Honoring the life of John H. "Jack" Ruffin, Jr.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5

legislative days to extend and revise their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution as they see fit.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1087 honors the life of John H. ``Jack'' Ruffin, Jr. Judge Ruffin began his distinguished legal career as a civil rights attorney, and throughout his career blazed a trail to advance civil rights for all. Judge Ruffin spent most of his life in the great State of Georgia. He was born in Burke County, Georgia, and graduated from Waynesboro High and Industrial School. He attended Morehouse College, and then moved to Washington, D.C. to attend law school at Howard University School of Law. After graduating from law school, Judge Ruffin returned to Georgia to practice law.

Only 3 years into his legal career, he filed lawsuits to desegregate the public school systems of Richmond County and Burke County in Georgia. After several additional years of fighting for civil rights, Judge Ruffin became the first African American member of the Augusta Bar Association. After 33 years of practicing law, Judge Ruffin was administered the oath of office and took the bench as the 62nd judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia.

He made history as the first African American Superior Court Judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, and later made history again when he served as the first African American Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. At the time of his death, Judge Ruffin held a teaching position at Morehouse College, still actively engaged in inspiring those to follow.

To honor all of Judge Ruffin's accomplishments, the new Richmond County judicial center will be named in his honor. We mourn his passing, but are pleased to honor his many civil rights and legal accomplishments today. He stands, as did Thurgood Marshall and others, as great individuals who used the courts to advance civil rights.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow).

Mr. Speaker, I join with the gentleman from Texas and thank Mr. Barrow for bringing the resolution. Gentlemen such as Judge Ruffin need to be remembered and others encouraged to follow in their footsteps. And that is important.

So I yield back the balance of my time and ask all of my colleagues to join me in voting ``aye'' on House Resolution 1087.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1087, a resolution honoring the life of my good friend, Judge Jack Ruffin of Augusta, Georgia. Judge Ruffin passed away on January 29 at the age of 75. He had a long and distinguished career of service in Georgia, and he will truly be missed.

Jack Ruffin was born in the middle of the Great Depression, and spent his formative years in the town of Waynesboro, Georgia. He left home to attend Morehouse College, and graduated in 1957. At the time his mother wanted him to be a teacher, but Jack Ruffin had other plans. He moved to Washington, D.C., attended Howard University School of Law, and got his J.D. degree in 1960.

Jack Ruffin could have built a successful law practice anywhere in the country, but he decided to return home to the deeply segregated City of Augusta to practice law. Throughout the course of his career, Jack Ruffin focused on rooting out the racial prejudice and discrimination which still held a firm grip on the political and economic livelihood of our State. Jack Ruffin fought for his own right to practice his profession, and became the first black lawyer admitted to the Augusta Bar Association and the first black Superior Court Judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit. But more importantly, he fought for the rights of everyone in the community. Among other causes he took on, he was the lawyer who desegregated the Richmond and Burke County public school systems.

Judge Ruffin was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 1994. He became the first black Chief Judge of that court in 1996. After his retirement in 2008, Judge Ruffin spent the remainder of his life teaching students at Morehouse College, giving back to the college that gave so much to him.

The resolution before us today honoring Jack Ruffin's life is sponsored by every single member of the Georgia congressional delegation. That speaks not only to Jack Ruffin's character, but also to how far we have come as a State and as a Nation. Jack Ruffin did as much to change the laws and attitudes in Georgia as anyone else of his generation, and as a result we are a better and a freer people.

So today I urge my colleagues to adopt this legislation to express our lasting gratitude for Jack Ruffin's unyielding commitment to justice and equality for all.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of House Resolution 1087, which honors the life of Judge Jack Ruffin. Judge Ruffin was a pioneering civil rights lawyer in his community, and his impact on the civil rights movement affects many today.

He was born in Waynesboro, Georgia, where his portrait today hangs in the Burke County Courthouse. Growing up in the Deep South, his mother wanted him to be a school teacher and not a lawyer because she feared for his safety. But not to be intimidated, Judge Ruffin went to law school anyway. And despite his mother's concerns about his safety, he became a lawyer.

After law school he moved to Augusta, Georgia, where he became the first African American member of the Augusta Bar Association. He argued countless cases for civil rights. In perhaps the most notable case, Acree v. Board of Education, he filed suit to desegregate the Richmond County school system, which included the City of Augusta. Litigation continued for decades before he finally obtained a Federal court order to integrate the system.

From 1986 to 1994 he served as the first African American Superior Court Judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit. In 1994, he was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals. And in 2005, he became the first African American Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. In 2009, the Augusta-Richmond County Commission decided to name the new Richmond County judicial center in Augusta in Jack Ruffin's honor.

Judge Ruffin's selfless and brave pursuit of equal justice for everyone earned him the respect and admiration of generations to come. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I urge the adoption of this resolution and commend the Georgia delegation for bringing it forward, Mr. Barrow especially.

I yield back the balance of my time.