Our
Town:
Donna Vinci Gives Local Women Gift To Remember
Compton School District Superintendent to Step Down
Isadore Hall — Sacramento or Washington, D.C.?
A Tribute to Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald
Decades-old Traffic Signal System Finally on Its Way Out
Sheriff’s Department Teams With ABC to Cite Those Selling, Buying Youth Alcohol
Celebrity Collaboration at Compton’s Carver Elementary School
Authorities Buckling Down on Safety Belt Law
City Commissioning Cost Allocation, Utility Fees Study
Earl
Ofari
Hutchinson:
Abandoned Lots, Abandoned Dreams — Pt. 2
Black Comic Book Art Exhibition Gives Glimpse Into Another World
Officials: Time Is Always Right to Make Plans for Disaster Safety
Community
Reacts to Millender-McDonald’s Passing
Late congresswoman
hailed as community’s shining
star on Capitol Hill
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin
Staff Writer
News
of Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald’s untimely passing
left much of the community in shock two weeks ago when it was announced
she’d succumbed to cancer.
The 68-year-old woman was considered a trailblazer on many different
fronts by people of color throughout the 37th Congressional District, and
especially right here in Compton.
“She was a great, decent and honest politician. We don’t have
many of those anymore,” said Kris Bailey, former liaison to Councilwoman
Yvonne Arceneaux. She met Millender-McDonald back when Bailey served
as press secretary for Rep. Walter Tucker III during his stint in Congress.
“She also loved being a congresswoman. Not only for the prestige,
but for what it allowed her to do for her constituents. I considered
her a mentor and a dear friend. She was a great role model.”
Millender-McDonald, who had been battling colon cancer for more than
a year, had made public mention of her illness less than a week before
she died, when she asked for a leave of absence from the House to attend
to her health. Although she left the impression she would be returning
to Capitol Hill, she was receiving hospice care in her home at the time
of her death.
According to Carson Mayor Jim Dear, the cancer had metastasized to
her liver.
“We were all her children,” said Alvin Coats, the congresswoman’s
Compton field representative. “Even though her body’s not here,
her soul will live with every one of us ... I love her, I miss her,
and it’s been an honor to be a part of something so special.”
He added how important the Hub City was to Millender-McDonald. And
her Hub City constituents respected her for it.
“
In my history, since before Charles Wilson, I’ve never seen any of
those congress persons that represent us come close to representing us
in the manner in which she has represented us,” said Lorraine Cervantes,
a longtime community activist who sits on the Compton Community College
District Board of Trustees.
Micah Ali, a part-time field representative for Assemblyman Mervyn
Dymally, worked with the congresswoman in Washington, D.C., in 1998 when
he served as a congressional fellow and intern through the Congressional
Black Caucus.
“She was a political maverick,” he told The Bulletin. “The
legacy that she leaves behind is one of bipartisanship, one of diversity
and one
of inclusion. She was an avid champion of the constituents in her
district.”
He added that “she’ll be known as the only member of Congress
to bring a CIA director to be asked questions by a community that’s
been ravaged by the crack cocaine epidemic,” which she did, in addition
to launching an independent investigation, amidst claims that the agency
was responsible.
The Compton City Council last week read into the record a last-minute
resolution as a subsequent need item hailing the congresswoman’s
many accomplishments before holding a moment of silence to celebrate Millender-McDonald’s
life.
“The city of Compton, the 37th Congressional District, and actually
nationally, these United States of America — we suffered the great
loss of a trailblazer,” said Councilman Isadore Hall.
“She is a legend, a trailblazer, a woman, a sacrificial lamb for
justice, human rights, for AIDS and HIV, for the downtrodden and those
who perhaps
may not have a voice,” continued Hall. “She is indeed an advocate,
was an advocate, for those [people].
“She is, and always will be, our first lady,” Hall said.
Arceneaux said Millender-McDonald will be “very hard to replace.”
“She was a voice — a strong and important voice in our community,
and she’s going to be deeply missed by all citizens.”
The congresswoman was an inspiration to Councilwoman Lillie Dobson.
“She helped me, she supported me even though she didn’t really
know me,” said Dobson. “She’s the reason I’m here
(on Council).”
The seven-term congresswoman represented constituents in Carson,
Compton, parts of Long Beach, parts of Los Angeles, Watts-Willowbrook and
Signal Hill.
The first African-American woman to serve on the Carson City Council,
Millender-McDonald was elected to that position in 1990. From there she
served in the California State Assembly before securing her U.S. House
seat during a 1996 special election to replace Tucker, a former Compton
mayor who was convicted of taking bribes in his capacity as an elected
official here and cheating on his taxes.
Since securing her House seat in November 1996, she has easily won
re-election every term. She was named by the Washington Times as being
one of the five most effective members of Congress and by Glamour magazine
as being one of 11 women who will change the world.
Just this year, she became the first black woman to chair the Committee
on House Administration, which oversees operations of the House and federal
election procedures.
She was well known for her interest in gender equity, voters’ rights
issues and HIV/AIDS awareness. She backed the Alameda Corridor project
and Compton’s Major League Baseball academy. She also worked tirelessly
to prevent the closures of King/Drew Medical Center and Compton College.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy
Roundtable, described Millender-McDonald as more than a dedicated and compassionate
public servant — she was a dear friend.
“I was honored the many times that she would call to discuss the
pressing issues of the day, whether it was the genocide in Darfur, the
fight to
save King Hospital, voter education and the agony she felt over the
legal ordeal of her son, Keith,” he said in a statement.
“It made no difference whether the issue was a crucial public policy
concern or solving a personal problem or fulfilling the need of a
constituent, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald brought the same passion,
compassion and
commitment to her work. In this era of public cynicism toward politicians,
Congresswoman Millender-McDonald stood out as the consummate shining
example of the tireless public servant that made a profound difference
in politics
and life.”
She is survived by her husband, James McDonald Jr.; five children,
Valerie, Angela, Sherryll, Chris and Keith; and five grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Monday at Second Baptist Church in Los
Angeles.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in the
name of Juanita Millender-McDonald to the African American Women’s
Health and Education Foundation, 455 E. Carson Plaza Dr., Suite C,
Carson, CA 90746.
ADVERTISE | CLASSIFIEDS | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE | HOME
This site and its contents ©2007 thecomptonbulletin.com