September 14, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 158 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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REVEREND CURTIS WEST HARRIS POST OFFICE BUILDING; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 158
(House of Representatives - September 14, 2020)
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[Pages H4359-H4360] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] REVEREND CURTIS WEST HARRIS POST OFFICE BUILDING Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3847) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 117 West Poythress Street in Hopewell, Virginia, as the ``Reverend Curtis West Harris Post Office Building''. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 3847 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. REVEREND CURTIS WEST HARRIS POST OFFICE BUILDING. (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service located 117 West Poythress Street in Hopewell, Virginia, shall be known and designated as the ``Reverend Curtis West Harris Post Office Building''. (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Reverend Curtis West Harris Post Office Building''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cloud) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York. General Leave Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York? There was no objection. Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 3847, to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 117 West Poythress Street in Hopewell, Virginia, as the ``Reverend Curtis West Harris Post Office Building''. Mr. Speaker, Reverend Curtis West Harris was born in Dendron, Virginia, on July 1, 1924. After graduating from high school and the Virginia Union University in Richmond, he worked at Allied Chemical. After an executive order was issued to prohibit discrimination at companies that received contracts from the Federal Government, Reverend Harris successfully sued Allied Chemical for violating the order. Reverend Harris continued the fight for social justice and would be arrested more than a dozen times for acts of peaceful protest and civil disobedience. In 1960, he joined the national board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He would eventually head its Virginia chapter for more than 30 years. Reverend Harris was one of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's top lieutenants, joining Dr. King's 54-mile march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery. Reverend Harris continued to lead marches and engage in other forms of action for decades despite repeated threats against his life and his family. He later would be elected to the Hopewell City Council and became Hopewell's first Black mayor in 1998. Reverend Harris died on December 10, 2017, at the age of 93. He was buried in Appomattox Cemetery, the same cemetery he fought to integrate in 1960. Naming a post office after Reverend Curtis West Harris would celebrate the memory of a civil rights icon who fought throughout his life for social justice. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished Member from Virginia, Representative McEachin, for this legislation to honor a civil rights leader and hero. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3847, which would designate a Virginia Postal Service facility as the ``Reverend Curtis West Harris Post Office Building''. Reverend Harris was a native Virginian who attended the Carter G. Woodson High School and Virginia Union University. After college, Reverend Harris began to work at the Allied Chemical Plant in Hopewell, Virginia. He successfully sued Allied Chemical after an executive order that prohibited discrimination at companies that received government contracts. This began Reverend Harris' lifelong fight for social justice. In 1960, he was sentenced to 60 days in jail for staging a sit-in at a segregated drugstore. He also protested the segregation of Hopewell's cemetery and swimming pool. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's national board and would eventually head up the Virginia chapter. During this time at SCLC, Reverend Harris became close to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and joined him on the 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery. Reverend Harris was an influential and well-respected member of the community. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3847, and I yield back the balance of my time. {time} 1600 The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3847. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. [[Page H4360]] ____________________
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