CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E 344 HON
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E 344 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks February 14, 1995 TESTS BIAS AND RACISM AT OUR HOOP DREAMS May Miller Sullivan often remarked, ``If out INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER of a silence I can fill that silence with a word LEARNING HON. BILL RICHARDSON that will conjure up an image, then I have suc- OF NEW MEXICO ceeded.'' By all standards, May Miller Sullivan IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES was a huge success. Mr. Speaker, I am sure HON. CARDISS COLLINS Tuesday, February 14, 1995 my colleagues will want to extend their condo- lences to Ms. Miller's familyÐGloria Miller OF ILLINOIS Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I would Clark, Kelly Miller III, Suzanne Miller Jefferson, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES commend to all Members of this body the doc- and many other nieces and nephews. umentary ``Hoop Dreams.'' Tuesday, February 14, 1995 This film chronicles the epic struggle of two f Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I young men to get out of the ghetto through TRIBUTE TO HERB BRIN higher education. think it is absolutely appalling, irresponsible, Because these young men are exceptional and downright unethical, for a college or uni- basketball players they have an opportunity to HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN versity president to say low-test scores of Afri- attend a good parochial high school in the OF CALIFORNIA can-American students are linked to their ge- suburbs of Chicago. Their athletic talents are netic, hereditary background. their ticket to a better lifeÐbut attendance at HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN I am referring to the insensitive remarks the new school requires a 3-hour bus ride OF CALIFORNIA made by Rutgers University president, Francis each day. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES L. Lawrence, that precipitated a recent act of All our young people need the opportunity civil disobedience by many of Rutger's Afri- for a better educationÐeven if they are not Tuesday, February 14, 1995 can-American students during a basketball talented athletes. And they should not have to Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, we invite our game. go to private schoolÐor travel 3 hours to find colleagues today to join us in sending our con- It is outrageous to even suggest that aca- a better life. gratulations and very best wishes to Herbert demically qualified students should be denied Mr. Speaker, when we reform welfare let's H. ``Herb'' Brin on the 80th anniversary of his access and an opportunity for higher edu- expand the educational opportunities for all birth. cation based solely upon culturally biased our citizensÐespecially our young people. Herb was born in Chicago in 1915 to Jewish standardized tests such as the Scholastic As- f immigrant parents and went on to become one sessment Test [SAT]. CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF MAY of the founding beat reporters of the City Scientific analyses demonstrates that there MILLER SULLIVAN News Bureau, covering everything from gang- is test bias in both the SAT and the ACT land killings to the rise of Nazi-sympathizer [American College Test]. Even the SAT test groups, which he helped expose before enter- HON. DONALD M. PAYNE ing the Army during World War II. Injured in makers, the Educational Testing Service, OF NEW JERSEY warns about the misuse of the SAT. training, Brin became a regular reporter-col- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES umnist for Stars and Stripes, interviewing four- Mr. Speaker, exclusionary policies, based Tuesday, February 14, 1995 on racist beliefs, will only further contribute to star generals for the enlisted man's news- paper. After the war, he moved with his wife the widening social and economic inequalities Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I to California and became a star reporter for that have characterized American society in would like to bring to the attention of my col- the Los Angeles Times, covering stories such recent decades. leagues, the passing of May Miller Sullivan on February 8 at the age of 96. Today, February as the trial of Adolf Eichmann. Many of the excluded students will be mi- 14, 1995, a poetry reading memorial service In 1953, Herb quit the Times to take over norities from economically disadvantaged will be held to celebrate her life and work. the Heritage group of Jewish newspapers, backgrounds who remain disproportionately May Miller Sullivan was a Washington poet, with editions covering Los Angeles, Orange underrepresented in the Nation's colleges and playwright, and educator whose literary career and San Diego Counties. His personal, no- universities. began in the Harlem Renaissance of the holds-barred style of journalism broke scoop In 1991, as chairwoman of the House Sub- 1920's. Known professionally as May Miller, after scoop. Heritage first brought into national committee on Commerce, Consumer Protec- she was the last survivor of five children of attention the rise of the Aryan Nations and tion, and Competitiveness, I began a series of Kelly Miller, a nationally known author and phi- other neo-Nazi hate groups. His coverage of investigative hearings into intercollegiate ath- losopher who was the dean of the College of the Klaus Barbie trial in Lyons was picked up letics and the National Collegiate Athletic As- Arts and Sciences and a professor of soci- all over the world. Year in and year out, Her- sociation [NCAA]. A major focus of my inves- ology at Howard University. bert Brin has been a tireless champion for Los tigations revealed the NCAA's misuse of Ms. Miller grew up in faculty housing on the Angeles, for Israel, and for the Jewish people. standardized tests which continues to result in Howard University campus in a period when Those of us fortunate enough to know Herb a gross disproportionate negative impact on the university was a national gathering place are filled with admiration at the many achieve- minority student-athletes. for black artists and intellectuals. It was not ments of his life. Throughout his distinguished Mr. Speaker, at a time we are trying to in- unusual for greats like W.E.B. DuBois and career in journalism, he was always the most crease the earning potential of our youngsters, Booker T. Washington to visit the Miller home. vigilant of watchdogs on issues affecting the inflammatory and misinformed statements sug- Poet Langston Hughes was among the friends Jewish community. On many occasions, the of May Miller. gesting that African-Americans, or any group statements and conduct of opponents of Israel A native Washingtonian and a graduate of of people, are genetically inferior, cannot and and anti-Semites were exposed only because Dunbar High School and Howard University, of his diligence and personal commitment to will not be tolerated. Ms. Miller did postgraduate study in literature justice. Denying students access to institutions of at American University and Columbia Univer- Thank you for a lifetime of service to the higher education based on artificial barriers sity. For 20 years she traveled daily to Balti- Jewish communityÐand many, many happy has a direct long-term economic impact. Given more to teach English, speech and drama at returns of this day! the large and rising earnings associated with Frederick Douglass High School. f obtaining a 4-year degree, the personal eco- Ms. Miller began writing poetry as a child, nomic costs associated with being denied an often encouraged by her father, for whom the CRIME IN AMERICA opportunity to obtain a 4-year degree are quite Kelly Miller Junior High School in Washington substantialÐ$400,000±$500,000Ðeven for is named. After graduating first in her class at those graduates with modest academic skills. Howard University, she set out to become a HON. WILLIAM J. MARTINI I applaud the African-American students at playwright and poet. OF NEW JERSEY Rutgers for not taking this insult to their intel- Ms. Miller wrote with feeling about people IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ligence sitting down. and places in and around Washington and about memories and folk tales from her child- Tuesday, February 14, 1995 hood. A self-styled poet, Ms. Miller's work has Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as been published in magazines and in several a former Federal prosecutor to discuss the collections. growing problem of crime facing our country..