Date: 2012-03-06
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I want to thank my distinguished friend for your kindness and generosity in yielding the time and to the Speaker. I want to thank Dr. CHRISTENSEN for starting us on this journey. and I want to thank the Speaker for being educated by these powerful words of my colleagues. I do want to say that. if you had to give a tribute biblically to DONALD PAYNE. you would certainly quote from Timothy in saying. "I fought the good fight." I am grateful to also say that DONALD PAYNE had a lot of fun in life. Some of us can trace our friendship to years past. to decades past. but I know that. as the world loves DONALD PAYNE. he loved Newark and New Jersey. I had the good pleasure of joining him and his friends during the last Congressional Black Caucus. We had a variety of receptions to meet our constituents. and there was nothing but love in that room. I had. I would call it. the humble privilege to visit him at Georgetown Hospital. where his brother and sister were in the room as well as the chief of staff. and to have him smile as some of our colleagues have said. In the course of being in the room. I heard that the former President of South Africa. President Mbeki. was trying to reach him. There would be a long list of Presidents and former Presidents and others of great renown trying to reach him. but you cannot in any way doubt the fact that in his acceptance and acknowledgment by all of those iconic figures. President Mandela as well. that he as a progressive stood along with the family members he loved. whether it was his son. who was a council member. and his other children or Bill Payne. and epitomized the struggles of a generation of African Americans in Newark and New Jersey in the 1950s and the 1960s. and he was on the front lines of fighting for equal rights out of the North Ward. Oh. leave it only to DONALD PAYNE to talk about New Jersey politics. and he loved it. He had an iconic presence. but he also had a leadership. bossman presenceand I say that lovinglybecause if you needed something in that area. as my good friends. Brothers PALLONE and PASCRELL out of that area. knew. no matter who you were in his district who needed something. you could get ahold of DON PAYNE. He loved the richness of his district and its diversity. but you can be sure that he was fighting for the poor and dispossessed. Maybe thats what brought him to his affinity and kinship for Africa. One of my predecessors. Mickey Leland. whom DON PAYNE knew. we always said died on the side of an Ethiopian mountain while trying to feed those who could not feed themselves. But DON PAYNE was everywhere. from Ethiopia. to Sudan. to South Africa. to Angola. to the Congo. to Ghana. to Liberia. He was in all of those. if you will. conflicts where he wanted to bring about peace. He counseled PresidentsRepublicans and Democrats. I remember Bill Clintons historic trip. and you can be assured that DONALD PAYNE was at the nexus of drawing him to making that historic trip. I believe. in 1998. he counseled George Bush and others. and he counseled President Obama. I dont know if many of you know that DONALD PAYNE was a longshoreman who worked on many different places. but when reminded of his work as a longshoreman. he said. I loved the port. I heard a Member talk about that. I believe. but he loved the working person. Let me just conclude. as I salute him for being the progressive who did not forget the poor as well as being one who could speak eloquently with the leaders of international positions around the world. albeit that he was coach and teacher and council member and ethic freeholder. that I remember traveling to Africa on occasions. plural. In this instance. what I would say. beyond having known that in Somalia he was almost. in essence. taken down. is that many of you will remember the first Kabila. the father of the present President of the Congo. and you will know that that area has always been in conflict and that DONALD PAYNE never shunned going into conflict. Two places we went: Angola. when it was still in conflict. DONALD PAYNE said. Well. I know we can meet the President in his castle and office and the place where he is. but Im going up in the bush. and if you all are with me. were getting on this little onepropeller planenot two propellersit only had oneand were going to go up there and meet with the opponent of the President. We sat with DONALD PAYNE. encouraging this opponent to put down his guns and come and meet with this President. who through DONALD PAYNE had promised peace. I know that man wished that he had answered the call that DONALD PAYNE made. He never left the bush. and he died in that place. I got to see him up close and personal. where no risk of life was too much for him to bring about peace. As I conclude. let me simply say to the peacemaker. to the intended noble peacemaker. to the man who didnt shun or didnt shy away from a conflict that might have taken his life. to the lover of Newark. to the lover of his family and his children. to the lover of his staff. to the lover of this institution: DON. may you rest in peace. Warrior. leader. hero. God knows that you never stopped working. and you deserve that angels place in Heaven. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in tribute of the life and service of my dear friend and colleague. Congressman PAYNE. Noted for his quiet gravitas. progressive issues advocacy and pioneering life story. Congressman PAYNE along with his older brother Bill Payne defined the struggles of a generation of Newark Blacks who in the 1950s and 60s fought for equal rights out of the North Ward. By the dawn of the 1970s. the Paynes relocated to the South of Newark. where they built a political base on Bergen Street that served as the launch pad for Mr. PAYNEs historic campaigns for Congress in the 1980s. DONALD PAYNE was a champion of the poor and dispossessed not only in Newark but in Africa. notably the Sudan. where he took one of this countrys most forceful stands against the genocide he witnessed there. Congressman PAYNE was once arrested in Washington. D.C.. for protesting against the Sudanese government. As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa for the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman PAYNE became a leading advocate for international human rights. "I would be remiss if I did not thank those who are personally responsible for making sure that I know about Africa." said thenPresident Bill Clinton. After a 2009 trip to Africa. the congressman prepared to depart from Mogadishu when his plane sustained small arms gun fire from the ground. according to CNN. The congressman had earlier that same day discussed the crisis of piracy off the failed states coast. DONALD PAYNE grew up in a section of the North Ward known as Doodletown and worked on the docks in his young manhood. "I love this place." he told longshoremen at a 2008 campaign stop at Port Newark. "I worked down here from 1952 to 1956. on Doremus Avenue. where they used to have about one ship a week. believe me. But were so glad to see this port come to where it is today." At the beginning of their careers. he and his older brother worked in tandem as they sought greater AfricanAmerican representation within the Newark Democratic Party. with Bill Payne very early gaining a reputation as the aggressive activist and DONALD PAYNE showing skills as a diplomat. Never an obvious selfpromoter. DONALD PAYNE as a public person embodied old school qualities of humility and toughness. He seldom sought out a microphone but commanded attention naturally by being a presence in the room. In the aftermath of the Newark riots. the Payne brothers became the strongest South Ward political brand in the city. using the Bergen Street business district as their most visible base of operations. The congressman scorned conventional polling. preferring instead to gauge his own popularity by the number of beeps on the horn he heard as he walked along his beloved Bergen Street. He was a former leader of the Congressional Black Caucus. DONALD PAYNE served as a Newark City councilman and as an Essex Freeholder. Congressman PAYNE was someone who knew presidents and kings but was more comfortable with the man in the street. thats just who he was. America has lost a noble statesman. New Jersey has lost a brilliant and caring Representative and I have lost a remarkable friend and distinguished colleague. A skilled and compassionate politician. DONALD PAYNE represented his constituents well. An ardent supporter of educational opportunity. he worked to ensure college was within reach for everyone. DONALD worked tirelessly for small business and had a focused passion for Africa. Because of his knowledge and dedication to the issues of human rights and peacehe saved lives all over Africa. He enjoyed the respect of his colleagues. his calm demeanor will be missed. DONALD dedicated his life to helping the less fortunate and expanding and protecting human rights everywhere in a strong and determined way. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. My thoughts and prayers go out to family. friends and constituents at this sorrowful time. The world has suffered a great loss.