September 10, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1461 

is to ensure the political, educational, social, 

and economic equality of rights of all persons 

and to eliminate race-based discrimination. 

The Cleveland Branch of the NAACP was 

established in 1912 by a small group that consisted of a cook, machinist, engineer, caterer, 

janitor, tailor, barber and seven postal workers. By 1914, the Cleveland Branch had 214 

members. Throughout its history, the NAACP 

Cleveland Branch has worked to end discrimination in area schools, businesses, public establishments, and hospitals. It has fought for 

equal justice from the law, employment opportunities and voting rights among other campaigns. It has been led by 32 presidents, including former Cleveland City Council president George Forbes, who served from 1993 to 

2012. Today, the NAACP Cleveland Branch is 

comprised of 15,000 members and is led by 

James L. Hardiman. 

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me 

in recognizing the National Association of Colored People, Cleveland Branch on 100 years 

of working for civil rights. 

f 

HONORING POWELL’S BOOKSTORE 

HON. EARL BLUMENAUER OF OREGON

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, September 10, 2012 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to 

honor Powell’s Bookstore, a Portland landmark, on the occasion of its 41st anniversary. 

One of the benefits of my job is an opportunity to become a part of a lot of exciting 

events: Groundbreakings, anniversaries, ribbon-cuttings, commencement speeches. On 

August 25th, in Portland, I shared a truly 

unique moment. It’s one of the reasons why 

people come from all over the world to share 

in the Portland experience. No tour of Portland 

is complete without a visit to Powell’s City of 

Books. This is not just because this bookstore 

is the one attraction in Portland that’s open 

365 days a year, and bad weather doesn’t 

stop you. In fact bad weather makes the trip 

to Powell’s even more fun. It’s iconic but I 

think few people really understand why and 

how it got to be that way. 

Portland is the livability capital of the United 

States. And livability is about things like bikes 

and beer, about restaurants that are locally 

owned, gluten-free organic and free-range with 

everything sourced from less than four blocks 

from the restaurant. It’s a powerful concept, to 

be local, human-scale and high quality. 

Think about Powell’s. It’s local in the extreme, but it’s been on the web for almost 20 

years now. The staff is amazing! It’s full of 

Reed college double majors in physics and 

philosophy who are members of the longshoreman’s union and speak Swahili and 

Gaelic. 

It’s probably the best place in Portland for a 

first date. You really get to know someone 

wandering through the stacks at Powell’s with 

them. It’s a great place to ditch a kid for a 

long period of time, although that sometimes 

makes Michael and the staff a little nervous. It 

is the ultimate Christmas experience as all of 

the last-minute shoppers flock here. It’s not 

just what you get, it’s what you do, sharing in 

the frenzy of the wild-eyed, strange people 

who are wandering the aisles at the last moment. 

Powell’s is uniquely Portland because it is a 

family enterprise. On August 25th, I was 

joined by Alice Powell who is Michael’s partner in life and a professional in terms of counseling that I think often has helped move the 

institution along. There may have been a few 

moments in the history of taking risks in this 

enterprise where maybe another income made 

a difference. 

Michael Powell is a shy semi-curmudgeon, 

so it’s hard to tell about all the contributions 

that Michael has made to the community. It’s 

not just about his business. He’s one of the 

people who understand that what’s good for 

the community is good for his business, and 

what’s good for his business is good for his 

community. For the better part of these 40 

years, I’ve had a chance to work with him on 

a wide variety of projects, from parks and 

planning, to transportation and downtown development. Michael has helped lead the 

charge for business people to tax themselves 

to improve the quality of the downtown experience. For 20 years he’s been not just active, 

but a leader, in bringing the streetcar to Portland and then expanding it. Because of Michael’s efforts, the streetcar is one of those 

experiences that make Portland unique. 

Now with their daughter Emily, it’s been 

three generations of Powell’s involved with this 

institution going head-to-head against the big 

chain establishments. With all the changes in 

publishing, all the changes in the economy, 

they’ve been a constant. Powell’s has been a 

leader in ways that have made a big difference to us all. 

I was asked to share a memory of Powell’s, 

which was kind of hard because I’ve got so 

many of them over the years. 

There is one experience that stands out. I 

love books. I’m a library junkie. I have my own 

study carrel in the Library of Congress, perhaps the most magnificent building in Washington, DC. I was having a tour for some Oregonians that were in town, going through the 

Library of Congress. We went up the staircase 

to look over that magnificent reading room, 

just a spectacular sight. It is hard to believe 

that it was built by the Corps of Engineers 

over 100 years ago. 

While we’re standing there, looking down at 

the reading room, there were people from another tour crowding behind the Plexiglas, 

quietly oohing and ahhing. I turn to my right 

and there’s someone wearing a Powell’s City 

of Books t-shirt. I interrupt to say, ‘‘That’s cool, 

I’m from Portland, I represent the Powell’s.’’ 

Before you know it, the whole tour is disrupted 

because people are noticing the Powell’s shirt 

and they’re talking about how much they love 

Powell’s. I thought it was a perfect expression 

of what Powell’s means to Portland and to 

people around the country. Congratulations on 

41 years. Thank you for enriching our city and 

our experience. We look forward to many 

more years of your success. 

f 

RECOGNIZING THE POTENTIAL OF 

COMMUNITY LENDING 

HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, September 10, 2012 

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

recognize some recent innovations in private 

lending to graduate and undergraduate students in U.S. colleges and universities. I also 

want to encourage our nation’s wealthy individuals to think about participating in these 

programs as one way to give back to our communities. Since its inception in 2011, the Social Financial company, or SoFi, has offered 

compelling community-based lending and consolidation programs, and this academic year 

will assist students from 45 colleges and universities across the country. 

At its core, SoFi demonstrates the powerful 

idea of community lending. It brings alumni, 

students, and schools together to ensure students’ debt burdens are manageable. For the 

upcoming 2012–13 academic year, SoFi used 

its equity base and additional capital from 

alumni to secure $80 million to finance, fund, 

and support new student loans. This innovative student loan solution benefits students, 

alumni, higher education institutions, and our 

nation. The funds from school-specific lending 

pools allow students to enjoy comparatively 

low-interest loan rates and opportunities to refinance previous loans. In addition, the alumni 

that contribute to the pool earn a significant 

and low-risk return, while schools gain access 

to low-cost funding. 

Mr. Speaker, although I do not expect private lending schemes to supplant available 

federal loan structures, I believe Social Financial’s commitment to the betterment and transformation of the financial services landscape 

for students sets an example for how to innovate in this field. I commend SoFi for its hard 

work, community partnerships and innovation, 

and congratulate SoFi on its continuous expansion to schools across the U.S. In order to 

tackle student debt, we will need to be creative, in exactly the ways SoFi has been. I encourage those who have the means and desire to give back to follow Social Financial’s 

example and invest in the education of the 

next generation. 

f 

HONORING FANNIE SHERIDAN 

HON. HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR. OF GEORGIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, September 10, 2012 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I 

present the following U.S. Citizen of Distinction. 

Whereas, our lives have been touched by 

the life of this one woman . . . who has given 

of herself to her community, church and family; and 

Whereas, Mrs. Fannie Sheridan’s spirit is 

present in DeKalb County, Georgia for all to 

see, being a mother, a community worker, 

neighbor and friend; and 

Whereas, this giant of a woman was born in 

Eufula, Alabama to Maceo and Loftie Tennelle 

on October 12, 1925, she has been on the 

move ever since as a woman of God, touching 

lives in Alabama, Chicago, Illinois, Gary, Indiana and Decatur, Georgia; and 

Whereas, this remarkable woman gave of 

herself, her time, her talent and her life; she 

never asked for fame or fortune just fairness 

for the people, she was our quiet storm, a 

spark that starts a flame; and 

Whereas, Mrs. Fannie Sheridan led by 

doing behind the scenes, she encouraged all 

those around her who wanted to make a difference, be it her family, her elected officials, 


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