E628 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks April 10, 1997 years she has worked at the board of edu- in Perry County, TN, are Class A basketball through the deep South. There was violence cation in Public School 87 in the Bronx where champions. The feat gave Perry County High all around. Our buses were burned. We were she was a school lunch aide. But it was the School its sixth State Championship Trophy beaten. But, we never turned back. personality and charm she brought to the for basketball since 1955. The Freedom Rides catapulted Birmingham kitchen which made it distinct. Mrs. DiMeo Twenty-eight times during their regular sea- police commissioner, Bull Connor, onto the turned this into an area where teachers would son, these Vikings took to the hardwood floors front page of major newspapers around the come to relax, to talk about work and them- of Tennessee's high school gymnasiums to world. The Freedom Rides opened Bobby selves, to take that vital time which reinvigo- measure their metal. And those 28 competi- Kennedy's eyes to the intransigence of South- rates us. That kitchen was such a center of tions brought upon them the inspiring thrill of ern segregationists and the need for the Fed- the school that the principals would drop in to success and victory. Indeed, their numerous eral Government to intervene in the struggle become a closer part of that small community. regular season achievements, coupled with a for civil rights. And the Freedom Rides brought Mrs. DiMeo personifies the person we all re- sheer desire to win, would carry them to vic- down the white only and colored signs that member who made school more like home tory throughout the district, regional, sub- had been hung over every bus seat, terminal than an institution, the one we always speak State, and the pinnacle of high school basket- bench, toilet, and water fountain in the South. foundly of. As a former teacher I can appre- ball, the State Tournament. Although he was one of the ``Big Six'' lead- ers of the civil rights movement, a planner of ciate the atmosphere created by such a per- Coach Bruce Slatten is to be commended the 1963 march on Washington and scheduled son. I have also had the opportunity to witness for such a fine year of coaching. Without his to speak at the march, Jim Farmer didn't first hand the warmth and charm of this caring unwavering guidance and devotion to his play- make it to the march. He was in jail in Louisi- individual. She is the mother-in-law of my ad- ers, this team would likely not have been the ana at the time; and, while he could have same. Seniors Phillip Carroll, Kirk Haston, ministrative assistant, John Calvelli. been released, he chose to stay with the 200 Chris Jones, and Chad Marrs undoubtedly On the evening of Friday, April 11, 1997, others who had marched in Plaquemine earlier members and friends of PS 87 will be hosting showed team leadership throughout the year. in the week protesting the inhumane treatment a dinner to celebrate a new chapter in Mrs. Other players who made this team a success of black people in that parish. DiMeo's life: her retirement. I salute her and include Cory Brown, Nick Coble, Shannon Almost a month later, the Plaquemine pro- thank her for all she has given to the school, Hamm, Ben Mercer, Mitchell Rhodes, Blake testers were released. However, the only way its teachers and its students, and con- Warren, Barton Coble, Clay Pope, Josh War- Farmer was able to escape Louisiana was in sequently to our community. I look forward to ren, Dan McEwen, and Josh Walker. Team a coffin in the back of a hearse. The State sharing many special events in the coming managers Kenny Tohn, Adam Trull, and Ryan troopers had vowed to find him and kill. years with her and the entire DiMeo family. Parnell lent helping hands, as did statisticians Referred to as a ``young negro aristocrat,'' f Jeremy Hester and Troy Himes, and camera- Farmer was born in Texas, where his father man Michael Jones. was the first black person to earn a Ph.D. de- IN HONOR OF REV. THOMAS BOYD Four Vikings would go on to earn All-State gree. Today, he is 77 years old. He is blind. OF THE SALEM MISSIONARY Tournament honorsÐCory Brown, Kirk He has lost the use of both of his legs. He is BAPTIST CHURCH OF BROOKLYN, Haston, Chris Jones, and Mitchell Rhodes. Mr. not in good health. NY Haston was named the Single A State Tour- He is still teaching at Mary Washington Col- nament's ``Most Valuable Player,'' and for the lege in Fredericksburg, VA, where is he Distin- HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER second year in a row, was named ``Mr. Bas- guished Professor of History and American OF NEW YORK ketball'' in Tennessee Single A basketball. Studies. He continues to inspire his students IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES I am proud to see Perry County High School and all those who come in contact with him to uphold its winning and championship tradition set goals, direct their actions, lead, be cre- Thursday, April 10, 1997 in high school basketball, and wish this team ative, have vision and keep the faith. Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, it is with pro- the best of luck in all their future endeavors. I invite my colleagues to join me in paying found pleasure that I congratulate today an f tribute to James Farmer, one of our Nation's exemplary community and religious leader, greatest heros, his work, his legacy, and his Rev. Thomas Boyd of the Salem Missionary TRIBUTE TO JAMES FARMER life. Baptist Church. He has devoted 50 years of f his life to the church, 37 of those to the Salem HON. JOHN LEWIS INTRODUCTION OF THE FAIR PAY Missionary Baptist Church alone. OF GEORGIA ACT OF 1997 Reverend Boyd has been an invaluable spir- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES itual leader. He plays a vitally important role in Thursday, April 10, 1997 the community to the many who over the HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON years have come to depend on his warm heart Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, 55 OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA and kind words. His dedication and service to years ago this month, the first sit-in took IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the church is testament to what a commit- place. It was at the Jack Spratt Coffee Shop Thursday, April 10, 1997 ment, in this case to the faith, requires of us in Chicago, IL. It was conceived, organized, Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I reintro- all. His leadership is inspirational and extends and led by James Farmer. duce the Fair Pay Act [FPA], a bill that would well beyond the reaches of his congregation. Fifty years ago, in 1947, in followup to the require employers to pay equal wages to em- As public servants we should draw from his 1946 Supreme Court ruling that blacks could ployees in comparable jobs in an effort to rem- example and strive to emulate this level of not be forced to sit in the back of buses travel- edy the pay inequities which women continue commitment. ing interstate, Farmer led CORE members in to endure. I introduce the bill today, the day I ask my colleagues to join me in extending a challenge to the practice of segregated seat- before Pay Inequity Day, because that is the a hearty congratulations to Reverend Boyd for ing. On what he called the journey of reconcili- day on which women finally earn what men his 50 years of religious service. And also to ation, they traveled through Maryland, Virginia, earned in the previous calendar year. I have the Salem Missionary Baptist Church, for pro- North Carolina, and West Virginia. Some introduced this legislation each Congress with viding him a base from which to build a spir- members of that group, including Bayard increasing support in both the House and the itual home for the people of Brooklyn. Rustin, were arrested and served 30 days on Senate, and I hope to have even more sup- f a chain gang in North Carolina for having vio- port in the 105th Congress. The bill already lated local segregation laws. has 25 original cosponsors. TENNESSEE CLASS A These are among the little known but critical American families are becoming more and BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS events on the road to equal rights and equal more dependent on women's wages. Today, protection under the law in the United States. 40 percent of all working women have children HON. ED BRYANT Better known are the Freedom Rides. James under 18. In two-parent families, 66 percent of OF TENNESSEE Farmer orchestrated them, too. the women work, and the number of female- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tireless and committed, Jim Farmer led 13 headed households has more than doubled of usÐan interracial group of young men and since 1970. Thursday, April 10, 1997 women whom he had helped train in the Although most American families today must Mr. BRYANT. Mr. Speaker, may it be known Ghandian principles of direct action and non- rely heavily on women's wages, women con- that the Vikings of Perry County High School violenceÐon a journey toward freedom, tinue to earn less than their male counterparts April 10, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks E629 with comparable qualifications. Women com- were friends at Garfield High School. They now allow for the medical use of marijuana.