Davies and Curtis Austin as we talked about moving 
forward, as we talked about moving forward from the Trayvon Martins, 
from the Michael Browns, from the Eric Garners, and the list goes on, 
across this Nation.
  We must come together for our children, for our families, and, yes, 
we must also stand up for justice that meets the standards of the 
values of this Nation.
  Today, I join my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to 
thank another woman, our Rosa Parks, our Sojourner Truth--Congresswoman 
Marcia Fudge, for being the seventh woman to be the president and the 
leader of the Congressional Black Caucus.
  To you, Congresswoman Fudge, to you, Mr. Speaker, I say, thank you 
for the Congressional Black Caucus through her leadership being more 
than the conscience of the Congress, but for being scholarly, for 
standing up for justice, for daring to be different, and, also, for 
understanding agriculture, the judiciary system. You see, she is not 
only a Member of Congress, she has served as a mayor, she has served as 
a judge, she is a prominent lawyer. But, more important than all of 
these, she is a crusader for children, she is a crusader for the least 
of us, and she understands relationships and partnerships, and working 
far beyond the CBC. She reaches across both sides of the aisle because, 
at the end of the day, she really realizes the fight is not about one 
of us, the fight is for all of us.

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