Congressman Cohen Applauds Committee Passage of Sugarmon Post Office Bill

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) applauded the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's passage today of a bill he introduced that would designate the U.S. Postal Service facility at 1325 Autumn Avenue as the " Judge Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office Building." He made the following statement:

"No one deserves this honor more than Judge Sugarmon, a tireless trailblazer and advocate for Civil Rights and a highly regarded attorney and judge. I look forward to seeing the full House take a vote to pass the bill and to attending a dedication ceremony later this year in Memphis."

Judge Sugarmon, aged 89, was the first African-American to run for a major city office in 1959 and the second African-American elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1966. Before becoming a judge in 1987, he practiced with Memphis' and the South's first integrated law firm – Ratner, Sugarmon, Lucas, Willis and Caldwell – after attending Morehouse College and Rutgers University and receiving a law degree from Harvard University.