Emanuel Cleaver: “I very proudly stand here today to recommend the Reverend Dr. Wallace S. Hartsfield, a minister in the Fifth…”

“I very proudly stand here today to recommend the Reverend Dr. Wallace S. Hartsfield, a minister in the Fifth Congressional District, which I very proudly serve, be given the honor of having a postal facility named in his honor at 4320 Blue Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. All nine members of the Missouri delegation have signed on to this bill, and they signed on for one real reason. It is this: Rev. Hartsfield is an American story. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 12 in 1929. He was raised by his mother. He was the only child and yet she worked and struggled and pushed him. He eventually graduated from high school and then served a 3-year tour of duty with the United States Army. He returned to this country and attended Clark College, which is now called Clark Atlanta University. He received a bachelor's degree, and then he went on to receive a Master's of Divinity at Gammon Theological Seminary, which is known as the Interdenominational Theological Seminary today. He's received a number of honorary doctorate degrees, and he is recognized in our community as a man who is always going to be where something good is happening. He has been a strong worker in the field of diversity. He is a man who has been able to bring the clergy together from across racial and even religious lines. He's known as the dean of preachers in our community, and I dubbed him the 'Godfather of Preachers' because of the respect he receives from members of the clergy.”