Reverend Harold Middlebrook Post Office Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of my dear friend and fellow east Tennessean, Reverend Harold Middlebrook.

Reverend Middlebrook moved to east Tennessee, my district, actually, in 1977. Of course, I was in the seventh grade then. I don't know if technically it would be called my district, but he was the pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ.

Before moving to Knoxville, Reverend Middlebrook played a crucial role in the civil rights movement. He was a close friend of Dr. King. He joined the Memphis sanitation workers strike, and that was a labor and civil rights movement where sanitation workers protested unsafe working conditions and low wages. He was at the Lorraine Motel when Dr. King was assassinated.

In 1986, he founded the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Commission in Knoxville. I will say, for the record, every time they do the parade, it is the coldest day of the year, just for the record.

He was also president of the Bolivar Human Development Corporation and adviser to the Hardeman County Bi-Racial Commission. He was a co- coordinator of the Hardeman County Political Action Commission, and he was an advisory member to the Tennessee Public Service Commission.

Beyond his leadership, Reverend Middlebrook is a loving father to three children, as was stated earlier, two of whom followed in his footsteps to work in public service.

Reverend Middlebrook spent his life befriending and mentoring folks in our community. Many friends of mine and I have sought his counsel. Just for the record, Mr. Speaker, he has never voted for me. He is not a member of my political party, but we are still very good friends. I think that is something that is missing in this country.

When I was mayor of Knox County, I would always invite a bunch of young people from the office to go down to Calhoun's, and we would all eat a bunch of barbecue. I would want those young people to understand that the civil rights movement was not something in black and white on the History Channel. It was real life. People got their heads cracked, and people lost their lives. Dr. Middlebrook, I think, got arrested over 40 times during all of that. He is an inspiration to me.

One other story: We were at an NAACP dinner one night, and they were asking everybody to sit at the head table. I was mayor at the time, and they asked me to sit at that head table. I noted that Dr. Middlebrook and his bride were not sitting at that head table, and I said: No, my wife and I will sit over here off to the side. I like to run with the ones that brought me to the table, and Dr. Middlebrook is one of those guys. He believed in dignity for all, and he is a testament to his faith in Jesus.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this.

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