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) sub-
mitted 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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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 An-
geles, 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 Indi-
vidual Sabre Championship on 13 occasions; 
Whereas Westbrook was inducted into the New York Univer-
sity 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 Inter-
national Sports Hall of Fame in 2021; 
Whereas Westbrook has been able to celebrate his achieve-
ments with his family, including with Susann Miles- 
Westbrook, 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 under-
served 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 stel-
lar 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 indi-
vidual 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 broad-
ly; 
Whereas 85 percent of the students at the Foundation are 
Black or Latino, 49 percent of the students at the Foun-
dation 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 commu-
nities, giving youth from low- and moderate-income fami-
lies an opportunity to participate in fencing; 
Whereas the Foundation helps uplift at-risk youth academi-
cally, as well as athletically and personally; 
Whereas the Foundation provides tutoring, homework assist-
ance, 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 Founda-
tion graduate from high school; 
Whereas 95 percent of the students that attend the Founda-
tion attend college; 
Whereas 100 percent of the students that attend the Founda-
tion increased their SAT scores; 
Whereas 80 percent of the students that attend the Founda-
tion improved their grade point average; 
Whereas alumni of the Foundation routinely return to volun-
teer, 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 aca-
demic 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) Recognizes that Westbrook was the first Af-
rican-American man to accomplish many feats in the 
fencing community; 
(2) Recognizes Westbrook’s athletic achieve-
ment and indelible legacy in Black sports history; 
and 
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(3) Recognizes the work that the Foundation 
has done to diversify the sport of fencing and in-
crease social and economic opportunities for youth in 
underserved communities. 
Æ 
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