IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 742 

Honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2018 

Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. BEYER, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. BRAT, Mrs. 

COMSTOCK, and Mr. CONNOLLY) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. 

Whereas Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker was a champion of 

equality, justice, and freedom in the civil rights movement and throughout his life; 

Whereas, in his book, ‘‘Why We Can’t Wait,’’ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., described Walker as having 

‘‘brought his energetic and untiring spirit to our meetings, whose members already knew and admired his dedicated work as a behind-the-scenes organizer of the campaign’’; 

Whereas Dr. Walker, the grandson of a former slave, was 

born in Brockton, Massachusetts; 


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Whereas Dr. Walker received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics and a Master of Divinity degree from 

Virginia Union University; 

Whereas, after graduating, Dr. Walker served as pastor at 

the Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia; 

Whereas Dr. Walker was instrumental in the civil rights 

movement in Virginia, serving as head of the Petersburg 

chapter of the National Association for the Advancement 

of Colored People (NAACP), State director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the founder of the 

Petersburg Improvement Association; 

Whereas, in 1959, Dr. Walker led a ‘‘Pilgrimage of Prayer’’ 

in Richmond, Virginia, against school segregation, which 

resulted in the passage of a resolution urging the appointment of a biracial commission to seek a solution to 

Virginia’s segregated school system; 

Whereas, in 1960, Dr. Walker and other African Americans 

protesting segregation were arrested and jailed after entering through the ‘‘whites only’’ entrance of the Petersburg Public Library to check out a biography of Robert 

E. Lee; 

Whereas Dr. Walker’s bravery and leadership in the local 

struggle for equality and justice garnered the attention 

and respect of Dr. King; 

Whereas Dr. Walker served as Dr. King’s chief of staff in the 

early 1960s, organizing landmark demonstrations 

throughout Alabama and the South; 

Whereas Dr. Walker served as the executive director of the 

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) from 

1960 to 1964, organizing numerous protests and demVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Feb 16, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR742.IH HR742

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onstrations against segregation in Alabama which came 

to be known as Project C; 

Whereas, in May 1961, Dr. Walker was one of 11 leaders arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, during the Freedom 

Riders protest; 

Whereas, in April 1963, Dr. Walker was instrumental in assembling and distributing Dr. King’s famous ‘‘Letter 

from a Birmingham Jail’’, one of the most important and 

influential documents of the civil rights movement; 

Whereas, in August 1963, Dr. Walker was a key organizer 

of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the 

occasion of Dr. King’s ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech; 

Whereas Dr. Walker’s leadership of SCLC transformed it 

from a local grassroots organization into a national force 

in the civil rights movement; 

Whereas, following his time with SCLC, Dr. Walker served 

as senior pastor at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in 

Harlem, New York City, for more than 30 years; 

Whereas Dr. Walker advocated for equality and justice in 

New York City, chairing the Consortium for Central Harlem Development and fighting for affordable housing, 

better schools, programs that reduce homelessness and 

hunger, and progress on other important issues; 

Whereas Dr. Walker served as advisor on urban affairs for 

then-New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller; 

Whereas Dr. Walker fought for justice and freedom abroad, 

forming the International Freedom Mobilization, a movement to oppose apartheid and racial injustice in South 

Africa; 


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Whereas Dr. Walker helped supervise South Africa’s first 

fully representative elections in 1994, which resulted in 

Nelson Mandela becoming the country’s first post-apartheid president; 

Whereas Dr. Walker was the National Action Network’s first 

board chairman; 

Whereas Dr. Walker, a leader of marches, boycotts, and sitins, received countless awards and accolades in recognition of his life’s work standing up to injustice and inequality, including induction into the International Civil 

Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King, Jr., 

National Historic Site, being named one of the ‘‘Greatest 

Black Preachers’’ by Ebony magazine, and receiving the 

‘‘Keepers of the Flame’’ Award at the African American 

Church Inaugural Ball during the inauguration events for 

President Barack Obama; 

Whereas Dr. Walker’s courage, conviction, and strength of 

character had an indelible impact on the Commonwealth 

of Virginia and the country; 

Whereas Dr. Walker passed away on January 23, 2018, in 

Chester, Virginia; and 

Whereas Dr. Walker is survived by his wife, four children, 

one sister, and two grandchildren: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) honors the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Wyatt 

3 Tee Walker, a civil rights icon, humanitarian, theolo4 gian, pastor, and cultural historian; and 


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1 (2) expresses its deepest sympathies to his fam2 ily on his passing. 

Æ 


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