Congressman Elijah E. Cummings Proudly Representing Maryland's 7th District

(9/30/00 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)

Standing up for justice

by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

As the Union Baptist Church choir sang "Oh, freedom, all over me" last Friday afternoon, the family and friends of U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Clemens Howard, Sr., celebrated the life of a good and just man. Judge Howard's funeral was one of those brief moments when everyone - Black and white, prominent and unknown - becomes of one heart and mind.

Baltimore came together last Friday to pay respect to the life of a man who taught us lasting lessons about the seeds of justice within the human spirit.

Judge Howard served the cause of justice for many years. He won a hard-fought election to serve as a trial judge on the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City. Then, in 1979, President Jimmy Carter nominated him to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

In recognition of his proven capability and accomplishments as a member of the Maryland judiciary, both Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes and Republican Senator Charles "Mac" Mathias strongly supported the nomination. The Senate gave its advice and consent B and in October, 1979, Joseph C. Howard, Sr., became the first African American to serve on Maryland's U.S. District Court.

No one who loves justice has ever regretted that historic event.

"There was a fury about Judge Joseph Howard, a sense of justice that lay at the center of his soul," recalled the District Court's Chief Judge, J. Frederick Motz. "At the same time, he was a man of compassion to all, whatever their station in life."

Maryland's Chief Judge, Robert Bell, concurred, observing that "Joe Howard was a man who built bridges so that those who followed could cross to opportunity on the other side."

What touched me most deeply, though, was the honesty and candor with which those of us who spoke - Black and white alike - addressed the struggles in Judge Howard's life.

We talked openly about how in 1968, as a young Assistant State's Attorney, Joe Howard had gone against the legal establishment of that time, challenging racial disparities in sentencing and pushing for a higher level of equity.

We remembered how the system attempted to punish Joe Howard's pursuit of justice during his campaign for a seat on the Supreme Bench; and we laughed together, recalling how a sophisticated political campaign defeated that backlash and won him his first judgeship.

We nodded our heads in silent acknowledgment when his long-time Pastor and friend, Rev. Vernon Dobson, observed, "You could not get Joe to abuse anyone who was powerless."

Perhaps the most compelling testimonial to Judge Howard's legacy, however, was given by a neatly-dressed man from the neighborhood who stood and waited during the entire service on the sidewalk outside the church. As the funeral procession began its final journey down Druid Hill Avenue, the man removed his cap in respect.

"When I was a young man, I went before Judge Howard to be sentenced for a crime I had committed," he recalled. "The Judge asked me what I had to say for myself, and I could tell that he was truly listening to me as I answered."

"Then," the man continued, "after the Judge informed me that I owed six and one-half years in the federal prison, he kept talking to me. He showed me that I owed myself and my family a better life when I got out."

"I knew that day in Judge Howard's court that I was receiving justice from one of my own - from someone who respected me," the man concluded, "so I paid my debt without complaining and got my life together . . . ."

These simple words are the lasting eulogy Joe Howard devoted his entire life to composing.

Judge Howard left it to a man whom he once judged and helped to transform - to a man standing quietly, hat in hand, as his one-time judge was carried to his final rest - to deliver this final bequest to the people and principles he served.

In a free society, the seeds of justice can take hold and grow only in the shared soil of our respect for ourselves and each other as human beings.

-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.

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