Charles Rangel: “as we mourn the death of our former colleague, Bella Abzug, I would like to pause to reflect and celebrate the life of…”

“as we mourn the death of our former colleague, Bella Abzug, I would like to pause to reflect and celebrate the life of an extraordinarily gifted human being. I have fond memories of Bella Abzug and admire so many of the principles which guided her as she struggled to make the world a more humane place. I think about the unpopular causes she championed during the 1950's for civil rights. A specialist in labor law, she worked ``gratis'' for union groups, workers in the fur industry, restaurant workers, auto workers, and the first rank-and-file longshoremen strikers. A large portion of her work outside of the labor field was done ``pro bono,'' or for a minimal fee, for civil rights and civil liberties litigants. She was the chief counsel in the two-year appeal of Willie McGee, an African American man convicted of raping a white woman and sentenced to death. The case drew worldwide attention, and some Southern newspaper editorials attacked McGee's ``white lady lawyer'' in language meant to incite racism and hatred between groups. Bella argued passionately, and challenged the injustice of excluding Blacks from juries and applying the death sentence for rape virtually exclusively to Blacks. Although her arguments fell on deaf ears and McGree was executed in Mississippi in 1951, the case was an example of Bella's compassion and lifelong commitment to the underdog.”