Kendrick Meek: “I rise to pay a special tribute to the gentleman from Missouri, our friend, our colleague, Congressman Bill Clay. There…”

“I rise to pay a special tribute to the gentleman from Missouri, our friend, our colleague, Congressman Bill Clay. There are not many people around like Bill Clay. He is a unique person. He is a scholar, a mentor, a founder, and an inspirational leader, a fighter, and a fierce person for equity and civil rights for all. Bill Clay is announcing his retirement in this body after the close of the 106th Congress. Bill Clay has been an unwavering advocate for civil rights. We are going to miss him, Madam Speaker. He has walked in such a way that we are standing on his shoulders, those of us who are here today, even when it was not popular to do so. Representative Clay, like many other black-elected officials, realized that the road to equality for black America was through continuous struggle and through fighting a racially-charged system that was obsessed with keeping black Americans from even the most basic of human and civil rights. I tell this Congress and I tell the world, this is a brave man.”