July 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 126 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN MEMORY OF DR. EDITH IRBY JONES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 25, 2019

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
pay tribute to the distinguished life and legacy of Dr. Edith Irby 
Jones, who passed away on July 15, 2019.
  Dr. Jones was the epitome of a trailblazer. In 1948, she became the 
first African American student admitted to the University of Arkansas 
Medical School--six years before the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of 
Education decision. In 1959, Dr. Jones again made history as the first 
African American woman resident at Baylor College of Medicine. Twenty-
six years later, Dr. Jones became the first female president of the 
National Medical Association, an organization that has represented 
black physicians since 1895.
  For half a century, Dr. Jones committed herself to serving 
marginalized communities in Houston's Greater Third Ward area. She 
often went beyond the typical duties of a physician by making house 
calls and picking up patients in her van in order to expand services to 
the underserved in the community. Along with her work in Houston, Dr. 
Jones treated patients, trained physicians, and founded a clinic in 
Haiti. Service and dedication for the less fortunate were integral 
components of Dr. Jones's remarkable career, and we are truly grateful 
for the impact she has had on generations of aspiring African American 
medical professionals.
  Outside of her medical practice, Dr. Jones notably worked alongside 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as part of the ``Freedom Four,'' a group 
that traveled throughout the segregated South to encourage people to 
join the civil rights movement.
  Dr. Jones is survived by her daughter, Myra; sons, Gary and Keith; 
and many wonderful grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering Dr. Jones and her 
extraordinary contributions to medicine, social justice, and the 
Greater Houston community. We thank her and will miss her dearly.

                          ____________________