[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING RAOUL CUNNINGHAM IN HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MORGAN McGARVEY

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 1, 2024

  Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Raoul 
Cunningham, one of Kentucky's greatest civil rights leaders, who 
recently announced his retirement after two decades serving as 
President of the Louisville Branch of the NAACP. His extraordinary 
leadership in the fight for equal rights has etched an indelible mark 
on our community.
  Raoul Cunningham's commitment to justice began early, when, at just 
14 years old, he joined the Louisville NAACP Youth Council in 1957. 
During his high school years, as college students across the South 
initiated sit-ins and protested segregation, Raoul was inspired to 
bring similar action to Louisville. With the relative dearth of Black 
colleges in Kentucky compared to the rest of the Deep South, Cunningham 
and his young peers convinced their local NAACP branch that high school 
students could advocate just as well as college students. By the end of 
the year, the NAACP Youth Council, alongside the Congress of Racial 
Equality (CORE), began organizing protests in downtown Louisville.
  Raoul Cunningham was among the first students arrested during these 
demonstrations, including at Stewart's Department Store, where 
customers of color were barred from the lunch counter. His arrest, the 
first of many, was a badge of honor for him. He famously said, ``That 
jail ain't no big thing to any of us.'' For over two years, Cunningham 
and fellow students protested tirelessly after school, contributing to 
the passage of the first public accommodations law south of the Mason-
Dixon Line. This achievement, which Cunningham considers his greatest, 
laid the groundwork for future civil rights fights.
  After graduating high school, Cunningham attended Howard University, 
where his activism only grew stronger. He remained active in the NAACP 
through his college chapter, joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating 
Committee (SNCC), and founded Howard's first Young Democratic Club. 
Upon returning to Louisville, he managed the historic campaign that led 
to Georgia Davis Powers becoming the first African American and first 
woman elected to the Kentucky Senate. He continued his work in politics 
before rejoining the NAACP as a regional coordinator for the Voter 
Empowerment Program.
  Through demonstrations, negotiations, economic boycotts, and voter 
participation efforts, Cunningham helped bring an end to segregation in 
Louisville. The city of Louisville decided to honor him by inducting 
him into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2003. The following 
year, he was elected President of the NAACP's Louisville Branch, where 
he has proudly served since. He was awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King 
Jr. Freedom Award by the city of Louisville, an Honorary Doctor of 
Humanities Degree from Simmons College of Kentucky, and has been 
President of the Kentucky State Conference of the NAACP and served on 
the Kentucky Advisory Committee for Help America Vote (HAVA).
  Mr. Speaker, Raoul Cunningham's lifelong commitment to civil rights 
transformed our community and inspired generations. I ask that the 
House of Representatives join me in recognizing his contributions to 
our country and congratulating him on his retirement.

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