Additional Statements Honoring the Life of Sam H. Jones
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
HONORING THE LIFE OF SAM H. JONES
Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I rise today to honor the life of my friend, Sam H. Jones, who passed away on March 26, 2003 after 3-year battle with leukemia. Sam was a pioneer of civil rights who dedicated his life to building a community of equality where people of all races, religions, and backgrounds could have a stake in the American dream. He was a soft-spoken man yet he had a commanding presence that gave him the power to bring people of diverse backgrounds together in order to achieve great things.
While serving as the president of the Indianapolis Urban League for the past 36 years, Sam Jones worked to build bridges across tumultuous waters of racism, helping to ensure economic prosperity, equal opportunity in education, and improved police relations for African Americans and other minorities in the Indianapolis area. Sam championed issues ranging from suicide prevention to economic development. He was never afraid to explore new policy areas or to take an unpopular or unorthodox approach to solving problems. For these reasons, he was one of the most respected leaders in our community.
Born in Heidelberg, MS in 1929, Sam saw segregation in its most brutal form at a young age, which profoundly impacted him. He did not hold grudges. Instead, he took action to effect positive change, working with those whom he opposed, not against. Sam was known for his ability to calm opposing sides in difficult situations in order to reach compromise. This attitude helped him to build many strong partnerships and lifelong friendships.
In 1966 Sam Jones cofounded the Indianapolis Urban League and served as its president and CEO until last December. He built the organization in Indianapolis from the ground up, starting his work in a small motel room, and 36 years later, opening a $3 million Indiana Avenue headquarters. The new building bears his name, and rightly so; Sam was the heart and soul of the Indianapolis Urban League and was widely considered the dean of all 112 chapters of the national organization.
Sam Jones was a truly unique leader and humanitarian whose shoes will be difficult, if not impossible, to fill. For this reason, the sense of loss to all those who knew him in the city of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, and the Nation, is tremendous. He will be greatly missed by his family and close friends, to whom he was extremely dedicated. He is survived by his wife, Prethenia, and their children, Marya Overby, Sam H. Jones, Jr., and the Rev. Michael Jones.
It is my sad duty to enter the name of Sam H. Jones into the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: "The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood." The world has been left a better place because Sam Jones lived his life based on that principle.