Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, rise today to express my strong support for H. Res. 1271, honoring the life and achievements of Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks. I would also like to commend the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr., and Chairman Steve Cohen, the sponsors of this resolution, for their commitment to preserving the accomplishments of Dr. Hooks. Dr. Hooks had a legendary career and truly exemplifies the quintessential renaissance man. He was an inspirational speaker, defender of minorities and the poor, and a well-known director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Dr. Hooks was a lawyer and a Baptist minister best known for boosting membership in the NAACP and making it relevant in today's political times. After a lifetime of advocacy for the oppressed, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. Dr. Hooks was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and took pre-law courses in his home town from LeMoyne College; after graduating in 1944 he joined the Army. During the Second World War, Hooks found himself in the position of guarding Italian prisoners who were allowed to eat in restaurants that were off limits to him. The experience helped to deepen his resolve to do something about bigotry in the South. After his wartime service, he was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. Hooks went north to Chicago to study law at DePaul University because no law school in Tennessee would admit him.…”