- Record: House Floor
- Section type: Recognition
- Chamber: House
- Date: June 30, 2026
- Congress: 119th Congress
- Why this source matters: This section came from the House floor portion of the record.
Mrs. Ramirez of Illinois was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.)
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Beatrice Lumpkin, who passed away June 14, 2026, at the age of 107 years. Bea was the living, marching, fighting embodiment of solidarity forever.
power, civil rights, and educational justice. A Chicago Public Schools educator and leader with the Chicago Teachers Union, Bea was a fixture at marches, rallies, and picket lines across our city.
She started her activism early. At the age of 9, she marched with striking textile workers. Across her century of activism, Bea was on the front lines of the struggle for justice and equity. From marching alongside Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Marquette Park, to being instrumental in Harold Washington's campaign for mayor 43 years ago, to supporting the recent unionization of Starbucks employees, Bea showed up for her neighbors, for Chicago, and for our movement.
floor to celebrate Bea's 100 years of fighting for justice and inspiring generations of activism.
struggle, in solidarity, and on the front lines of the fight for justice because joy, in fact, is an act of resistance.
memory and the life's work of Beatrice Lumpkin, a true champion for the working class and a giant in our movement.
Honoring Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr., two leaders who cofounded the Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition and who serve as research associates at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois Chicago.
disabled, autistic, deaf, and neurodivergent people of color, fostering collective pride, strengthening advocacy skills across our communities, and building intersectional solidarity.
disability justice, advancing the principles of accessibility and radical inclusion within communities of color.
disabled people of color, they dismantle systemic barriers to inclusion and empower individuals to forge their own path to reclaim their identities and their dignity.
They are the architects of a more inclusive, equitable Chicago.
honor to be able to commend Jae Jin Pak and Timotheus Gordon, Jr., for their dedication to disability justice, radical inclusion, and the innate dignity of all people.
{time} 1030
Recognizing Sovereignty for Puerto Rico
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the Chicago Young Lords and their protests of 1969, the first marches for Puerto Rican self-determination in Chicago's history.
Puerto Rican liberation and the rights of all oppressed people on the eve of our 250th anniversary of the United States of America. While America will declare its commitment to no kings, we also must demand no colonies.
Jose Jimenez traveled to Puerto Rico to visit the shrine of its nationalist leader, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, 57 years after the Chicago Young Lords mobilized 10,000 people to march carrying Don Pedro Albizu Campos signs from Lincoln Park to Humboldt Park in support of independence in Chicago's Puerto Rican parade, Puerto Rico is still a United States colony.
128 of them. We cannot celebrate our independence while denying the Puerto Rican people the dignity of self-determination.
District, I publicly commend the Young Lords for teaching us that when we support Puerto Rico's self-determination, we are supporting, in fact, the right of sovereignty for people everywhere.