The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING CALDWELL DURHAM
______
HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I wish to dedicate some time today to commemorate the 100th birthday of Caldwell Durham. Born in Raymond, Mississippi, more than two decades before Brown v. Board of Education, there was no guarantee that Caldwell Durham (Electrical Engineer Class of 1951 at IIT) or his brothers and sisters would have access to an education. If it were not for the courage and idealism of his parents, Chaney and Curtis Durham, Caldwell might have had a very different life.
At 100, he has worked tenaciously while enjoying a successful, barrier-breaking career as an aerospace engineer. He married the love of his life, Burnette Short Durham, and together they raised three children. He has four grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, cousins and in-
laws. He stays in touch with associates, including fellow Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Michael Hill (CS '82) and Perri Irmer (ARCH '81), colleagues, and friends, who help him stay connected to his passions on a global scale.
What's his secret? Caldwell chuckles at the thought of trying to distill a century of living into a few pithy words of advice. ``Are you sure you want the whole story?'' he asks.
The story begins when Caldwell was born on September 12, 1921 in Raymond, Mississippi, the seventh of eight children. As with all parents, Caldwell's wanted to give their children the best possible start in life. His mother, Chaney Durham, was determined to ensure her children had the opportunity to obtain an education.
So, Curtis and Chaney Durham bought a house 750 miles away and in 1923, they moved their family to Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, about two miles away from Armour Institute, the institute that would be reborn as Illinois Institute of Technology in 1940.
There, the Durham children did exactly what their mother hoped they would. They went to school. Caldwell graduated from DuSable High School in 1939 and from Woodrow Wilson Junior College in the spring of 1941. That December, the United States entered World War II.
Caldwell knew that if he was drafted, he'd have little control over where or how he was deployed. He heard about a U.S. Army Air Force airborne training program which would train volunteers to work on aviation electronics. Durham volunteered and was accepted to the training program, assigned to a segregated unit of Black soldiers. Caldwell excelled and his training laid the foundation for the rest of his career.
After the war, Caldwell used his engineering training to get a job working for Western Electric, as a ``wireman,'' building and installing hardware for telephone stations. He was the only Black wireman working for Western Electric, establishing a pattern that he would repeat throughout his career.
In the late 1940s, one of Caldwell's colleagues mentioned that he was thinking about quitting his job at Western Electric to go back to school. Caldwell thought that with his academic and professional background and the financial support of the GI Bill, he might be able to do the same. In 1949, he took a class at the university only a couple of miles from his family's home--Illinois Institute of Technology.
There, Caldwell engaged his remarkable capacity as an engineer and excelled. An IIT professor encouraged Caldwell to apply to attend IIT as a full-time student, so he did. A few months later, he was admitted to Illinois Tech, where he earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and again, he excelled.
As graduation approached in 1951, Caldwell found little success finding a job in the Midwest, as few firms at the time had an interest in hiring a Black engineer. One of his professors at IIT suggested he look for a job on the west coast, so Caldwell applied for a job at Lockheed in California.
In June 1951, Caldwell Durham moved across the country in pursuit of greater opportunity, this time with his own family.
The Durhams settled in L.A. and Caldwell quickly earned the respect of his colleagues. Caldwell spent the next ten years working for Lockheed, beginning his aerospace career in earnest, designing and testing airplane instrumentation for the U-2 Spy Plane, first-
generation jet aircrafts like the F-94C Starfire Interceptor, and the iconic L-1049 Super Constellation.
In 1961, Caldwell attended a conference where he ran into Okomoto, one of his former Lockheed colleagues, who had since gone to work for Space Technology Laboratories (STL). Okomoto persuaded his manager to interview Caldwell for a job in his office.
Caldwell spent the rest of his career at STL, which later came to be known as TRW. There, he worked in the Ballistic Missile Flight test Instrumentation section, participating in the specification and development of instrumentation systems for several ballistic missiles. Over a period of 28 years he truly became a rocket scientist. In 1978, he became head of the Instrumentation Section. He was the only black section manager in TRW's Missile Program Office. In 1989, he retired with honors and commendations.
Success like Caldwell's isn't a foregone conclusion for anyone. But his parents likely wouldn't be surprised. Chaney Durham knew that all of her children had potential and she did everything she could to give them the chance to express it. She knew that the best way to give her children this gift was through access to education.
Because of his education, Caldwell was able to compete for opportunities that others like him had rarely been allowed to pursue before. And because of his talent and determination, he enjoyed a successful career. He and Burnette also committed themselves to passing on the lesson of the power of an education to their own children. Today, all three of Caldwell's children achieved post-graduate degrees, and he counts lawyers, doctors and a news anchor among his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
This legacy of excellence began almost one hundred years ago, all because one family made the decision to prioritize access to education over their own comfort. Because of that, the descendants of Chaney and Curtis Durham, now five generations strong, have what Chaney always dreamed of: a chance at a better life through the power of education.
Caldwell's 100th birthday was September 12, 2021. He likes to say he's lived a charmed life. So, what is his secret? ``You know, I don't know,'' he says with a laugh, ``I think exercise is part of the equation.''
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 185
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