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“TRIBUTE TO MARGARET BUSH WILSON” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E142-E143 on Jan. 26, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO MARGARET BUSH WILSON
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HON. WM. LACY CLAY
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Monday, January 26, 2009
Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great American--a feminist, social activist, and accomplished attorney, Margaret Bush Wilson was born before women had the right to vote. A pioneer and champion of woman's rights, she was the first woman to be president of both the St. Louis chapter and Missouri chapter of the NAACP and the second woman admitted to practice law in the state of Missouri. I am privileged to recognize this outstanding member of the St. Louis community as her friends and family honor her on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
Margaret Bush was born on January 30, 1919 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father James Thomas Bush was a railway postal clerk and her mother Margaret Bernice Casey Bush was an outstanding educator. Both of her parents were very active in the local NAACP. As a young woman, she attended Talladega College where she was awarded a Julia Prescott Fellowship to study at Visva Bharati College in India.
After graduating from college with a B.S. degree in Economics, Mrs. Wilson benefitted from the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Gains v. Canada. That decision required the state of Missouri to admit African Americans to the University of Missouri School of Law, or to establish separate but equal law school facilities. Missouri chose to create Lincoln University law school, rather than to integrate. Margaret Bush Wilson graduated from that law school and passed the Missouri bar in 1943.
A dedicated public servant, Margaret Bush Wilson served as U.S. Attorney for the Department of Agriculture's Rural Electrification Administration and as the Assistant Attorney General for the state of Missouri. After her marriage to Robert Wilson in 1944, the couple established the St. Louis real estate law firm known as Wilson and Wilson.
Her expertise in real estate law proved instrumental when she served as counsel for the black Real Estate Brokers Association, an organization initiated by her father. The organization was active in Shelley vs. Kramer, a 1948 Supreme Court ruling in which racially based restrictive covenants were ruled unconstitutional and unenforceable. Mrs. Wilson also served as the head of Lawyers for Housing where she championed one thousand new housing units.
In her capacity as president of the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, Mrs. Wilson was involved in landmark civil rights cases, including the Jefferson Bank and Trust demonstrations and case. In 1975, she became the first chairwoman of the national NAACP board and served nine terms. During President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Wilson served as deputy director of the Model Cities Program.
During the 1980's, she served as chairman of the board of the Mutual Insurance Company of New York, Real Estate Investment Trust. She continues to be a beacon in the African American community. She served as board chair of two Historically Black Colleges: St. Augustine's College and Talladega. She is also a member of numerous nonprofit organizations and trustee-emeritae of both Washington University and Webster University.
Madam Speaker, this Ms. Wilson is the epitome of a great American. She is an inspiration to all who cherish justice and equality. I am honored to salute her for her countless contributions to the state of Missouri and to this nation. I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the works of Margaret Bush Wilson; with tenacity, grace and courage she has blazed a trail for generations to come.
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