Honoring the Life and achievements of Dr. John Hope Franklin.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 320) honoring the life and achievements of Dr. John Hope Franklin.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it is with deep respect that I rise in support of House Resolution 320, which celebrates the life of legendary scholar, professor, author and historian, Dr. John Hope Franklin. I would first like to thank my colleague and friend from North Carolina, Congressman Mel Watt, for sponsoring this afternoon's condolence measure which has amassed over 90 cosponsors since being introduced on April 2nd, 2009. I would also like to thank Congressman David Price and Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Senator Kay Hagan for cosponsoring similar legislation. The outpouring of bipartisan support surely speaks to Dr. Franklin's legacy.

Dr. Franklin was more than a historian. His academic and civic contributions helped integrate the African American narrative into American history. He did as much or more to influence the American historical perspective than nearly any scholar in recent memory in this respect.

One of Dr. Franklin's first contributions to our national story came when he was a young academic working alongside Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education. By his work, Dr. Franklin helped bring an end to the ``separate but equal'' doctrine in America's public schools, ending decades of institutionalized injustice.

John Hope Franklin graduated from Fisk University in 1935, and received both a master's and Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. He taught at a number of institutions, including Fisk University, North Carolina Central University, St. Augustine's College and Howard University.

In 1956, Mr. Franklin became the Chairman of the Department of History at Brooklyn College and in 1964 he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago and served as Chairman of the Department of History from 1967 to 1970.

In 1982, Dr. Franklin joined the faculty of Duke University, where he remained until his passing. He held such positions as the James B. Duke Professor of History, Professor of History Emeritus and Professor of Legal History at Duke University Law School. In 2000, Duke University opened the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, dedicated to new methods of knowledge sharing and collaborative understanding.

In 1947, Dr. Franklin published the seminal piece, ``From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans.'' Now in its seventh edition, it is considered the preeminent account of the African American experience in the United States. Other works by Dr. Franklin include ``The Emancipation Proclamation,'' ``The Free Negro in North Carolina,'' ``The Militant South,'' ``A Southern Odyssey, Travelers in the Antebellum North,'' ``Reconstruction After the Civil War,'' and his influential autobiography, ``Mirror to America.''

Dr. Franklin was active in an array of professions and educational organizations. He served as President of the Organization of American Historians, the Southern Historical Association, the American Studies Association, and the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1979, he became the first African American to serve as President of the American Historical Association, and he also served his country on national delegations and commissions, such as the National Council on the Humanities and the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. In 1997, President Clinton tapped Dr. Franklin to chair the Race Initiative Advisory Board.

Dr. Franklin was the recipient of countless awards and accolades, including the Nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Dr. Franklin received the inaugural W.E.B. DuBois Award from the Fisk University Alumni Association, the Organization For American Historians Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Alpha Phi Alpha Award of Merit, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Franklin married his college sweetheart, Aurelia Whittington, in 1940. Aurelia passed away on January 27, 1999. They are survived by their son, John Whittington Franklin.

I ask that this body join the American people in celebrating the life of Dr. John Hope Franklin, who we lost on March 25, at the age of 94. We will certainly miss his keen intellect, his graceful humility and humor. He was a true scholar and stalwart for justice, whose chronicling of American history affirmed the dignity of African Americans everywhere, while giving us a richer understanding of our journey together as Americans.

And so, Mr. Speaker, let us collectively and formally express our appreciation for Dr. John Hope Franklin's life and accomplishments and career by agreeing to House Resolution 320.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 5 minutes to the lead sponsor of this measure, the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).

I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to yield to the gentleman from North Carolina, who is also a cosponsor of this legislation, and earlier the lead sponsor until that position was assumed by Mr. Watt, the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) for 5 minutes.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, this is a travel day for Members of Congress, but I do want to recognize the other cosponsors of this measure: Representative James Clyburn from South Carolina; the chairman of our committee, Representative Ed Towns from Brooklyn; Representative Barbara Lee from California; Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee from Texas; Representative Steve Cohen from Tennessee; and the gentleman John Lewis from Georgia, who also, but for the fact that they are traveling today on their way to Washington, would be here to speak in favor of this resolution as well.

Together, we all, the cosponsors and those who have spoken on the floor today, urge our colleagues to join us in this great recognition of Dr. Franklin.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, if there ever were a genuine personification of those treasured values which we call scholarship, commitment, and leadership, Professor John Hope Franklin was it. Franklin, who passed away last month at a youthful ninety-four, lived these values everyday of his distinguished life as one of the twentieth century's most accomplished historians. His celebrated work reflected the trials of his own life and his own race, so that the people of the United States, and the citizens of the world, could better appreciate, better understand, and better embrace our tumultuous--yet always forward-marching--journey.

John Hope Franklin's career began over sixty years ago when, despite rejection from the University of Oklahoma due to the color of his skin, he earned a degree from Fisk University. Franklin then went on to receive a doctorate in history from Harvard University at the age of twenty-six. From there, he entered teaching, seeking to share his deep knowledge of the American experience with his students. Eventually, his acumen as an historian and skill as an instructor led Brooklyn College to name him as the nation's first African-American Chair of a major history department, a position which earned him the respect and prestige he had been denied years previously. John Hope, as his friends knew him, had achieved the notoriety he had worked hard to deserve.

From Brooklyn College, John Hope Franklin would go on to teach at the University of Chicago and Duke University. He would be honored at the latter institution with the distinction of James B. Duke Professor of History, eventually reaching ``emeritus'' status in that position. Furthermore, Franklin was the recipient of such honors and accolades as the John W. Kluge Prize in the Human Sciences, a Jefferson Lecturer of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and, in 1995, was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President William Jefferson Clinton, for his contributions and service to American society.

Mr. Franklin's honors and titles are impressive and indeed well- deserved. Yet, they do not tell the entire story of this man's extraordinary impact. As an historian, John Hope Franklin sought to tell the story of his fellow men of color, to instill within our nation an understanding of the struggle over race that has defined so much of our history. His seminal work, From Slavery to Freedom, remains to this day a timeless and signature examination of African-American history. It served to illustrate how the history of the United States and the history of racial tensions are so deeply intertwined. Along with the rest of his extensive academic work, From Slavery to Freedom constitutes a tremendous educational legacy for which our nation will always remain filled with gratitude to have received.

The ivory towers and rolling lawns of academia, however, could not confine the enlightening force of John Hope Franklin's talents. In 1954, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a talented lawyer named Thurgood Marshall took up a lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Franklin joined this team, utilizing his knowledge and understanding of race relations and the African-American experience to help Marshall win a court decision that forever changed these United States, serving as the first stone tossed in the pond of injustice, releasing countless ripples calling for social equality and civil rights.

Whether examining the history that had been written by others, or working to write the next pages himself, the potency of John Hope Franklin's impact on the understanding of our journey as a nation, and of our identity as a people places him among the giants of American historical study. His exposure and exploration of the path our nation has taken as it has encountered the struggles of racial strife are lasting contributions to the fulfillment of our nation's promise, and will serve to forever shine a light on the darkness of misunderstanding and ignorance.

It is with heartfelt gratitude and unwavering appreciation toward the accomplishments and contributions of the venerable John Hope Franklin, that I therefore urge my colleagues to join me in support of House Resolution 302, so that we may honor this man who embodied and embraced lasting values of scholarship and service, and who told the story of the United States--our story--with such eloquence and poignancy; a story of which he himself was frequently a resounding character.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in support today of H. Res. 320, ``Honoring the life and achievements of Dr. John Hope Franklin''. This incredible man was a true scholar, social engineer, and civil rights champion. His chronicling of American history affirmed the dignity of African people both in the United States and throughout the Diaspora, while giving us all a richer understanding of who we are as Americans and our journey as a people. His contributions have spanned this country and the world. As Francois Fenelon, a French theologian, poet and writer put it best, ``A good historian is timeless; although he is a patriot, he will never flatter his country in any respect''. Dr. John Hope Franklin unabashedly served as a clarion call to the triumphs of African peoples throughout the ages, without succumbing to reconstructive history.

It goes without saying that Dr. John Hope Franklin had an accomplished scholarly background, indeed an extraordinary background. Born from humble beginnings, he became one of the great pillars of American scholarly society and a giant in history. He was born on January 2, 1915, in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, the grandson of a slave and the son of Buck Colbert Franklin, one of the first Black lawyers in the Oklahoma Indian territory, and Mollie Parker Franklin, a schoolteacher and community leader.

He later was a graduate of Fisk University and a recipient of a Ph.D. degree in history from Harvard University and became a noted historian. Dr. Franklin made significant academic and civic contributions that helped integrate the African-American narrative into American history. As Dr. John Hope Franklin said ``It was necessary, as a black historian, to have a personal agenda.''

He was not only a great historian, but made an impact on American history. His research contributed to the success of Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP's legal victory in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which ended the `separate but equal' doctrine in America's public schools.

Dr. John Hope Franklin was active in numerous professional and educational organizations. He served as President of the Organization of American Historians, the American Studies Association, the Southern Historical Association, the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, and was the first African-American to serve as President of the American Historical Association. In addition, he served on many national commissions and delegations, including the National Council on the Humanities, Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and as chair of President Clinton's Race Initiative Advisory Board in 1997.

Dr. John Hope Franklin was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995, the inaugural W.E.B. DuBois Award from Fisk University Alumni Association, the Organization of American Historians' Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Alpha Phi Alpha Award of Merit, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society in 2007. He was also named `Historian of the Century' by Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

Dr. John Hope Franklin passed away on March 25, 2009, in Durham, North Carolina, and will be deeply missed. He deserves Congressional recognition which would honor his life and achievements as well as encourage the Nation to recognize his academic contributions, scholarship, and service to the American society and history. Dr. Franklin has given so much to our great nation and he has inspired generations of young historians with his keen intellect, graceful humility, and humor in the classroom, and will ensure the endurance of his towering legacy.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and as Dr. Franklin said, `historians are the conscience of the nation, if honesty and consistency are factors that nurture the conscience', and his contributions to the study of American history fundamentally challenged and changed the manner in which the Nation collectively interprets its past and understands its present.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time and for reserving this time to bring this important resolution forward.

About 2 weeks ago, following the death of our good friend, John Hope Franklin, I witnessed something that I had never witnessed in this body before. People were lining up to introduce resolutions honoring Dr. John Hope Franklin. And the Congressional Black Caucus was saying, John Hope Franklin is our honored person who has been so important to us.

Representative David Price from North Carolina, in whose district John Hope Franklin lived at his death, said, I want the honor of introducing a resolution. Individual Members were all intent on introducing their resolution. And I modestly tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I ended up being the lead sponsor, only after a period of negotiation between people who were anxious to be in this position. And I am honored to have been kind of negotiated into the position of being the lead sponsor.

But out of that process, something important became apparent to me, and that's this: That if 100 of our Members had introduced resolutions honoring the life and times of John Hope Franklin, that still wouldn't have been enough to give him the kind and sufficiency of honor that he deserved.

And if 100 different resolutions had been introduced, I can imagine that they would have covered 100 different aspects of his life. They would have said, he was a scholar, because when John Hope Franklin was researching African American history in this country, there really was no written African American history in this country. And he had to beg his way into the Library of Congress, into places where nobody African American had ever really spent any time to try to find the history and place African Americans in a particular reserved place, tracing their ancestry all the way back into Africa, and giving us the due that we were entitled to have as part of this, the history of this country.

A resolution might have talked about his being the first, because there's a whole list. We could take 20 minutes on our side just listing the things that John Hope Franklin was the first to do; the first to be an African American head of a Department of History, the first to do this, the first to do that.

We could devote a whole resolution to him as a historian, because the wonderful work that he authored, ``From Slavery to Freedom,'' helped to define the role of African Americans in this country.

We could do a resolution listing just the honors that he received, the number of honorary doctorates and prizes and awards that he received for his scholarship and his participation.

We could do a resolution on his commitment to growing tulips. Here's a man that has had an tulip named after him because he took a liking to tulips, and really went in and probably has the best understanding and the best collection of tulips of any individual in America.

We could do a resolution on his landmark participation, the fact that he was part of the research team that did Brown v. Board of Education; that he was part of the research team that made it possible for me to continue to serve in this body.

He was part of the team that did the research on the Voting Rights Act that resulted in the Supreme Court upholding the congressional districts that many of the members of the CBC now occupy in this body.

We could do a resolution on his involvement in President Clinton's Race Initiative.

But I tell you, if I were doing a resolution, if I were writing it myself, I'd do it based on this humble genius, the mentorship that he provided to me, the friendship that he provided to me and my family as we grew up in politics, as we came out of the South and assumed the role that I have in this body today.

This is a great, great, great, great man that had so many different ingredients to his greatness. Time doesn't give us enough time or enough resolutions to do appropriate honor to this man. I am grateful that we have this time, but I'm more grateful that we had him for 90- plus years on this Earth.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his work on this resolution, helping us bring it to the floor.

I thank my colleague, Mr. Watt, for his moving and impassioned comments, and I identify myself totally with what he's saying.

This resolution gives us the occasion to honor a great and good man, and to recognize the impact he's had on our lives personally and, indeed, on American life. Dr. Franklin was arguably the most influential American historian of the 20th century. He was the preeminent scholar of African American history in the United States for nearly six decades. And in pursuing that course, he fundamentally changed the way we understood the Nation's past, showing us that African American history is inseparable from any telling of American history.

It may seem obvious today that our national story is made uniquely American by the shared experience of multiple backgrounds, a common quilt sewn with diverse cultural and ethnic and economic threads. This shared experience is perhaps particularly compelling to those of us from the South, those of us whose formative years were shaped by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. But this greater understanding and appreciation did not just happen by chance; it's in large part the fruit of Dr. Franklin's labors.

Dr. Franklin made his mark on a number of fine institutions, teaching at Fisk University in Nashville, at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, at North Carolina College in Durham, now North Carolina Central University, and at Howard University here in the District of Columbia. Dr. Franklin spent nearly two decades at the University of Chicago, serving as Professor of American History, chairman of the Department of History, and John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor of history. Then in 1982 Dr. Franklin joined me and other colleagues on the faculty at Duke University, serving as James B. Duke Professor of History and Professor of Legal History at Duke Law School and, ultimately, inspiring the John Hope Franklin Center For Interdisciplinary and International Studies.

Dr. Franklin's distinguished body of work includes his book that went through multiple editions, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans, which is still considered the definitive account of the African American experience in the United States. His clarity of thought and understanding of history were invaluable in aiding Thurgood Marshall's research and victory in the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which ended the ``separate but equal'' doctrine in America's public schools.

Dr. Franklin was a tremendous asset to North Carolina, to the Durham/ Chapel Hill/Raleigh area of North Carolina, and to our academic community. He was named ``Historian of the Century'' by Duke University, North Carolina State, North Carolina Central, and UNC- Chapel Hill a decade ago. In 1995, Dr. Franklin received the State of North Carolina's highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

Despite his long and impressive resume, I believe Dr. Franklin will be remembered most for his character as a person, as a man--for his gentleness of spirit, the power of his intellect, the sharpness of his wit, the passion of his social engagement.

I'll always be grateful for the opportunity to know him as a constituent and as a friend after his return to North Carolina in the 1980s. My wife and I will always treasure and remember the encouragement and the support he gave us in our various endeavors--she in the cause of gun violence prevention and I in both the academic and political vineyards.

So I thank Mr. Watt and the entire North Carolina delegation who have joined in this tribute. I thank Mr. Towns, Ms. Lee and others for their cooperative efforts in crafting this resolution, and I assure our colleagues that this could not be a more deeply felt resolution. It is a heartfelt and a richly deserved tribute to a great and good man.