Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1087) honoring the life of John H. ``Jack'' Ruffin, Jr. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1087 Whereas Jack Ruffin left a lasting impact on his State and the United States during his distinguished legal career as a civil rights attorney and as the first African-American chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals; Whereas Jack Ruffin was born in the rural town of Waynesboro, Georgia, in 1934, where he spent his formative years and where today his portrait hangs in the Burke County Courthouse; Whereas Jack Ruffin graduated from Morehouse College in 1957 and from Howard University School of Law in 1960; Whereas Jack Ruffin became, in 1961, the first African- American admitted to the Augusta Bar Association, against the wishes of his mother who feared for his safety; Whereas Jack Ruffin fought with great courage against injustices in his community throughout his life, most notably when he filed the lawsuits that desegregated the public school systems of Richmond County and of Burke County; Whereas Jack Ruffin honorably served, from 1986 to 1994, as the first African-American Superior Court judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit; Whereas Jack Ruffin, having been appointed by Governor Zell Miller to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 1994, honorably served as a member of that Court until 2008; Whereas Jack Ruffin became the first African-American Ch…”