The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING WILLARD WALKER
______
HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Friday, February 25, 2022
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Willard Walker, a civil rights era leader, devoted public servant, youth football coach, MSU alumnus, and friend to the Greater Lansing community. For more than 50 years, Mr. Walker has fought tirelessly for social justice, and the community is so much better for his efforts.
Raised in Columbus, Georgia, by his grandmother, he joined the military after graduating from Albany State University.
His first job out of the military was as a math teacher in Chicago. There, he fought to unite historically segregated schools. Willard met and married his first wife in Chicago, with whom he had two children. They eventually moved to Alabama, where Mr. Walker began work for the Birmingham Urban League, before arriving at Michigan State University in 1969, where he was the first Black student in the industrial relations department. He lived in Case Hall, a place he described as the epicenter for black student life.
Mr. Walker has been influential in both local and state government, serving under four City of Lansing Mayors in various roles, including director of the Human Resources and Community Services Department, and on the Lansing Police Commission. At the state level he served as director of Michigan's School-to-Work Office, director of the Michigan Department of Commerce, and deputy director of the Neighborhood Builders Alliance--just to name a few.
But beyond his many impressive titles, his work to ensure the Greater Lansing area is a more equitable and welcoming place is legendary. As a founding member of the Greater Lansing Area, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission, he was the first recipient of the Commission's MLK Legacy Award in 2010.
In 2018, the City of Lansing Parks and Recreation Department dedicated the former youth sports facility, Ridsdale Park, in his honor, and it is now known as the Willard Walker stadium at Ridsdale Park. It gives me great happiness to know that through these awards and honors, his legacy of service will continue to provide a positive impact in the Greater Lansing community for generations to come.
Mr. Walker is married to his current wife Victoria where they have been residents of Lansing's historic Westside for over five decades. Two years ago, he returned to local government to serve the City of Lansing as a consultant in Human Relations and Community Service, a department he ran for over a decade.
It's an honor to represent a community leader like Mr. Willard Walker in Washington, and I am grateful for his personal and professional sacrifices to advance civil rights at the local, state, and national levels. May his efforts be forever celebrated, uplifted, and immortalized.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 35
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