Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Representing Maryland's 8th District
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Official Seal of the US House of Representatives

Tuesday, January 29, 2008


Congressman Van Hollen's Tribute to
Senator Gwendolyn Britt




Thank you, Mr. Speaker.  The Civil Rights movement was full of heroes whose names we know, and many whose names we will never know despite the depth of their sacrifice.  Just recently, this nation remembered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose good works are known to our nation and to the world.  Today, I'm honored to remember and celebrate the life of another extraordinary civil rights leaders who helped stand up against injustice in our nation.

State Senator Gwendolyn Britt passed away recently.  She first stood up against racial segregation, not in Montgomery, Alabama, but in Montgomery County, Maryland, at Glen Echo Park, about twenty minutes from this Capitol.  It was a hot evening in June.  Glen Echo Park was segregated at the time, and she purchased a ticket to ride on the carousel.  She was arrested that day.  Her case went to the Supreme Court of this country and it was just the first of many brave acts in standing up against injustice by Gwendolyn Britt, a person who changed our country.

I ask unanimous consent that my full statement be submitted for the record.

 


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