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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MS. JEAN WILEY, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND ACTIVIST
______
HON. JOHN LEWIS
of georgia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Mr. LEWIS. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ms. Jean Wiley,
who transitioned from the world that she tirelessly fought to improve,
on December 9, 2019.
Born on June 11, 1942 to Elizabeth Thelma Holland Boyer Wiley and
Joseph Alphonsus Wiley, Jean Wiley was a proud daughter of Baltimore,
Maryland, where she completed her undergraduate degree at Morgan State
University. As a testament to her work and legacy, many parts of our
country--Michigan, Alabama, California, Washington, D.C., and Georgia
to name a few--claim this amazing woman.
In 1953, the Supreme Court integrated Washington, D.C., but a few
miles up the road, Ms. Wiley grew up surrounded by the oppressive
stench of segregation in Baltimore. In 1963, she and other students
took matters into their own hands; police arrested Jean and her friends
as they conducted a sit-in to desegregate Baltimore's theaters. Upon
hearing that Howard University students were heading up the highway to
reinforce their protest, Baltimore's Mayor released these brave young
activists and integrated the facilities.
Madam Speaker, I believe that taste of success fueled Ms. Wiley's
life-long passion for civil and human rights. A few years later, Jean
completed graduate studies at Michigan State University and began to
teach at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute (now University). Professor Wiley
challenged her students to expand their minds and inspired many to join
the national movement for civil rights.
I will forever cherish my memories from this period of our lives,
when young people from all different walks of life became nonviolent
foot soldiers in the fight for our freedom. After Hosea Williams and I
attempted to lead a march from Selma to Montgomery on a day that became
know as Bloody Sunday, Ms. Wiley and more than 500 Tuskegee students
caravanned from Macon County to Montgomery, Alabama to protest in
solidality for our right to vote. At the end of the summer, Congress
passed, and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act
into law on August 6, 1965.
Madam Speaker, for many of us in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), Jean was and will always remain a sister. Time and
time again, she put her life and livelihood on the line in her pursuit
of truth and justice. Jean taught volunteers to canvass, offered her
home as a refuge, and even became the voice and face of SNCC during the
summer of 1965, when she served as our national media relations
coordinator. In this role, Ms. Wiley played the integral, critical role
of sharing our work in the Deep South with the nation and the world.
Whether we were boycotting, protesting, or testing voter registration
procedures, Jean made sure that our work was not ignored.
After serving on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, Ms.
Wiley made her way to Washington, D.C. where she helped create the
Center for Black Education. Throughout her life, Jean was committed to
the betterment of the African Diaspora and refused to wait for
oppressive forces to see the light on their own. Over the years, she
shared her expertise with Howard University's WHUR radio station,
Essence Magazine, and the Institute for the Black World, an Atlanta-
based think-tank.
As a devoted educator, Jean also continued to teach at the University
of the District of Columbia and the University of California at
Berkeley. Whether in the classroom or in her home, Professor Wiley
shared the lessons and tactics of the Civil Rights Movement with new
generations--including her cousin, Ms. Kimberly W. Ross, who works
closely with me and my office on Capitol Hill.
As loved ones gather to reflect upon Ms. Jean Wiley's good and great
work, I would like to pay tribute to the unbreakable bond of her
adoring family--son, Cabral Stuckey Wiley; granddaughter, Breijanee
Wiley; great-granddaughters, Shariyah Harris and Narii Parker; sisters,
Joyce Dyson and Lois Wiley Benjamin; nieces, Shiree Dyson and Ayisha
Dyson; and nephews, Keith Dyson, Toure Dyson, and Malcolm Wiley.
Madam Speaker, the record should be clear: Ms. Wiley dedicated every
ounce of her energy to the fight for justice. For these reasons, I
proudly join all who knew, loved, learned from, and cared for this
great leader in celebrating her life's work to transform the face and
soul of our nation.
____________________