dr. benjamin lawson hooks. dr. hooks truly was a renaissance man.s an attorney, a criminal court judge, businessman, a respected civil rights leader, a powerful preacher of the gospel. he served as the first african-american commissioner for the federal communications commission, and later as executive director and ceo of the naacp. president bush awarded the presidential medal of freedom to hooks in 2007. and president obama recently characterized him as a trailblazer. others describe this remarkable individual as a mentor, down to earth friend, a man of action, and an icon. without a doubt, dr. hooks was a true american patriot, a peaceful warrior, and a hero to all who fight for equality and also justice. he challenged us to learn from the struggles of past generations as we progressed towards the future games and possibilities. his passionate battle against racial prejudice, bigotry, intolerance, and equity, inspired us to join together the prominence of peace, fairness, and the opportunities for all. dr. hooks will be sorely missed by his relat

dr. benjamin lawson hooks. dr. hooks truly was a renaissance man.was an attorney, a criminal court judge, a businessman, a respected civil rights leader, a powerful preacher of the gospel. he served as first african- american commissioner for the federal communications commissioner and later as executive director and ceo of the naacp. president bush awarded the presidential award of the freedom in 2007. president obama recently characterized him as a trailblazer. others describe this remarkable individual as a mentor, down to earth friend, a man of action, and an icon. without a doubt, dr. hooks was a true american patriot, a peaceful warrior, and a hero to all who fight for equality and social justice. he challenged us to learn from the struggles of the past generation as we progressed toward the future gains and possibilities. his passionate battle against racial prejudice, bigotry, and tolerance, an equity inspires us to join together for the prominence -- for the purpose of the peace and the opportunities for all. dr. hooks will be sorely missed

dr. benjamin hooks. dr. hooks died last thursday at his home in memphis after a long illness. he was 85. his funeral was held today. hooks was a lawyer. ordained minister. and the leader of the naacp for 15 years. he was remembered as a tenacious and committed leader. >> ben believed in his heart, believed in his soul, the impossible was possible. >> during the service today mourners also observed a moment of silence for another civil rights icon, dorothy heights, who died yesterday. >>> a d.c. reading program is making a difference in the lives of students and it is getting national recognition. the program teams students up with some of washington's biggest power brokers including senators and members of congress. children are paired up with a mentor that reads to them once a week. this session is taking place at brent elementary school in southeast. it is sponsored by everybody wins d.c. private lip funded nonprofit group. we will hear from some of the students and their mentors in a full report coming up on "in nightly news with brian williams" right after this newscast. >

dr. benjamin hooks. both lived long and fruitful lives and leave legacies that will endure for generations to come. tonight we pay tribute to dr. hooks and dr. height, two trail blazers, two giants who paved the way and opened the doors of opportunity for countless numbers of americans. this week dr. height will be laid to rest and she will be forever remembered as a bold and brilliant african-american woman who blazed many trails and opened many doors so that we all could lead freer and more prosperous lives. a matriarch of the civil rights movement and a staunch advocate of women's rights, dr. height wore many hats throughout her life, both literally and figuratively, with elegance and with dignity, with excellence and with determination. and i'm going to miss her so much. she showed us that the fight for women's rights and our struggle for civil and human rights were not mutually exclusive. she was a coalition builder in our work for justice for all. a couple of months ago and i was listening to congre

dr. benjamin hooks. the visitation runs through 8:30 at a church in his hometown of memphis. he died last week at 85. he led the naacp to prominence in 1970s and 1980s. >>> funeral arrangements have been set for former baltimore archbishop william borders. he died yesterday of colon cancer. he was 96 years old. a public viewing take place thursday at 10:30 at the cathedral of mary our queen located at 5200 north charles street. on friday, reverend borders funeral will begin at 1:00 p.m. >>> toyota dealers already dealing with several recalls now have got another problem to fix. toyota is recalling nearly 10,000 lexus gs460s. this is the sixth recall since november. abc 2 news don harrison has more on the impact on dealers right here in maryland. >> reporter: just as toyota agreed to pay a record $16 million fine, toyota announced it will recall 94 00 lex -- 9400 lexus vehicles. they need to change a computer glitch. >> no question they've had a number of things happen all at once. >> reporter: peter kits miller is the president of the maryland automobile dealers association a

dr. benjamin hooks. he will be buried tomorrow in memphis. he was another one who just gave up his life to civil rights. the first african-american judge in the deep south. the first fcc commissioner, and also he was someone who helped to keep the movement alive. you know, ali, the civil rights movement is an ongoing struggle for equality for all americans. and when you look around today, you see not only the national council of negro women continuing dr. height's legacy, but the naacp just, you know, elect a new leader in -- >> a woman. >> ben jealous, he's also part of the generation of leaders. and you look on capitol hill, barbara lee, the chair of the congressional black caucus, you have pamela harris who is running statewide in california, kendrick meeks running statewide in florida. >> but is there grassroots support for that idea? because if you're young, you haven't seen the civil rights issues that -- that these people like dorothy height and ben hooks, saw. >> well, but, you know, civil rights was not just about breaking down barri

dr. benjamin l. hooks.that the text of that resolution be included in the record following my remarks now. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: benjamin hooks was certainly one of tennessee's most distinguished citizens and one of america's leaders in this last half century. he was a patriot, a family man, a visionary, a lawyer, a storyteller, a preacher. and for my wife and i, he and his wife francis were close and good friends. it's hard to start talking -- i -- there will be a funeral service in memphis on wednesday. i will attend it, will make remarks there, but i wanted to say just a few words about my friend, dr. hooks, on the floor of the senate today. ben hooks was born april 15, 85 years ago. he leaves his wife francis and his daughter, patricia gray and two grandsons. he was the fifth of seven children born to robert b. and bessie hooks. and right from the beginning, he was part of a pioneering family. he was the grandson of julia hooks, the second black woman in the united sta

dr. benjamin hooks who we paid tribute to as well. but in this life, there are few giants who reach down to talk to those who are still learning. dr. dorothy height was that woman. she is the only woman that was present at the 1963 historic and powerful march on washington. she stayed steadfast in her meetings with franklin delano roosevelt. and, of course, she was successor to the national council of negro women. the only building on pennsylvania avenue owned by african-americans, and in this instance, african-american women, is the office of the national council, headed by dr. dorothy height. historic presence on pennsylvania avenue just a few blocks from the white house, what a statement of power. this afternoon as i landed here in washington, i went to that building to pay respects. i just simply had to be in her presence in this building. to be able to see her pictures and her face and to see and hear those who were gathering, to be able to honor her. the whole plaza is part of that building. as i walked in, i heard the story that

dr. benjamin hooks was known affectionately as uncle bennie. and this was a beautiful, beautiful person. he's a tremendous man of god. he inspired us like never before. there is nobody -- i know any close family member that was not touched by his presence, by his oration. by his concern. especially he and francis together. i'm not going to stand before you long. but i want to thank each and every one of you for supporting him for coming out for being a blessing. i was privileged to work with ben, uncle bennie, as his physician. he had a lot of trust in me. and he listened to me. and i didn't really see him as a giant. but after all of the things and the people and the comments, the accolades -- sometimes you don't realize how big someone is. and i'm certainly thankful to be among one of the giants. like iron sharpened irons, he sharpens one of us. i'm here with my brethren michael. we're not going to stand before you long. we've been here a while. but i will say that dr. hooks, uncle bennie, as i had a chance to work with him, he stripped down.

dr. benjamin l. hooks. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent to be add as a cosponsor to this resolution. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h. con. res. 243 he desk and just received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 243 authorizing the use of emancipation hall in the capitol visitors center for an event to celebrate the birthday o king kamamayo. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure. mr. durbin:. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent

dr. hooks was a criminal court judge, they share that experience. i keep under the glass on my desk a picture take oven benjaminooks as a lawyer with several people appearing in city court in memphis, defending individuals in memphis charged with violations of the law that were jim crow laws. it's a historic picture that people in memphis know well. they stood up in a courtroom with a predominance of policemen in there and white visitors to the courtroom. but they stood for justice and they stood up. leaders in memphis like maxine smith and mr. sugarman are getting older but they continue to fight. just as mr. hooks did. he tried to make it to the inaugural to the see the inauguration of the first african-american president, barack obama. he was here, but the weather was such he couldn't make it to the inauguration. he was bipartisan he came of an era when many african-americans in the south, if not most, were members of the republican party, the party of lincoln. he maintained that allegiance through his appointment by president reagan and others. president bush recognized his talents, as have president obama

dr. height. been a sad week or so for civil rights movement in aftermath of benjamin hooks and now dr. heights. equal pay act. today se qaul payday and when the equal pay act was signed in 1963 by president kennedy who was standing next to him? dorothy height. a real civil rights icon. so thank you for the opportunity to be here. >> thank you for being in birmingham. >> and i three wonderful days in birmingham as i told senator sessions at the civil rights institute at 16th street church meeting with civil rights leaders. i met an old colleague of mine i prosecuted a case with in alabama in 1991 when i was a career civil servant under dick thornburgh and it was great to reacquaint and i had one of the best meals i've ever had senator in birmingham that evening. good have it ls as we -- as we say in the business awould say how proud i am of bifrming ham for its -- birmingham for its principled and sincere effort to confront its past where racial discrimination was far too prevalent and much of it was very, very destructive and damageing to that whole city. but it has confronted its past in an ho