Political Quotes

“today I wish to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing one of Louisiana's courageous civil rights leaders, the Reverend Theodore Judson ``T.J.'' Jemison, who passed on November 15, 2013, at the age of 95 in Baton Rouge, LA. Reverend Jemison, the youngest of six children, was born in Selma, AL in 1918. Reverend Jemison attended Alabama State College for his undergraduate degree and received a master's of divinity degree from Virginia Union University. He became a heroic leader in the civil rights movement, served as pastor of Mount Zion First Baptist Church for nearly a half century, and was president of the National Baptist Convention for 12 years. Reverend Jemison orchestrated the Baton Rouge bus boycott of 1953--a model that would later be adopted by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Montgomery, AL. Reverend Jemison actively pressured the Baton Rouge City Council to ensure equal treatment for African-American passengers who were barred from seating in areas designated White-only. Through this work Reverend Jemison helped expand the civil rights to many of the citizens of Louisiana. Reverend Jemison served as president of the National Baptist Convention, the largest Black Baptist organization in the United States, from 1982-1994. As the organization's president, Reverend Jemison worked to promote the principles of the social gospel. He also oversaw the construction of the Baptist World Center in Nashville, TN.…”