[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 MS. WALTER BARBOUR, A TRUE TRAILBLAZER

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a true 
trailblazer, Ms. Walter Barbour--the first Black woman to serve on the 
Fort Worth City Council.
  Just like many of the constituents I serve, Ms. Barbour was a product 
of the segregated I.M. Terrell High School in Fort Worth. Ms. Barbour 
graduated from I.M. Terrell in 1937 and went on to earn her bachelor's 
degree from Prairie View A&M University and her master's degree from 
Atlanta University in Georgia.
  Ms. Barbour served on the Fort Worth City Council from 1977 to 1979. 
During her tenure on the council, she advocated for a health clinic 
that now sits in the Stop Six community, which is where she lived; for 
summer food programs for low-income children; for recreational 
facilities for the community; and she cleared the way for the first 
fire station in the Stop Six-Eastwood area on Ramey Avenue and Edgewood 
Terrace.
  Ms. Barbour is survived by her daughter, Hollie; her son, Robert 
Barbour, Jr.; as well as two grandchildren.
  I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring a true legend, Ms. 
Walter Barbour, who broke so many barriers at a time when women and 
African Americans faced so many obstacles, but she still worked hard to 
live the American Dream.

                          ____________________