[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E369] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] TRIBUTE TO CLARISSA WALKER AND DOROTHY WOOLFORK IN CELEBRATION OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH ______ HON. MARTIN OLAV SABO of minnesota in the house of representatives Thursday, March 15, 2001 Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the historic achievements of American women this month, I wish to recognize two very special women from my Congressional district--Clarissa Walker and Dorothy Woolfork. For more than three decades, they have selflessly served the African- American community in Minneapolis through their work at Sabathani Community Center. Ms. Walker--Sabathani's Family Resources Director--and Ms. Woolfork-- a Sabathani civil rights activist--have tirelessly aided those in need in the south Minneapolis community that Sabathani Community Center serves. I admire both of these women for their selflessness in reaching out to others to enact true social change. Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell you a little more about the life experiences that shaped Clarissa Walker and Dorothy Woolfork's beliefs, and helped them become the dedicated women of conviction they are today. Clarissa Walker A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Clarissa Walker settled in Minneapolis in 1955. Her service to the Twin Cities community began when she worked as an operating room technician at the University of Minneapolis Hospital. In 1968, Ms. Walker was recruited to work for Sabathani Community Center as a youth supervisor. She quickly moved up the ranks, serving in various positions--social worker/ counselor, assistant director, acting executive director, and agency director of the Center. In 1971, she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology. Since then she has done some post-graduate studies in business management, and has become a licensed social worker. Ms. Walker has served in her current position as director of the Family Resource program since 1985. Through the years, Ms. Walker has worked diligently to enrich the Sabathani community in a number of capacities. She has donated much of her time to several important agencies and causes, including the Minnesota Extension Advisory Committee; the Neighborhood Reinvestment Regional Advisory Committee; the Second Harvest Food Bank Board; the United Way First Call for Help Committee; the First and Secondary Market Loan Committee; the Neighborhood Housing Services of America Board; and the Project for Pride in Living Board. She has also served as President of the Southside Neighborhood Housing Services Board President, and has served on the Central Neighborhood Improvement Association; the United Way Budget and Allocation panel; the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee to the Mayor; and the Lake Street Partners Board. Dorothy Woolfork Dorothy Woolfork was born in rural Arkansas in 1916. The daughter of sharecroppers, she was taught the value of hard work and the importance of voting--both values she brought to Minneapolis when she moved there in 1939. Upon arriving in Minneapolis, Ms. Woolfork learned about a neighbor who was returning to the South to teach, because Minneapolis did not hire black teachers. This experience, along with the prejudices she witnessed growing up in the South, inspired her to learn more about the political process. Characteristically independent, Ms. Woolfork believes strongly in the collaboration of community involvement and government to make positive societal changes. She has demonstrated this belief by serving on several boards, including the Civil Rights Commission; the Board of Equalization; the Bryant Village Initiative; the Bryant Neighborhood Organization; and South Side Neighborhood Housing, Inc. Furthermore, she served for fifteen years on the Council of Black Minnesotans and earned the Council's Martin Luther King Award. Ms. Woolfork served as the chairwoman for the Minneapolis NAACP for twenty years, and she has been recognized by the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis for her volunteer work. She has also received the Harriet Tubman Award from the Bryant Neighborhood Organization, and several other accolades. For over a generation, Clarissa Walker and Dorothy Woolfork have worked to open the ``road less traveled'' to other women seeking to enact positive societal change. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Women's History Month, we should salute these two exceptional women--ideal role models for women young and old across this country. ____________________