Black History Month Tributes
Floor Speech
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, every February, Black History Month affords us the opportunity to learn about, celebrate, and honor Black leaders and to shine a light on the often-neglected contributions of African Americans in every area of our history.
Today, I rise to pay tribute to 10 remarkable individuals from Michigan's Seventh Congressional District--some of them famous names, others with buried histories that deserve to be shared.
Their stories span the geographical breadth of the district as well as the depths of our Nation's history: from the Civil War heroes of escaped slaves to modern singers and scholars.
All of them should be celebrated, and all of them called Michigan home.
Before I share their stories, though, I must also share the story of our great State.
While many know Michigan for the Motor City or for Motown, what you might not know is the critical role our State played in the Underground Railroad.
There are endless accounts of our State's importance to the secret network that aided thousands of people on their journey to freedom. Conductors hid freedom seekers in their homes and barns during the day. At night, freedom seekers would go to a depot in the next town.
For many, Detroit, code name ``Midnight,'' was the last stop before making their way to a free life in Canada, but a number stayed in Michigan and started their new lives.
I am so proud of the role our State played in securing freedom, and it is my honor to highlight these stories of Black Michiganders who have been shaping our State since day one. Tribute to Abraham Losford
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Abraham Losford, the first Black resident of Howell, Michigan; a brave man who escaped slavery and used the trade he learned while captive to build a life of freedom for his family and for generations to come.
It was 1849 when Abraham Losford fled north with nothing but his clippers from Kentucky where he had been enslaved and served as a plantation barber. He was captured, escaped again, and after emancipation, returned to free his children, Benjamin and Sally.
The plan was to travel to Lansing, Michigan, via the Old Plank Road and open a barbershop, but when Losford stopped in Howell to change stagecoaches, he was convinced to stay in the small town.
The people of Howell promised to keep him safe if he would stay and open a barbershop, which they sorely needed. It was a deal both sides would forever uphold.
Losford and his barber business thrived in Howell and he became a successful, respected businessman in the predominantly White community--no small feat for a former slave in the years following the end of the Civil War.
Newspaper ads from the time boast of his salon offering, ``Shaving, Shampooing, and Hairdressing'' for both men and women, and it was noted in the local press that when Losford fell ill, a band of 60 kids and adults joined together to bring him gifts and money in a show of support and affection for their beloved town barber.
Abraham passed the trade to his son, who went on to open a barbershop of his own in the town of Edmore, Michigan. Today, Ben's story, and that of his father, are immortalized in the children's book ``Benjamin Losford and His Handy Dandy Clippers.''
It is the story of how skill equals freedom and a potent reminder that we must all make the most of the tools we have been fortunate enough to receive.
Abraham Losford died in 1897 and was buried in Lakeview Cemetery in downtown Howell, Michigan. His obituary states that, ``His presence, as well as his open, manly character, was a living reminder of the sin of slavery. Many winters will come and go before the name of Old Uncle Abe is forgotten in this community.''
Mr. Speaker, I ask that his name and his accomplishments live forever in our hearts and minds as well as here in the permanent Record of the people's House. Tribute to Alexander Johnson
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to pay tribute to a man who should have been hailed as a hero, but for too long his story was lost in history.
Alexander Johnson was a Black Civil War veteran who lived and worked in Owosso, Michigan, in the late 1800s. When a group of White residents chased most Black folks out of town, Johnson and two others refused to go.
Born in Tennessee in 1833, Johnson fled slavery and made his way to Michigan before enlisting in a Union regiment of African Americans in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to fight in the Civil War, then moving to Canada at the war's end, and later returning to Michigan to settle in Owosso with his wife.
No one knows for sure why he chose Owosso. Some historians believe Johnson's wife may have had family nearby. Others surmise he might have had connections to a home in Owosso rumored to be a part of the Underground Railroad, and still others say that at the time, the growing community was a place where people of all races moved to explore economic opportunity.
Whatever the reason, Owosso is where Alexander Johnson chose to put down his roots, opening up a downtown barbershop and was, by all accounts, a well-liked businessman and respected member of the community.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long as racial tensions grew and the Ku Klux Klan became active in the county. The tensions culminated in 1871 when 40 White vigilantes gathered together and attempted to drive the Black residents out of town.
There is little we know about this dark moment in Owosso's history, but we do know that Alexander Johnson was a light that would not be extinguished. Johnson stayed on in Owosso, along with two other Black men, until he died.
In 1907, Johnson received a military burial at Oak Hill Cemetery in Owosso, and his story was buried with him for more than 100 years.
There are those who seek to ignore or even wipe away those painful pieces of our history, and there are those who understand that we cannot ever be great without acknowledging our failures, learning from them, and moving forward with a commitment to grow.
The Owosso Rotary Club falls into that latter category, as they were the ones not just to uncover Johnson's story, but to acknowledge and honor it as a piece of Owosso's history.
Alexander Johnson was formally recognized by the Owosso Rotary on Veterans Day 2021 with a solemn ceremony at his grave site.
It is only fitting that I, too, join in paying tribute to this great man whose convictions led him first out of slavery and then to fight for a country he believed in to establish the life he wanted and to stay in the community that he loved.
May his memory be a blessing and an inspiration to all of us and may his story forever rest here in the permanent Record of the people's House. Tribute to Hiram Archer
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor one of the first African-American college athletes and scholars who paved the way for students of color across the State of Michigan and this Nation.
Hiram Archer was the first student of color to be officially documented as a graduate of Olivet College located in Eaton County in Michigan's Seventh District, a historic place in and of itself.
He attended Olivet from 1888 to 1904, and played on the school's varsity baseball team, making him one of the first ten Black athletes in the Nation to play intercollegiate sports.
While a student at Olivet, Archer was active in music and other creative endeavors. A gifted public speaker, Archer won several oratory and debate contests, and spoke at prominent events, including the inauguration of college president, William G. Sperry, in 1893.
The school considers him to be a model representative of both the history and the future goals of students of color at Olivet.
Archer remained at Olivet to complete his master's degree in science and went on to earn a doctorate. He went on to serve in leadership positions at several academic institutions, at the college in Normal, Alabama, which today is known as Alabama A&M University.
He finished his career with the Smithsonian Institution here in D.C., as a nationally recognized scientist. Archer passed away in 1945, having made Olivet and the State of Michigan proud. His alma mater says Archer's life's work is a testament to Olivet College's academic vision: ``Education for Individual and Social Responsibility.''
According to Olivet's current president, Dr. Steven Corey, Archer's successes were extraordinary for anyone, but for an African American in the late 1800s, they were truly groundbreaking and added much to the rich, Black history that has shaped this college and our country.
Today, his legacy lives on at Olivet with the Hiram Archer Student Success Academy, a mentorship and support group for students of color on campus.
It shall live on here in the people's House where I ask that he be forever remembered for his pioneering contributions to the great State of Michigan. Tribute to Dr. Eva Evans
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a legend of Lansing, Michigan, whose tireless advocacy on behalf of effective education for students of color changed the trajectory of hundreds of young lives in mid-Michigan.
Dr. Eva Evans was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and grew up in Detroit where she attended Northern High School in the early 1950s.
Former teachers and fellow students remember her as one of the most willing, giving, and compassionate people they have ever met, traits that would ultimately define her life of service.
She went on to earn a bachelor of science from Wayne State and both a master's and doctorate from Michigan State University.
Dr. Evans served in a number of administrative positions in the Lansing School District, from director of elementary education to deputy superintendent, the first female ever to hold that position.
As a leader in the school system, she developed and implemented innovative programs such as schools of choice and a district-wide talent fair for students and staff.
She connected the school district with Lansing Community College and Michigan State for the 2+2+2 Program, which channels minority students right into Michigan State's College of Engineering.
While she had a particular passion for math and science, she also created ``Be a Star'' performing arts programs.
These programs and partnerships have endured over the years, benefiting countless individuals and shaping practice and policy in education, healthcare, social services, and beyond.
Outside the school buildings, Dr. Evans tirelessly devoted herself to dozens of causes, giving of herself in leadership roles.
She was the 24th international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha, AKA, and chair of LCC, the Lansing Community College Foundation, president of the Lansing Woman's Club, and grand marshal of the African American Parade and Family Picnic in Lansing.
Evans was also appointed by the governor to serve on the Michigan Council for the Humanities and was chairwoman for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
She championed causes with the American Red Cross and created programs to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.
I like to think of her as a great connector--connecting underprivileged students to education beyond high school, connecting communities in need of programs that had the capacity to help, and simply connecting people to each other.
Dr. Evans passed away in 2020, receiving numerous honors in her adopted hometown of Lansing, including the YMCA's Diana Award for Excellence in Education, the NAACP's Educator of the Year, the Lansing Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award, the Crystal Apple Award for Education from Michigan State University, and the Applause Award from the Lansing Center of the Arts.
But I believe the greatest honor and the most profound title she ever received was to be called a teacher.
I ask that the permanent Record of this Chamber reflect her enduring lessons and legacy and that her service be forever remembered here in the United States House of Representatives. Tribute to Clifton Wharton, Jr.
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of a man who has spent his entire life and career breaking racial barriers and paving the way for future generations of Black scholars and leaders.
The name Clifton Wharton, Jr., is known by many in the Michigan State University community thanks to the predominant campus landmark: The Wharton Center for the Performing Arts.
But in addition to his name, I want them to know his story as it features a persistent rise against the odds, a tale worthy of being staged inside the building that is now bearing his name.
By the time Clifton Wharton, Jr., became the president of Michigan State University, the first African American to head a major, predominantly White university in the United States, he was no stranger to being first.
Wharton, who grew up in Boston, entered Harvard University at age 16. There he became the first Black announcer at the campus radio station and the first Black Secretary of the National Student Association, a lobbying group that he founded.
Later, he was the first African American admitted to Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.
He worked for about a decade with the Agriculture Development Council, a nongovernmental agency, before he returned to the academic world.
When the MSU trustees appointed him the university's 14th president in 1969, it was a time of tremendous change and cultural upheaval in the country, with college campuses taking center stage in the civil rights movement and protests over the Vietnam war.
Against that tumultuous backdrop, Wharton set another first: Unlike any other major university president of the time, he supported students who demanded that their concerns be heard, even offering to personally take student petitions against the war to Michigan's congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.
Wharton's 8-year tenure at MSU's helm was marked by his successful efforts to maintain the quality of the university's academic programs in the face of major budget cuts, his commitment to serving underprivileged students, and the integration of the College of Osteopathic Medicine with the other medical schools.
In 1978, Wharton achieved another first when he stepped down from MSU to become the chancellor of the State University of New York system, making him the first African-American leader there of the Nation's largest university system.
But he wasn't done breaking barriers. In 1987, he was named the president and CEO of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association- College Retirement Equities Fund, making him the first Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
He held that role until 1993, when he became the Deputy Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, not surprisingly, the first Black American to ever hold the second-highest foreign policy post.
I salute Dr. Wharton for his groundbreaking career and the path of excellence he has blazed, and I am humbled to be the first to ask that his accomplishments be forever enshrined in the official Record of the people's House, the House of Representatives. Tribute to Larry Carter
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to communicate to you the profound influence and legacy of a man who was the ultimate communicator.
Larry Carter dedicated his life to informing and uplifting Lansing, Michigan's, Black community, first through the radio, and later through a newspaper he founded with his wife, Carolyn, that continues in publication today under his daughter's hand.
Carter, also known as Jay Price, was born in Mississippi but grew up in the Midwest, graduating from John Marshall High School in Chicago in 1967.
He met his future wife, Carolyn Hill, at the age of 12, and married her shortly after graduating from Columbia College with a degree in broadcast journalism. Together, they raised three beautiful children.
Larry spent the early years of his career in positions spanning several media markets across the Midwest and southern regions.
In 1984, an industry colleague convinced him to move to Lansing, Michigan, where he accepted a position in local radio.
There, he quickly talked the station owner into changing the format to adult contemporary, with Larry as the morning host.
He was an instant on-air success, and also worked behind the scenes as sales manager to produce commercials.
Despite what he achieved in radio, Carter was itching to explore other avenues. In 1986, he launched a print publication initially called ``The Capital Chronicle'' and later renamed ``The Chronicle News.''
The focus was simple: Fill the void Larry saw in local news coverage by spotlighting and enhancing awareness of issues in the Black community.
It was a family affair from the start: Larry handled advertising sales, Carolyn learned how to design and lay out the stories, and the kids enlisted their friends to deliver the paper door to door.
Today, Larry and Carolyn have both passed, but their legacy remains. The Chronicle newspaper is published twice monthly by their daughter.
The free publication is distributed throughout mid-Michigan and can be found in municipal buildings, schools, local businesses, churches, and community centers.
They also leave behind the legacy of family, including their three children, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Larry was devoted to lifting up the stories of his community, and today, it is my great honor to lift up his story and inscribe it in the official Record of the United States House of Representatives with profound gratitude for his devotion to creating a platform for the Black community to be seen, heard, and understood. Tribute to Barbara Lewis
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a legend of R&B sound who hails not from a musical capital like Detroit, Chicago, or New York, but from a small town in Michigan's Seventh District, South Lyon.
Barbara Lewis was born into a powerful legacy as the great- granddaughter of Civil War veteran John W. Lewis.
She was also born with a musical heritage, as her bandleader father played trumpet, her mother and uncle played sax, and her aunt was a music teacher.
Surrounded by the symphony of sound, it was no surprise that Barbara began playing piano, guitar, and harmonica at an early age, writing songs at the age of 9, and singing lead vocals at family jam sessions in her teens.
While Barbara told her friends and family that she had no intention of pursuing music as a career, a meeting with Ollie McLaughlin, an Ann Arbor deejay-turned-producer and manager, changed all that and changed the course of her life.
Impressed by her talent and her original songs, he signed Barbara on the spot. In 1962, she recorded her first two singles, one of them a peppy, upbeat piece called ``My Heart Went Do Dat Da,'' and was, according to Barbara, written on her upright piano while she was babysitting one night while still attending South Lyon High School.
Lewis holds the distinction of being the first Michigan artist to record for Atlantic Records. In the span of her career, she went on to record three Top Ten R&B hits for McLaughlin's record label, including the number one smash, ``Hello Stranger.''
She also had ten songs on Billboard's Hot 100 during the 1960s, ranking her second only to Aretha Franklin, also of Michigan, in terms of chart success for female solo artists from the State.
Barbara recorded songs at the legendary Motown Studios in Detroit and performed with some of the greatest R&B artists of her time.
Many of her songs have been remade and remastered and live on today, including by Queen Latifah, with others featured on hit movie soundtracks, including ``The Bridges of Madison County.''
Barbara returned to Michigan in 1971, following stints in New York and Chicago, and lived many years in her home State before relocating to Florida.
She received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999, and in 2016, Barbara Lewis was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
While health issues forced her to retire in 2017, I ask that her legendary sound and contributions to the arts be forever recorded in our hearts and here in the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives. Tribute to Carrie Owens
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of an extraordinary educator who shaped the lives of thousands of mid-Michigan students during her groundbreaking career.
Carrie Owens grew up in Florida during the time of segregation and high racial tensions, and she knew from an early age she wanted to work toward dismantling the systems she saw all around her.
Though her parents had no formal education, they pushed their kids to have what they did not have, and a young Carrie thrived in school.
She eventually became a teacher and was hired at Okemos Public Schools in 1964, becoming the first Black teacher in the district.
It is said that when Mrs. Owens first interviewed for a job at Cornell Elementary in Okemos, she vowed to help each student individually because she recognized what many even in education circles did not yet grasp--that all students learn at different paces and in different ways.
Just as she thrived in school, Owens did everything to ensure her students did the same, and she was put in charge of a transitional class of elementary school students who, up until that point, had had limited success in school.
Owens made sure that each of her students progressed to grade level and empowered them to understand how they learned.
Word of her tireless dedication to student success and her innovative teaching philosophy spread quickly, and many families moved to Okemos just so their children could be in her class.
By the time she retired from teaching in 2001, she had touched thousands of young lives and helped change the face of education in our community.
Not only did her hiring pave the way for other teachers of color, but by the end of her career, Okemos had its first Black superintendent, and the district was overall a more diverse, inclusive community.
As we mark Black History Month, I salute Carrie Owens, who is Black history in Okemos. This trailblazing teacher has left her mark on the hearts and minds of the entire community, and we are so much better for her service.
May her lessons live on in the students she touched, in all the lives that she changed, and here in the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives. Tribute to Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to pay tribute to one of the greatest basketball players of all time, a man who brought so much magic to the game it quite literally became part of his name. It all began in Michigan's capital city of Lansing, his hometown.
To say that Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson came from humble roots is an understatement. His mother was a school janitor, and his father worked at General Motors on the assembly line by day and collected garbage in the evenings.
Johnson would often help his father on the garbage route, earning his nickname ``Garbage Man'' with the neighborhood kids.
All that teasing ended when he hit the basketball court. Johnson started playing as a youngster. By the time he graduated from Lansing Everett High School, where he had led his team to a State championship and was dubbed ``Magic,'' he was already considered the greatest high school basketball player to ever come out of Michigan.
He moved just down the road to East Lansing, attending Michigan State University, where he became a two-time All-American, leading the Spartans to the 1979 National Championship while being voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Year in that year's Final Four.
He was the number one overall selection for the 1979 NBA draft, chosen by the L.A. Lakers, where he would go on to play his entire professional career.
The stats are dazzling. In his 13 seasons with the Lakers, Johnson was a key member of five NBA championships, as well as being a 12-time All-Star, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and three-time league MVP. During his NBA career, Johnson averaged 19.5 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 11 assists per game.
He was a member of the original NBA Dream Team, winning a Gold Medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Both his Spartan jersey and his Lakers jersey were retired, and Magic Johnson has been inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
Johnson stunned the world in 1991 with the announcement that he had tested positive for HIV. It was a seismic moment in our culture, as an athlete of Johnson's stature vowed in public to raise awareness about a virus that was shrouded in stigma.
In the decades since that pivotal moment, his advocacy off the court has been as impressive as his skills on the court, and he has not been limited to that one topic.
He has used his platform to support so many causes, from HIV and AIDS to mental health, COVID vaccines, and the transformational power of wealth-building for Black families.
Johnson has said about his legacy: ``Now these kids dream that they can become not only a basketball player or a football player, but they can become a businessman. So that is what is important, that we have power and that we have a seat at the table.''
With gratitude for his enduring contributions, I submit to the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives that Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson not only provided a seat at the table but helped construct it, a table formed in the heart of East Lansing, shaped by a fierce work ethic and raw talent and sprinkled with magic. Tribute to Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown
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Ms. SLOTKIN. Finally, Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to pay tribute to a visionary social justice innovator and academic who is making space for African-American women and girls to celebrate who they are and what they bring to the world, and bringing new and critical opportunities to students at Michigan State University.
Ruth Nicole Brown is the inaugural chairperson of and professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at MSU.
Dr. Brown, an internationally recognized leader in Black girlhood, joined MSU on July 1, 2020, and quickly got to work creating and advancing the mission of this new degree-granting department at the university. Thanks to her efforts, beginning in the 2022-23 school year, MSU students were, for the first time, able to declare a major in African American and American studies, and many have jumped at the opportunity.
In addition to her academic and administrative accomplishments, Dr. Brown is the founder of Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths, a creative space that brings young African-American girls together to celebrate Black girlhood.
She also started Black Girl Genius Week, a city and university-wide social media takeover and awareness campaign focusing on rising Black women. She has written several books on the topic and is a highly sought-after speaker.
It is this combination of scholarly work and public engagement that makes Dr. Brown such an innovator. One day she is coediting educational research and anthologies and articles about racial equality and feminism, and the next day she is performing powerful pieces combining music, images, and words.
Dr. Brown is the master of seeing a void and stepping up to fill it.
The performance community she has created responds to a need for spaces where Black girls and women are seen and valued. The department she chairs allows students, for the first time, to center their studies on Black history, including a critical exploration of the role of feminism and gender.
Today, I salute Dr. Brown for the many ways she is changing the game--through art, through music, and through education.
I am so grateful that, along with her many distinguished titles, we are able to call her a Michigan State University Spartan.
May her successes and contributions continue to enrich the MSU community and be acknowledged here, in the permanent record of the United States House of Representatives.
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