Black History Month Overview

Floor Speech

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, each year in February, we have the opportunity to study the past and use it as a learning tool to move closer to a future of social equity for all. As we are now in the midst of Black History Month, it is both fitting and necessary that we look inward to our own communities and the legacy of the pioneers who paved the way.

From the foundations of our great State to the present time, Michigan's Seventh District, which I am proud to represent, has been home to many pioneering Black men, women, and organizations who have made significant contributions to every aspect of life in our State.

The great State of Michigan stood tall as an anti-slavery State in the Civil War and played an important role in aiding Freedom Seekers on their path via the Underground Railroad.

Today, Michigan is a hub of arts, culture, athletics, and innovation, thanks to the contributions of our diverse citizenry who call it home.

It is my profound honor, for the fourth time annually, to highlight stories of Black Michiganders, past and present, from the Seventh District and to read their stories into the archives of this great Chamber. Honoring the Canady Family

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to a legendary Lansing family that has broken barriers across generations and continues to make history to this very day.

The story begins in 1927 when the family matriarch, Ms. Hortense Canady, was born in Chicago. While she didn't grow up in Michigan, she came to Michigan State University to pursue her graduate studies after attending Fisk University, where she met her husband, Clinton.

In the Lansing area, Hortense and Clinton, a World War II veteran and member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, settled, put down roots, and left an indelible mark on our community.

Clinton became a well-known and well-loved dentist, while Hortense put her passion for education and civil rights into action, becoming the first African American elected to the Lansing School Board of Education in 1968. Four years later, she and several other board members were recalled for advocating for desegregation, but Hortense did not let that deter her from working toward her core belief that everyone deserves access to quality education.

She sat on the State's Women's Commission, served as the first executive director of the Lansing Community College Foundation, and helped fund a debutante club in Lansing to fill a void for young Black women, who at the time were not permitted to share in this tradition.

Hortense founded the Lansing alumnae chapter of her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, and served as its national president from 1983 to 1988. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 and was named one of Ebony magazine's Most Influential People. Hortense Canady died in 2010 at the age of 83.

Not only was Hortense Canady impressive in her own right, but her children have continued to blaze their own trails.

Her daughter, Alexa Canady, is the first African-American woman in the Nation to be a neurosurgeon and served as the chief of neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Michigan from 1987 until her retirement in 2001. She devoted her brilliant mind and numerous talents to healing and welfare for thousands of young patients over the course of her career. Like her mother, she was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. She was also named a Michigander of the Year by the Detroit News in 2002.

All three of Hortense Canady's sons became attorneys, including the Honorable Judge Clinton Canady III. Before ascending to the bench, Canady practiced law for 37 years. He was a founder of the Lansing Black Lawyers' Association, director of the Ingham County Bar Association, a commissioner for the Lansing Board of Water and Light, a member of the NAACP, and served on the board of the Lansing Symphony Association, Central Michigan Legal Aid, and so many other organizations.

Elected to the Ingham County Circuit Court in 2010, Judge Canady served through his retirement in 2022 but returned on assignment to help address the backlog of cases during the COVID pandemic.

He and his wife, Rita, have two children who are continuing the Canady tradition of service, one as an administrative law judge in California and the other at the United States Department of State.

The Canady family is part of the very fabric of the Lansing community, a fabric stitched with their incredible work ethic and commitment to breaking new ground and to clearing a path for others to follow.

Madam Speaker, I ask that their accomplishments be forever enshrined in the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives. honoring elsie mcpherson-brown

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I honor the groundbreaking service of a Livingston County woman who never even planned to live in the area, much less to make history there. Fortunately, life had its own plans for Elsie McPherson-Brown, and the community is so much better for it.

Livingston County sits at the crossroads of several major highways, and when Elsie McPherson-Brown was driving one of them to go visit family and friends, she took a wrong turn and ended up in the northern community of Hartland, Michigan.

Elsie liked what she saw on that unexpected outing. After further investigation, including meeting with the superintendent and school principals, she convinced her husband to relocate to Hartland from Detroit with their two elementary school-aged boys.

It is worth noting that Livingston County was and is to this day an overwhelmingly White community, but Elsie and her family were undeterred. From the beginning of their time in Hartland, Elsie dove into community service, volunteering in her kids' classrooms, chairing teacher appreciation day events, and serving on the PTO.

In 2003, Elsie took her service to a new and historic level when she successfully ran for the Board of Education of Hartland Consolidated Schools, becoming the first African-American woman and only the second African American in modern history to be elected to public office in Livingston County.

Her story is not without challenges, particularly when it comes to race relations. She often shares how a grocery store manager insisted her personal check was fraudulent because he refused to believe that a Black woman was living in Livingston County at the address that was stated. There were local police officers who questioned her youngest son and refused to believe he was heading home for the same reason.

Elsie chose to rise above and set her focus and her intention on the things that she loved about the community and the commonalities she shared with her friends and neighbors.

Supported by the voters, Elsie served 10 years on the school board and fulfilled her goal of having a voice and shaping the education of the next generation.

She was known for her calm demeanor, her colorful outfits, and the many hats she wore about town, perhaps representative of the different hats she wore in life: wife, mother, advocate, trailblazer.

While she has stepped down from public office, today she continues her life of quiet service to the community in her work in the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.

Elsie McPherson-Brown may have stumbled upon Hartland accidentally, but it is no accident that she changed the course of Hartland's history.

Madam Speaker, her story deserves to be told, uplifted, and forever preserved here in the permanent Record of the people's House. honoring dr. samuel edward holloway

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I honor a man who was a trailblazer in athletics and education and used his talents to break barriers and change the lives of generations of young people.

Dr. Samuel Edward Holloway lived to serve others: his Nation, his community, and his family. It is fitting that as we mark Black History Month, we shine a light on his place in the history of Michigan's Seventh District and the many doors he opened for others to pass through.

Before he was Dr. Holloway, he was simply Sam. He was a young man who came to Michigan with his father and left the Deep South as part of the Great Migration north.

After spending his childhood in various parts of the Midwest, Sam and his family settled in Michigan in the 1940s, where he would eventually join the Ann Arbor High School class of 1951.

Sam's athletic abilities were evident from a very young age. He was crowned State champion in his wrestling class during his high school years. Also clear was his desire to use his life for the greater good as he enlisted in the United States Army upon graduation and was honorably discharged in 1953.

It was then that Sam began embarking on what would become his lifelong calling: public education. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Michigan University, during which time he also began his teaching career.

So it was, at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963, when Samuel Edward Holloway became the first Black faculty member in the history of South Lyon Public Schools. During his tenure there, he was credited with becoming the first Black person to serve as head wrestling coach for any high school team in the State of Michigan.

Eventually, Sam earned his Ph.D. in education and went on to serve in numerous districts, including Ypsilanti Public Schools and Romulus Public Schools.

In the late 1970s, he became a building administrator at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, a full-circle moment for a man who had graduated from that very district.

He held that post until his retirement in 1990, a retirement that he and his wife, Janet, enjoyed to the fullest. Still an athlete at heart and in practice, Holloway competed each year in the Arizona Senior Olympics and rode his motorcycle across the United States and Europe.

Dr. Samuel Edward Holloway passed away in 2022, leaving behind his devoted wife, his four children, a large and loving extended family, and an incredible legacy.

Dr. Holloway didn't set out to be a pioneer. He simply wanted to do the things he loved in service to others.

Madam Speaker, I ask that the permanent Record of the people's House reflect his groundbreaking contributions and the gratitude of the institutions forever changed by his presence. Honoring Orrin and Luvina Wilson

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to two of the most beloved residents to ever call the St. Johns, Michigan, community home: Orrin and Luvina Wilson.

Settling in Clinton County post-Civil War, the Wilsons were a ``power couple'' before the term existed, but it was never about seeking power for themselves. Rather, the Wilsons lived their lives in quiet but devoted and groundbreaking service to their Nation and to their neighbors, and forever changed the face of St. Johns.

Orrin was just 16 years old in 1864 when he enlisted in Michigan's all-Black regiment, the 102nd United States Colored Infantry, Company K, out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He served until the war's end and returned to Michigan, where he met and married his bride.

The two would soon settle in St. Johns, where they lived for the next 60 years. In addition to his military service, Orrin was a trailblazer in so many ways.

First, he took up the trade of barbering and owned his shop for nearly 50 years, serving a mostly White clientele out of the old Steel Hotel in downtown St. Johns.

He was also a founding member of the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, a national union of Civil War veterans, and served as its post commander for a time. Not only was he the only Black member of the St. Johns Charles Grisson Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, it is believed that he is the only Black man in the State of Michigan to hold such a leadership position outside of the all-Black posts in cities like Detroit.

Luvina was a trailblazer in her own right, serving as president of the local chapter of the Women's Relief Corps, an auxiliary organization of the Grand Army of the Republic. The WRC not only supported the mission to aid Union veterans but also assisted former Army nurses and promoted patriotism through education. Just like her husband, Luvina is believed to be the only Black woman in the State to have ever led an all-White post.

Orrin and Luvina raised their two sons together, George and Arthur, who continued the family barbering trade. The family was active in St. Johns United Methodist Church, where Orrin served as a trustee and treasurer for three decades. They were married for 58 years, linked by their common goal of creating a better, more just community and Nation.

United, they also were in death, leaving this world just 1 day apart in late December 1928. The two were buried together in the veterans section of the Mt. Rest Cemetery, with flags flown at half-mast and a large funeral procession going past the family home on South Clinton Avenue.

Madam Speaker, may their life story and memory be a blessing and an inspiration to all of us, forever preserved here in the permanent Record of the people's House. Honoring Mike Garland

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I pay tribute to a basketball coaching legend who helped lead the Michigan State University Spartans men's basketball team to 19 NCAA tournaments, 10 Big Ten championships, 7 Final Fours, and a national championship.

As impressive as those statistics are, former MSU Assistant Coach Mike Garland quite literally came back from the dead and is now using his second chance at life to pay this incredible gift forward.

As much as Mike Garland loved coaching basketball, and as many great things as his teams accomplished on the court, he was content with his decision to retire from MSU in June 2022. He was looking forward to spending more time with his wife, his kids, and his grandkids.

Not long after, however, he went into cardiac arrest while driving his car. Fortunately, two Good Samaritans were driving by at the time. They saw Garland's car go off the road and into a tree. They called 911 and performed CPR until paramedics and police arrived. In total, 13 people worked on Garland for an agonizing 18 minutes to restart his heart.

It turned out the electrical failure in Garland's heart was the result of a birth defect, one that required open heart surgery to fix. Three months later, Garland was back up and running, quite literally, on the treadmill. Not long after that, he honored all of those who helped save his life with an emotional public thank-you at the MSU Breslin Center, home to many of his greatest coaching moments.

Today, the Breslin Center is also home court for his new passion: a foundation he launched called Champions of the Heart.

Through this nonprofit, Garland works to inform the Spartan community and others on how to save lives during episodes of cardiac arrest.

Attendees at these free trainings learn how to perform CPR, how to recognize sudden cardiac arrest, and how to use an automatic external defibrillator.

Mike Garland is a man who has lived two lives, both defined by statistics. In the first, his focus was on wins, losses, and free-throw percentages.

His second life, however, is summed up in a single stark numerical reality: Only one person in ten survives a cardiac arrest.

For all he has done to defy the odds and change the course of history for himself and for others, I ask that his story be recorded in the permanent Record of the people's House. Recognizing Reverend Lillian Archibald

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a woman who defied not only the odds but her own family's wishes to become a pioneer in the pulpit at a landmark Black church in Livingston County, Michigan.

Though her father was a devout Baptist preacher in the early part of the 20th century, Lillian Archibald was taught from a young age that ministry was strictly for men. The fourth of five children, Lillian's father was clear in his message to his daughters: Love the Lord, but find another calling of work.

Skeptical but obedient, Lillian attended a business college in her hometown of Memphis and spent time as a missionary before starting a family of her own. Tragically, the youngest of her four children was killed in 1977 in a crash between a car and a train.

Despite her profound grief, Lillian took solace in her unshakable faith and made the decision that it was time to answer the call that had been placed upon her heart.

Lillian enrolled at Payne Theological Seminary and enlisted in the ministry at age 50. She spent some time as an itinerant elder before being ordained as a full minister in 1985. And, of course, she broke the news to her father, who she says grew very quiet before finally giving his blessing.

She brought that blessing to Michigan, first serving 6 years assisting the pastor at a church in Jackson, Michigan, before being assigned to pastor St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Brighton--the only African-American church in predominantly White Livingston County in 1990.

With her melodic voice and charismatic style, Reverend Archibald is credited with breathing new life and hope into her congregation where she stayed for 4 years.

During her tenure, the church grew in size and in spirit, and began reaching out to the community and joining other churches with a sense of common purpose and passion.

Though her time in Livingston County was brief, her impact was profound. She received numerous recognitions for her commitment to community, including her work with victims of domestic violence at the Women's Resource Center in Howell and her efforts to shelter the unhoused through Habitat for Humanity.

Perhaps one of her greatest gifts was the mentorship she offered to other women contemplating the ministry. Reverend Archibald is still warmly remembered today by many of them as a compassionate guide and a listening ear.

Just as her courageous ministry and her golden voice still guide the work of St. James AME Church, I ask that her memory be forever enshrined in the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives. Honoring Rodney Whitaker and Xavier Davis

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute to two members of the Michigan State University faculty who have contributed to the rich artistic landscape of our great State and helped shape the next generation of musical talent, all set to a distinctive jazz beat.

As a young recording artist in Detroit, Rodney Whitaker likely never imagined he would one day build and lead one of the most distinguished jazz degree programs and performing faculties in the world. But the legendary bassist known for his distinctive ``bear-sized'' tones, today serves as director of jazz studies at MSU, a program he has transformed into a world-class training ground whose students have gone on to perform alongside some of the top jazz artists in the world.

It is a case of those who can do, teach. Whitaker himself spent 7 years as a bassist with Wynton Marsalis' Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, followed by a quarter-century touring around the world, collaborating and performing with legendary jazz artists from Dizzy Gillespie to Diana Krall.

He continues to teach master classes at universities around the world, all while serving as the artistic director at the MSU Professors of Jazz, the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, the Dr. Phillips Center Jazz Orchestra in Orlando, Florida, and the Gathering Orchestra in Detroit to name a few of his many involvements.

He has earned one of the highest distinctions in academia, the title of University Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass and he is proud to serve as a special assistant to the dean's office, directing the College of Music's diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts.

In 2006, he was nominated for the Juno Award, Canada's equivalent to the Grammy, and in 2011, he received an Emmy nomination.

Just last year, he was named 2023 Detroit Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association.

But strip away all the titles, all the awards, and Whitaker is simply a man who understands the power of the gift that he has been given and the necessity to pass it on. In his own words, Dr. Rodney Whitaker said: That is my truth. I love passing on the knowledge of the history of music, and it is life-changing to see that lightbulb go off in someone. It certainly changed my life.

For all the lives he has enriched, changed, and set to music, I ask that his contributions forever live here in the permanent Record of the United States House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to shine a light on the incredible accomplishments of another member of the Michigan State University jazz community: Associate professor of jazz piano, Xavier Davis.

It was 1994 and Xavier Davis, then a college student from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was performing with a small ensemble at a convention in Boston when his tunes caught the ear of the legendary jazz vocalist Betty Carter, a native of Flint, Michigan. Carter scooped him up and brought him to New York, hiring him to work exclusively as a pianist for her jazz trio.

Davis spent many years in New York, cultivating his talent, learning from and playing with some of the greatest names in jazz, including: Carl Allen, James Williams, Billy Hart, Regina Carter, and Wynton Marsalis. He served as musical director for the Boys Choir of Harlem during its 1999-2000 season, he played keyboard for the television series ``The Cosby Show,'' and has been featured on more than 50 albums, including a Grammy-winning collaboration with Christian McBride in 2012.

We are so fortunate that after 6 years of teaching at the famed Juilliard School in New York, Davis brought his talents back home and has been teaching jazz piano at Michigan State University since 2014.

In addition to the many students who have benefited from his instruction, Davis has also dedicated himself to uplifting his own hometown of Detroit through his music.

Supported by a grant from Michigan State University's Humanities and Art Research program, Davis began composing music about Detroit, which eventually became a powerful album titled ``Rise Up Detroit.''

Through his music, Davis focused on the role Detroit has played in the lives of African Americans and in the world at large, highlighting the Underground Railroad, the Great Migration, and the boon days of the auto industry.

Professor Davis is a gifted composer, arranger, and producer of music, and widely recognized as one of the most accomplished jazz pianists in the world. He is also a proud Michigander, continually giving back to the community and the State that put the music in his soul. While he is a recording artist, it is my distinct pleasure to record his accomplishments and convey my gratitude for his contributions here in the permanent Record of the people's House.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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