[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13422]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING ERMA ARVILLA RUPP FRITCHEN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the life of Erma 
Arvilla Rupp Fritchen. Ms. Fritchen devoted her life to justice, 
notably as a Freedom Rider in the summer of 1963.
  Ms. Fritchen was born and raised in Reno, NV. She strove to be the 
first in her family to graduate from high school, but nothing was 
handed to her. Erma worked to pay the rent and still managed to 
graduate from Reno High School in 1948. Following high school, she 
pursued adult education classes in psychology before moving to Fort 
Benning, GA, as a military wife. When she arrived in Fort Benning, she 
was shocked by the racial disparities in her new city.
  After moving back to Nevada, Erma began attending college while also 
raising her two children on her own. Education and family were 
important to her, but she was never too busy to take a stand for the 
principles she believed in. When she had the opportunity to make a 
difference by joining a civil rights caravan headed for Washington, DC, 
in 1963, she jumped at the opportunity and added her voice to the 
Freedom Rider demonstrations that were taking place throughout the 
country.
  Through her years of fighting for justice and equality, Ms. Fritchen 
proved that everyone can do their part if they work and fight hard 
enough. I appreciate her dedication to her five sons and contributions 
to making our country a better place.

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