The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN HONOR OF DAVID BLUFORD
______
HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Monday, June 28, 2021
Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of my late constituent, friend, and mentor, David Bluford. David lived a life dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, and to the betterment of the people around him. He was a husband, father, writer, educator, scholar, and a leader to his community.
While so many people might spend their lives and careers scrambling for wealth or power, David was the embodiment of a public servant. In his decades as an educator, he served as a college professor, high school principal, junior high school teacher and the director of the Upward Bound program at Queens College. David's colleagues remember how fervently he advocated for the students. His students remember him for the way he guided them towards wisdom, and towards greater versions of themselves.
As a young man and throughout his life, David sought out opportunities to develop himself in all aspects. He was inducted into the Fayetteville State University Basketball Hall of Fame and served in the Korean War. He studied Education and Political Philosophy at five different colleges including Walden College and Columbia University, ultimately earning his PhD.
David was also a talented writer. He wrote for papers including the New York Voice, New York Daily News, and the National Association of Secondary Principals, where he wrote a guide for new principals preparing to work in underserved communities, as he did during his career. Though he was an excellent leader, David didn't treat education like a strict hierarchy, rather an exchange. He never stopped learning, and he inspired other educators around him to continue to learn, too. He treated his students with dignity.
One of David's favorite quotes, said by Confucius, was ``Choose the job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.'' What David loved was service. He didn't just have a community-oriented career, but a community-oriented lifestyle. He was Chairman of the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Citizens Center in Queens, and a recipient of countless awards--
including New York City School District 29's Distinguished Service Award, the Outstanding Educator Award from the NAACP's board in Jamaica, New York, the Jackie Robinson Junior High School Man of the Year Award. He participated in several service-oriented organizations including the Urban League, the Lebanon Lodge of Jamaica, and 32 Degree Shriner.
David's wife of 62 years, Renee, their children, and their grandchildren all remember his devotion to his family, his warm heart, and his graceful nature towards humanity. As a husband, a father, and a grandfather, he leaves an everlasting mark on those who were so blessed to know him.
In all aspects of his life, David Bluford was authentic. When the opportunity presented itself to help someone else, to share knowledge, or to be a resource, he seized that opportunity. Few fields let us serve our communities as directly as education does. David taught more than just English or Philosophy--he taught character. In being such a brilliant example to his students and fellow community members, David inspired change in countess lives.
When he as just 17 years old, David converted to Catholicism and so began a new relationship with his faith. Through his life and works, David shared his faith in God with his family and friends. We know that David's faith guided more than just his thoughts or words but his actions too. Few verses capture that like Isaiah 58:10--``If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.'' David's life work is the embodiment of this scripture. His life philosophy was one of cognitive, academic, emotional, and spiritual development. Not just for himself or for his students, but for every person in his life. All of us, as public servants ourselves, can learn from his example.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 112
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