Happy 100th Birthday to Mrs. Vernetta Jordan Glass

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate and pay tribute to an outstanding citizen of the United States, and I am pleased to add that she is a member of my family, the Glass family.

Before my mother married my father, her maiden name was Glass. The lady that we celebrate today and acknowledge as she celebrates her 100th birthday is Mrs. Vernetta Jordan Glass.

I am pleased to wish her a happy birthday and to wish all of my Glass relatives well as we celebrate a family reunion in Detroit, Michigan.

Vernetta Jordan Glass was born on May 27, 1923, in the historic town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi.

Mound Bayou traces its origin to the 1820s to a White planter, Joseph Davis, the older brother of Jefferson Davis, who was President of the Confederate States, which left the Union and formed the Confederacy, which led to the Civil War.

After the war, Joseph Davis sold his land to a former slave, Benjamin Montgomery, and it was Isaiah T. Montgomery who led the founding of Mound Bayou in 1887.

Vernetta was born on May 27, 1923, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and grew up in this all-Black town. She went to school and church, participated in community activities, and was taught values by her parents that have guided her life to this day.

She married Winston L. Glass, and she and her late husband migrated from Mississippi to Detroit, Michigan, in 1947, where they created for themselves very productive lives and raised seven highly educated and accomplished children.

After retiring from her nursing career, Vernetta increased her volunteer activities at her church, the community center, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall, senior citizens centers, and other community places of interest.

Understanding the value of electoral politics and the civil rights movement, for many years, Vernetta worked as a judge of elections.

She is grandmother to more than 50 grandchildren and great- grandchildren and enjoys visits from friends and family. She also loves music and gardening and is a superb Scrabble player.

As she reaches the ripe age of 100, I am pleased to wish this dynamic lady, who has accomplished so much, a happy birthday. By the way, I am extraordinarily pleased that she is my cousin.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source