IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1607 

Recognizing the significant global impact and legacy of Peter Westbrook 

in the sport of fencing in the United States and the work that he 

has done to improve the lives of underserved and vulnerable youth. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2024 

Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Mrs. MCIVER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Oversight and Accountability 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the significant global impact and legacy of Peter 

Westbrook in the sport of fencing in the United States 

and the work that he has done to improve the lives 

of underserved and vulnerable youth. 

Whereas Peter Westbrook (hereafter referred to as 

‘‘Westbrook’’) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 

16, 1952, to Ulysses and Mariko; 

Whereas Westbrook grew up in the Haynes Avenue public 

housing project in Newark, New Jersey with his mother 

and sister during the 1967 Newark riots; 

Whereas, in an effort to keep him off of the often violent 

streets of Newark, Westbrook’s mother enrolled him in 


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•HRES 1607 IH 

fencing classes from a young age where he found that he 

had a natural talent for the sport; 

Whereas Westbrook earned a spot as a fencing recruit and 

a full scholarship to New York University; 

Whereas Westbrook went on to compete in six Olympic 

Games between 1976 and 1996; 

Whereas Westbrook won the bronze medal in the individual 

saber competition at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, making him the first African American to win an 

Olympic medal in the sport and the first American to win 

an Olympic medal in the sport since 1960; 

Whereas Westbrook won the United States National Individual Sabre Championship on 13 occasions; 

Whereas Westbrook was inducted into the New York University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985, the United States 

Fencing Association Hall of Fame in 1996, the Sports 

Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 2002, and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2021; 

Whereas Westbrook has been able to celebrate his achievements with his family, including with Susann MilesWestbrook, his wife of more than 20 years; 

Whereas, in 1991, Westbrook established the Peter 

Westbrook Foundation (hereafter referred to as the 

‘‘Foundation’’), an organization dedicated to helping 

young persons, between the ages of 8 to 18, from underserved communities in New York City to learn not only 

fencing from world-class coaches but also academic and 

life skills; 

Whereas the Foundation has a long legacy of producing stellar athletes in fencing, sending 17 students in total to the 


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Olympic Games, and having sent at least 1 student to 

each Olympic Games since 2000; 

Whereas Lauren Scruggs, a Foundation alum, won the silver 

medal in the women’s foil competition at the Olympic 

Games in Paris in the summer of 2024 and became the 

first Black woman from the United States to win an individual Olympic fencing medal; 

Whereas one-third of the United States fencing team that 

competed at the Olympic Games in summer of 2020 were 

students from the Foundation; 

Whereas the Foundation exposes Black youth to the sport of 

fencing which is a predominantly White sport, promoting 

Black excellence in the sport of fencing and more broadly; 

Whereas 85 percent of the students at the Foundation are 

Black or Latino, 49 percent of the students at the Foundation are girls, and 77 percent of the of families of the 

students at the Foundation have a household income that 

is below the average median income in the area where 

they reside; 

Whereas the Foundation has served more than 4,000 youth 

and provides free fencing lessons to a variety of communities, giving youth from low- and moderate-income families an opportunity to participate in fencing; 

Whereas the Foundation helps uplift at-risk youth academically, as well as athletically and personally; 

Whereas the Foundation provides tutoring, homework assistance, and standardized test preparation to the students 

at the Foundation from a team of licensed educational 

professionals and college students; 


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Whereas 100 percent of the students that attend the Foundation graduate from high school; 

Whereas 95 percent of the students that attend the Foundation attend college; 

Whereas 100 percent of the students that attend the Foundation increased their SAT scores; 

Whereas 80 percent of the students that attend the Foundation improved their grade point average; 

Whereas alumni of the Foundation routinely return to volunteer, teach, and mentor current students; 

Whereas the Foundation teaches young persons values such 

as good sportsmanship, self-confidence, maintaining an 

active and healthy lifestyle, and the importance of academic achievement; 

Whereas Westbrook continues to have a profound impact on 

young persons in New York City, giving young persons 

opportunities for growth and development that would not 

have otherwise been available to such young persons; and 

Whereas the Foundation prioritizes cultivating a close-knit, 

inclusive community that values teaching the athletic and 

life skills learned at the Foundation to future generations 

of fencers: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) Recognizes that Westbrook was the first Af3 rican-American man to accomplish many feats in the 

4 fencing community; 

5 (2) Recognizes Westbrook’s athletic achieve6 ment and indelible legacy in Black sports history; 

7 and 


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1 (3) Recognizes the work that the Foundation 

2 has done to diversify the sport of fencing and in3 crease social and economic opportunities for youth in 

4 underserved communities. 

Æ 


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