IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 780 
Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Chokwe Lumumba. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 11, 2014 
Mr. CONYERS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Chokwe 
Lumumba. 
Whereas Chokwe Lumumba was born on August 2, 1947, as 
Edwin Taliaferro, to Lucien and Priscilla Taliaferro in 
Detroit, Michigan; 
Whereas Chokwe Lumumba was a staunch advocate for Afri-
can-American self-determination and equality under the 
law in the United States; 
Whereas throughout his life, Chokwe Lumumba worked to 
defend the rights of African-American activists and com-
munities, and opposed human rights violations through-
out the world; 
Whereas growing up as a young man, Chokwe Lumumba ex-
perienced racism first hand, from ‘‘white only’’ res-
taurants that would not serve his family to housing and 
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•HRES 780 IH 
job discrimination in his community, and became a polit-
ical activist engaging in protest activities and raising 
money for the Student National Coordinating Committee 
(SNCC); 
Whereas because of the racism he experienced as a young 
man, Chokwe Lumumba developed a level of social con-
sciousness that grew as he internalized the racist acts of 
the Civil Rights Era, such as the killing of Emmitt Till, 
the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and the assas-
sinations of Malcolm X and Medgar Evers; 
Whereas like many other young Black activists during the 
Civil Rights Era, Chokwe Lumumba took on a deep rad-
ical activism following the assassination of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., becoming a leading figure of the New 
Afrika Republic movement and adopting the names of an 
African tribe and the slain Congolese revolutionary 
Patrice Lumumba; 
Whereas in 1969, Chokwe Lumumba graduated from Kala-
mazoo College, where he formed the Black United Front 
student movement which advocated for the establishment 
of African-American studies departments at universities 
throughout the Midwest; 
Whereas in 1975, Chokwe Lumumba graduated first in his 
class from Wayne State University Law School, where he 
advocated for fair grading procedures and support pro-
grams for African-American students; 
Whereas upon graduating law school, Chokwe Lumumba be-
came an advocate for the protection of Black commu-
nities in Detroit, against attacks by local police, and es-
tablished the Malcolm X Center to train young Black ac-
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•HRES 780 IH 
tivists and teach the dismantling of racism and inspira-
tions of Black pride; 
Whereas as an attorney Chokwe Lumumba defended individ-
uals and groups whose human rights were violated, and 
took on a host of high-profile and controversial cases, in-
cluding that of Black activists Hayward Brown and 
Fulani Sunni Ali, rapper Tupac Shakur, and former 
Black Panther Party members Geronimo Pratt and 
Assata Shakur; 
Whereas in 1985, Chokwe Lumumba became active in the 
movement against apartheid in South Africa, training 
and motivating African-American youth to become active 
in the fight against global racial injustice; 
Whereas in 1987, Chokwe Lumumba co-founded the National 
Coalition 
of 
Blacks 
for 
Reparations 
in 
America 
(N’COBRA) and was a key partner in the national effort 
to foster a dialogue on the continuing impact of the 
transatlantic slave trade; 
Whereas in light of the political opportunities for African- 
Americans in the south created by the Civil Rights move-
ment, Chokwe Lumumba transformed his radical activ-
ism and adopted more inclusive tactics to establish polit-
ical power, becoming elected to the Jackson, Mississippi 
City Council in 2009 and Jackson, Mississippi Office of 
the Mayor in 2013; 
Whereas Chokwe Lumumba as City Councilman and Mayor 
never renounced his goal for African-American self-deter-
mination and equality, but instead worked within the gov-
ernment structure to organize new social and economic 
networks that created unprecedented coalitions across ra-
cial and political lines; and 
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•HRES 780 IH 
Whereas Chokwe Lumumba leaves a legacy that will guide 
and inspire generations to come: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors the life, accomplishments, and legacy 
of the dedicated political activist, community leader, 
and man of the people Chokwe Lumumba; and 
(2) extends its heartfelt sympathies and condo-
lences to the members of the family of the late 
Chokwe Lumumba. 
Æ 
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