sr991.html

08 LC 95 0457

Senate Resolution 991

By: Senators Fort of the 39th, Tate of the 38th, Harbison of the 15th, Reed of the 35th, Orrock of the 36th and others

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing and honoring the life of Reverend Doctor James Edward Orange; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, Reverend Doctor James Edward Orange was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 29, 1942, to the late Calvin and Ida Orange; and

WHEREAS, he was a graduate of Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama, and attended the former Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, and was the recipient of a doctorate degree from the A. P. Clayton Theological College; and

WHEREAS, he was married to the former Cleophas Brown and they had five children and two grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, during his youth, he was very involved in the Civil Rights Movement and was one of the first field staffers hired by the late Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., and was instrumental in mobilizing youth throughout the Civil Rights Era; and

WHEREAS, without Reverend Orange there might never have been a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, the march that began the train of events that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and

WHEREAS, the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, killed by an Alabama state trooper while protesting the incarceration of Reverend Doctor Orange, who had been jailed for registering new voters, is regarded as one of the triggers for that famous march; and

WHEREAS, in 1968, he was responsible for bringing over 300 bus loads of participants to Washington, D. C., for the Poor People's Campaign, which led to the establishment of the food stamp program; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Doctor Orange was blessed with exceptional organizational skills and used those skills in various labor movements, including a hospital workers strike in Charleston, South Carolina; a sanitation strike in Memphis, Tennessee; the J. P. Stevens campaign in Milledgeville, Dublin, and Tifton, Georgia and Louisville, Kentucky; Justice for Janitors in Atlanta, Georgia; campaigns in Tupelo, Mississippi; the worker's campaign in Birmingham, Alabama; and the state workers campaign in Alabama; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Doctor Orange developed, organized, and directed grassroots, education/mobilization campaigns that led to the passage of the Workplace Fairness bill; developed and directed a regional conference on "Organizing Workers' Rights and Coalition Building"; coordinated the "Stop the Violence" conference in Atlanta, Georgia; created and supervised the Atlanta Olympic Community Intervention Team; and accompanied Bill Lucy to Brazil for the INSPIR and CUT convention; and

WHEREAS, he retired from the ALF-CIO labor organization and served as a mediator between MARTA and the Transit Union; and

WHEREAS, he received a host of community service awards and several keys to different cities throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Doctor Orange served on the boards of the Atlanta/Fulton County Commission of Children and Youth; the Highlander Research and Education Center; the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute; the National Tenants Organization; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference/WOMEN, Inc.; and the Southern Organizing Committee; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Doctor Orange served on the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) and, as ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, he worked with world leaders such as President Nelson Mandela, President Thabo Mbeki, and Premier Sbu Ndebele; and

WHEREAS, throughout his life, he held to the philosophy of nonviolence, reflecting peace with dignity.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body commend Reverend Doctor James Edward Orange, honor his illustrious career, and extend their most sincere condolences to his family and friends.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the family of Reverend Doctor James Edward Orange.