CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE May 1, 2001 Burden of Family and Employment Obli- As Originally Stated, the Sullivan Prin- Corp
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6618 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE May 1, 2001 burden of family and employment obli- As originally stated, the Sullivan Prin- Corp. to focus attention on racial segrega- gations. Women’s pay remains lower ciples called for racial nonsegregation on the tion and deplorable living conditions of than that of men; and women remain factory floor and in company eating and black workers in South Africa. in the minority in decision-making and washing facilities; fair employment prac- Before he moved into the international tices; equal pay for equal work; training for arena, the Rev. Mr. Sullivan fought for ra- managerial posts. blacks and other nonwhites so they could ad- cial equality in Philadelphia, where he orga- The dramatic increase of women in vance to better jobs; promotion of more nized a boycott of local firms that would not the labor market has driven public blacks and other nonwhites to supervisory hire African-Americans. Not one to accept opinion and the governments of many positions, and improved housing, schooling, the common corporate excuse that no quali- countries to acknowledge that they recreation and health facilities for workers. fied African-Americans could be found for need to fight against these inequal- On Wednesday, the UN secretary-general, available jobs, he established the Opportuni- ities. Kofi Annan, praised Mr. Sullivan, saying ties Industrialization Centers that since 1965 The United States Congress needs to that he had played a bold and innovative role have trained hundreds of thousands of people in ending apartheid. And the Reverend Jesse in the United States and Africa. There are 56 be doing more to ensure that our gov- Jackson called Mr. Sullivan ‘‘a tremendous affiliate centers in 36 states (none in Mis- ernment and those across the globe source of hope and vitality and moral au- souri or Illinois) providing education, train- adopt legislation which represents the thority.’’ ing, employment and housing services to real political will that exists to elimi- In 1971, Mr. Sullivan joined the board of poor people of all races. nate inequality of opportunity on the General Motors as the company’s first black As the United states continues to push for basis of gender. director. He was instrumental in expanding global trade, the Rev. Mr. Sullivan’s prin- We need to pass legislation like the black employment and creating more black ciples promoting equal economic oppor- Paycheck Fairness Act, which I intro- dealerships. tunity for all races are every bit as relevant By 1984, Mr. Sullivan had used his position as they were in 1977. duced in the 107th Congress, to ensure on the General Motors board to persuade Mr. Speaker, I will miss Reverend that protections against gender dis- most American companies doing business in crimination are enforced. It is a matter South Africa to abide by his principles. He Sullivan tremendously. I will miss his of human rights, of social justice, and then added several more guidelines. words of wisdom and counsel. My last sustainable economic development to He said that American companies should conversation with Reverend Sullivan make sure that women are paid in the campaign actively against apartheid, allow was on the front steps of the Cannon same way that men in our society are black workers full job mobility and provide Building last year. We talked about the housing accommodations close to work. paid. HIV/AIDS pandemic which is ravaging In 1987, with apartheid still in place and Africa. f such African leaders as Nelson Mandela still HONORING REV. LEON SULLIVAN in prison, Mr. Sullivan toughened his ap- b 1900 proach, urging American corporations to The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a withdraw altogether from South Africa and He told me that he intended for the previous order of the House, the gentle- calling for the United States to impose trade African American Summit, which had been scheduled to take place in Abuja, woman from California (Ms. LEE) is and investment sanctions on that country. recognized for 5 minutes. This harsher stance, however, won little Nigeria this month, to highlight the Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, support from either the Reagan administra- devastation brought on by this disease. tion or American business leaders. He said that we must stay faithful to today one of the greatest civil rights When apartheid was dismantled in the and human rights leaders of our time, our mission to eradicate this disease 1990s, many credited Mr. Sullivan’s work as from the face of the earth. Reverend a great orator, a humble minister who a major force in the change. But he said lived his faith, Reverend Leon Sul- only, ‘‘If you take a hammer and chisel and Sullivan’s untimely death prevents, for livan, was laid to rest in Phoenix, Ari- pound a rock 100 times, it’s going to crack. the moment only, this summit from zona. I pounded and pounded and it cracked.’’ proceeding, but his message of hope Rev. Leon Sullivan was an advocate In 1988, Mr. Sullivan retired as the head of must be heard. Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, moved for the ‘‘least of these.’’ His deep and Tonight we can all honor his legacy. to Phoenix and began building bridges be- Tonight we can and we must recommit abiding commitment to human rights, tween Africa and black America, organizing to economic development, to edu- ourselves to increasing the level of a series of African and African-American funding to address the global HIV/AIDS cation, to the elimination of racism summit meetings, with the first held in and apartheid transcended the North Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 1991. pandemic, specifically in sub-Saharan American continent all of the way to In 1999, he promulgated his own Global Africa which has over 70 percent of the the continent of Africa and the entire Sullivan Principles, ethical guidelines for world’s HIV/AIDS infections. world. His love for all of God’s children multinational corporations. About a hun- Finally, in honor of Reverend Sul- dreds U.S. corporations have accepted them. livan, let us remember his magnificent was the driving force for many of his He was awarded honorary degrees by Dart- magnificent endeavors here in America life; and let us remember that it was he mouth, Princeton and Swarthmore, among who helped mobilize us, making us and in Africa. dozens of other colleges. Mr. Speaker, I include for the take note that Africa does matter. It was he who helped remind us that RECORD Reverend Sullivan’s obituary A FIGHTER AGAINST RACISM which sets forth his life’s work. A Baptist minister from humble begin- America is home to tens of millions of African descendants. We cannot forget [From the International Herald Tribune, nings in Charleston, W. Va., Leon Sullivan Apr. 27, 2000] became a force for racial justice from the that Africa matters. streets of Philadelphia to Soweto. The Rev. It is with a heavy heart, yet a sense LEON SULLIVAN, 78, KEY PLAYER IN ENDING Mr. Sullivan died last week of leukemia at of gratitude, that I remember Reverend APARTHEID, IS DEAD the age of 78. He will be buried today in Sullivan tonight. My prayers go out to (By Paul Lewis) Phoenix. Reverend Sullivan’s family. May this The Reverend Leon Sullivan, 78, the cler- The Rev. Mr. Sullivan wrote an inter- great warrior rest in peace. gyman and civil rights leader who drew up national code of business conduct that guidelines for American businesses operating helped fight apartheid. For more than 20 f in South Africa under apartheid, died years, he crusaded against institutionalized Wednesday of leukemia in Scottsdale, Ari- racial oppression, backed by the white South PUBLICATION OF THE RULES OF zona. African government. His ‘‘Sullivan Prin- THE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDG- In 1977, Mr. Sullivan drafted the Sullivan ciples,’’ written in 1977, called on U.S. firms ET—107TH CONGRESS Principles to help persuade American compa- conducting business in South Africa to es- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a nies with investments in South Africa to tablish fair-employment practices, train previous order of the House, the gen- treat their workers there in the same man- non-whites and promote them to manage- ner that they treated their U.S. workers. ment jobs, and to improve employees’ lives tleman from Iowa (Mr. NUSSLE) is rec- He later worked with the United Nations outside of the work environment. He used his ognized for 5 minutes. on a code of ethical conduct for multi- position as the first African-American to sit Mr. NUSSLE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Rule national corporations. on the board of directors of General Motors XI, Clause 2 of the Rules of the House of VerDate jul 14 2003 10:50 Feb 21, 2005 Jkt 089102 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR01\H01MY1.001 H01MY1.