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WASHINGTON - A bill to designate the Federal building under construction at 799 First Avenue in New York in honor of the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown was passed by the House of Representatives this week. The legislation now awaits passage by the Senate.
The 26-story building, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2009, will house the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and be called the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building.
Secretary Brown, who died in a plane crash in 1996, was a distinguished member of President Bill Clinton's cabinet and the first African-American to serve as Secretary of Commerce. As chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he played an integral role in running the 1992 Democratic National Convention which culminated in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential candidacy. He was appointed Secretary of Commerce in 1993.
Secretary Brown, a native of Washington, DC, grew up in Harlem, where his father, William Brown, once worked as manager of the Theresa Hotel.
Congressman Rangel offered the following remarks during floor debate on the Ronald Brown building legislation:
"Madame Speaker, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share with this body a few thoughts on the life of a great American named Ron Brown, and I'm asking your support to have a Federal building, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, to be named after him.
Even though Ron Brown was an African American from Harlem, his story is more of an American story than one of color. On the streets of Harlem you don't find too many people exposed to dreams of ever becoming a Secretary of Commerce, indeed an ambassador to the world for this great country.
I was proud to be a desk clerk at the time that Ron and his family were living in a hotel in Harlem where his father was the manager. So I know that Ron never forgot Harlem, and it was the Urban League that drove him to do things in the civil rights movement. It was his dedication to his country that drove him to spend four years in the military, but everywhere that he went as Secretary of Commerce, he was there not just to sell business to the country. He was there to sell the American flag, the principles the flag represented and the things that we stand for.
I went with him to South Africa and saw how he negotiated with political leaders there. He didn't talk just about which party was right or which party was wrong or how to bring about solidarity. He asked how could America help the people get clean water, medicine, food. He let them know that our multinational companies were there, not just for their shareholders, but for the shareholders of the world.
And so, when you come to New York, where you always see diversity, people of different colors, different languages, different cultures, you will see the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. There could not be a sight that would be more reminiscent of Ron Brown and the contributions he made to my community, my country, and indeed, the entire world.
Thank you for shepherding this wonderful bill so that his family and his friends and his supporters and kids to follow would know that in Harlem we planted the seed that allowed him to make the ultimate sacrifice for this country on a mission to the Balkans for President Clinton. He will forever be in my mind, and I hope in yours, as history recounts the story of great Americans who lost their lives for this great country."
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