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“HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LESLIE ``LES'' OUTERBRIDGE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E996 on Oct. 30, 2020.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LESLIE ``LES'' OUTERBRIDGE
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HON. BOBBY L. RUSH
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 30, 2020
Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and legacy of Leslie ``Les'' Outerbridge, a man who lead a life of selfless bravery and held a keen devotion to justice. Born in 1936, Les Outerbridge was raised in Chicago's Cabrini--Green Homes and initially attended Wells Community Academy High School at the age of 12, later leaving high school in 1953 at the age of 15 and volunteering to serve his country in the United States Air Force. An avid athlete as a young man, Outerbridge played three sports, football, basketball, and baseball on his Air Force installation. Later in his life, Outerbridge would return to school, receiving a Bachelor's in Science from Chicago State University in 1981.
Feeling that he still had more to give to his community and country after serving in the armed forces, Outerbridge joined the Chicago Fire Department in 1961. While dutifully and bravely serving his community, Outerbridge was not afraid to simultaneously fight the fires of injustice within the fire department. For much of the 1960s and 1970s, the percentage of minorities serving in the fire department was under five percent. Furthermore, when African-American or Hispanic firefighters were given the opportunity to put their lives on the line for their fellow Chicagoans, they found themselves stifled by a systemically racist department that made promotion unattainable.
Unable to stand by and watch this injustice pervade the department he was a part of, Outerbridge sprang into action. Working with key community leaders and activists including Father George Clements and Kermit Coleman, an attorney, and civil rights organizations including Operation PUSH and the Urban League, Outerbridge set out to end the unfair treatment of African-Americans in the Chicago Fire Department. Along with his fellow firefighters Jim Winbush and Wesley Thompson, Outerbridge founded the Afro American Firefighters League (AAFL).
Madam Speaker, it is difficult to understate the positive impact of the Afro American Firefighters league on the Chicago Fire Department. Outerbridge and the AAFL worked diligently to document the racial discrimination they found within the Department, and their work would lead to the United States Department of Justice filing suit against the City of Chicago, resulting in a consent decree that mandated the Department increase its total number of African-American firefighters from 125 to at least 400.
While work remains to be done to build a Chicago Fire Department that is reflective of the city it serves, the legacy of Outerbridge's work continues. In 2011, a lawsuit brought by African-American Chicago firefighters made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled that over 6,000 African-American applicants for positions within the Chicago Fire Department could pursue a disparate impact claim against the city. The Supreme Court's ruling helped pave the way to a settlement that allowed almost a thousand applicants to reapply, and the possibility of monetary reward as compensation for the discrimination they faced. From the Cabrini-Green Homes to the Supreme Court--that is how far the lasting and enduring legacy of Les Outerbridge stretches.
In 2002, Outerbridge would author and publish a book detailing his life's remarkable journey titled ``Memoirs of a Black Fire Fighter: Les Outerbridge, 1961-1995''. Those close to him Outerbridge will remember him as passionate historian and an avid photographer.
My best wishes and prayers are with the Outerbridge family and all those who had the distinct privilege of knowing Leslie Outerbridge during his remarkable life.
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