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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Jake Wheatley |
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House adopts Wheatley resolution designating April 12 as Maida Springer-Kemp, Oliver Montgomery and A. Philip Randolph Institute Day
PITTSBURGH, April 11 – State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Pittsburgh, announced that the House of Representatives has unanimously adopted his resolution (H.R. 709) that designates April 12 as Maida Springer-Kemp, Oliver Montgomery and A. Philip Randolph Institute Day in Pennsylvania.
Wheatley said that Springer-Kemp and Montgomery were eloquent, influential civil rights leaders who helped found the A. Philip Randolph Institute in Pittsburgh. The institute combines the power of activists from labor and civil rights struggles to continue the fight for social justice. On Saturday, Wheatley will present a copy of the resolution to officials of the institute's Pittsburgh chapter at its annual dinner.
"Pennsylvania has come a long way in achieving the goal stated by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of being a place where people will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," Wheatley said. "However, we must continue to work toward social equality for the benefit of generations to come. The A. Philip Randolph Institute’s members continually work for the betterment of our communities."
Wheatley said that Springer-Kemp was a lifelong organizer for the cause of working people around the world as a staff educator and leader of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. She was an early associate of civil rights and labor leader A. Philip Randolph and the legendary leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
Montgomery, a longtime steelworker, United Steelworkers union leader and staff member, was a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. Wheatley said he was also president of the Penn Hills branch of the NAACP and a tireless advocate for the working people and the poor.
The institute was established in 1965 to continue the struggle for social, political and economic justice for all working Americans.
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