HONORING BEATRICE LUMPKIN

On 2026-06-30, Representative Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-3) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING BEATRICE LUMPKIN" in the House.

HONORING BEATRICE LUMPKIN

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026)] [House] [Page H4324] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING BEATRICE LUMPKIN (Mrs. Ramirez of Illinois was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Beatrice Lumpkin, who passed away June 14, 2026, at the age of 107 years. Bea was the living, marching, fighting embodiment of solidarity forever. Many of us know Bea because of her unwavering commitment to worker power, civil rights, and educational justice. A Chicago Public Schools educator and leader with the Chicago Teachers Union, Bea was a fixture at marches, rallies, and picket lines across our city. She started her activism early. At the age of 9, she marched with striking textile workers. Across her century of activism, Bea was on the front lines of the struggle for justice and equity. From marching alongside Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Marquette Park, to being instrumental in Harold Washington's campaign for mayor 43 years ago, to supporting the recent unionization of Starbucks employees, Bea showed up for her neighbors, for Chicago, and for our movement. In 2018, my colleague, Representative Jan Schakowsky, took to the floor to celebrate Bea's 100 years of fighting for justice and inspiring generations of activism. Today, I rise to thank Bea for reminding us that there is joy in the struggle, in solidarity, and on the front lines of the fight for justice because joy, in fact, is an act of resistance. On behalf of Chicago's Third Congressional District, I honor the memory and the life's work of Beatrice Lumpkin, a true champion for the working class and a giant in our movement. Honoring Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr. Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr., two leaders who cofounded the Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition and who serve as research associates at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois Chicago. Throughout their careers, they have dedicated themselves to unifying disabled, autistic, deaf, and neurodivergent people of color, fostering collective pride, strengthening advocacy skills across our communities, and building intersectional solidarity. Through the arts, culture, and relentless advocacy, they champion disability justice, advancing the principles of accessibility and radical inclusion within communities of color. By cultivating brave spaces that center the lived experiences of disabled people of color, they dismantle systemic barriers to inclusion and empower individuals to forge their own path to reclaim their identities and their dignity. They are the architects of a more inclusive, equitable Chicago. On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my proud honor to be able to commend Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr., for their dedication to disability justice, radical inclusion, and the innate dignity of all people. {time} 1030 Recognizing Sovereignty for Puerto Rico Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the Chicago Young Lords and their protests of 1969, the first marches for Puerto Rican self-determination in Chicago's history. It is fitting that I honor a revolutionary organization fighting for Puerto Rican liberation and the rights of all oppressed people on the eve of our 250th anniversary of the United States of America. While America will declare its commitment to no kings, we also must demand no colonies. That is because 57 years after the summer of 1969, 57 years after Jose Jimenez traveled to Puerto Rico to visit the shrine of its nationalist leader, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, 57 years after the Chicago Young Lords mobilized 10,000 people to march carrying Don Pedro Albizu Campos signs from Lincoln Park to Humboldt Park in support of independence in Chicago's Puerto Rican parade, Puerto Rico is still a United States colony. We cannot celebrate 250 years of freedom while ruling a colony for 128 of them. We cannot celebrate our independence while denying the Puerto Rican people the dignity of self-determination. That is why, here on behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, I publicly commend the Young Lords for teaching us that when we support Puerto Rico's self-determination, we are supporting, in fact, the right of sovereignty for people everywhere. ____________________