Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at the Celebration of Life and Service of the Late Congressman A. Donald McEachin

Richmond, VA – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Members of Congress for the celebration of the life and service of the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin at St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia.  Below are the Speaker’s remarks:

 

Speaker Pelosi.  Thank you, Colette, for the privilege to bring some greetings from the Congress to all of your friends, especially your family.  

 

As I begin my remarks, I want to acknowledge Congressman McEachin’s greatness in bringing people together. He brought together the St. Paul Baptist Church and the VUU Choir today.  Didn't they lift up our spirits?

 

[Applause]

 

Reverend Watson, the Dean, thank you for making all of that possible, because it is in that spirit that we all come together to celebrate the life of Donald McEachin.  

 

I'll begin by saying this is one of the largest delegations I've ever seen of Members of Congress coming to a service of a colleague.

 

[Applause]

 

And my colleagues will attest that, no matter what, what it is that we're doing, Mr. Clyburn will always begin and end with South Carolina.

 

[Laughter]

 

He will make a South Carolina connection.  But how moving it is for all of us to be with so many people – family, friends, members of the community, our colleagues, of course, and loved ones – who were touched by the life of Donald McEachin.  

 

And as Speaker, I have the privilege of bringing the condolences of an entire Congress to Colette, to Mac, to Briana, to Alexandra, to Gael and the entire McEachin family, on behalf of the Congress of the United States.  

 

[Applause]

 

Donald was a family man, as you know, family first.  Congress and the Country are deeply grateful to each of you for sharing him with us for so many years.  Well, in the Congress since 2016 – ‘17, but, again, in public service for so many years, a person of family.

 

We all know that Donald was a person of faith.  As the choir told us, how great was his faithfulness.  And great it was.  Well, it was so great that you know his first words, on the Floor of the Congress, as a new Member of Congress, he quoted Jesus.

 

[Applause]

 

He quoted Jesus' first sermon, when he said, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor.’  ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor.’

 

The words of Jesus' first sermon, the words of Donald McEachin’s first speech on the Floor of the House of Representatives.  Indeed, St. Paul, as we're here in your church, St. Paul brought the good news of Jesus to the world, Donald following that mission.  

 

His cause was not only great by keeping the faith, but by spreading the faith.  This passion shone through in most of his work to reform in the environmental justice, not just the environment, justice movement.  He was a leader, he’s still an inspiration.  As my colleague, Mr. Clyburn, referenced, he believed that we have an obligation to care for God's creation, always fighting to ensure that we are good stewards of it.  Whether it is in the life of every child to have clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, to stop asthma and the rest – it’s just rampant in certain communities – and have a healthy planet to call home.  His leadership was vital to forging that unprecedented climate action in Congress, enacted by Congress this year and signed by President Biden, hailed throughout the world.  

 

[Applause]

 

He was essential to that as a Member of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.  I wear their pin in honor.  It's the Capitol with green, all of the things about the saving the environment.  And Kathy Castor, who is the Chair of that Committee, said earlier today, she said: ‘Donald McEachin was the heart and soul of that initiative.’

 

[Applause]

 

Because it was predicated on purpose and justice.  And justice.  Inspired by strength – and strengthened by Donald's memory, his memory, that we all have with him, his colleagues in the House are committed to carry on his mission.  

 

Donald McEachin was a patriot: family, faith, America.  He was a patriot.  In the State Capitol and in the halls of Congress, he was a true patriot, who fought to advance justice for the oppressed, justice in every aspect of our big opportunity for the downtrodden and a brighter future for our planet and our children.  He was always working, as a patriot, for a more perfect union.

 

Personally, it was my great privilege to see firsthand Donald's work to ‘bring good news.’  I campaigned with him too, when he was running the first time.  He invited me to Richmond to have a panel on saving the planet.  He saw that as a health issue For The Children: clean air, clean water, as I mentioned, that has been mentioned.  He saw it as an infrastructure issue, in terms of how we build things, in a saving-the-planet way.  And also, by having inclusiveness and diversity in making those decisions, because the justice was not about building a highway to divide a community, but taking one down to unite a community.

 

[Applause]

 

After he was elected, right away on his agenda, again, we gathered in Northern Virginia, at that time in Northern Virginia, where he gathered some of the Virginia colleagues and led the way on that issue.  So he had been central – he saw it as justice, he saw it as jobs, he saw it as faith, he saw it as an opportunity for inclusiveness, and to have a leader in the African-American community be in the forefront of the environmental movement was such a big step forward.  

 

[Applause]

 

So it means bringing good news in many other ways: combating gun violence, so important, defending the Affordable Care Act, widening Virginia’s path to prosperity.  Loved his State, loved his District.  He bragged about it all the time, as we – knowing that Donald's family was important to him, and so was his patriotism.  So on behalf of the Congress, as I mentioned earlier to some of you, I brought to the McEachins flags that were flown over the Capitol when we got news of his passing.  It was so sudden, what could we do?  Lower the flags at the Capitol, and I've brought them today.  And it's so fitting that Donald is lying there covered by the American flag.  

 

[Applause]

 

I mentioned the Capitol.  It’s where he served, and my colleagues will know that this is so, but I want you to know as well.  Since we got word, again, we lowered the flags.  And the President lowered them in an even bigger sense throughout the federal world, and ours was the Capitol.  But in the Capitol, as soon as we got there – Donald sat in a particular place.  Mr. Butterfield knows that, but other Members know that too.  He had a certain place where sat.  I mean, you don’t have to, you can sit wherever you want.  But he sat where he sat.  So we have a big bouquet of white flowers in that place ever since he left us, and they just keep thriving.  But if you could see, we have a large contingent here, but if you could see the number of Members from both sides of the aisle who go there to pay their respects, on the Floor of the House to Donald McEachin.  

 

[Applause]

 

It’s similar to what was happening when he was sitting there.  People would go there to hear what he had to say, because he was a person with vision, person with knowledge, person with a plan to get things done.  And he was – he attracted people to him to learn or to, to take advantage of his values, his knowledge and, from time to time, his humor.  From time to time.  Sometimes intended, sometimes interpreted that way.

 

[Laughter]

 

But anyway, I just want you to know that the Congress – he wasn't there that long, actually, says I who’s been there 35 years, and he’s there six.  But he made such an impression.  He made his mark from the first day he was there.  And the mark he made is something that will be an inspiration to us forever, forever.  So it is with sadness, of course, shock to get the news.  I told Colette – when we first spoke – I said he was calling me last week, he was texting me last week about things he wanted to see done.  Right up until the end.  And Colette said to me – she said his desire to fight For The People is what kept him going right until the end.  And she gave me permission to share that with you.  

 

[Applause]

 

Those of us who love our colleague, John Lewis – and you see his picture with John Lewis in the program – know that Donald McEachin shared the view that many of us share – John Lewis had a big audience for – that there's a spark of divinity in every person.  We all have it in ourselves, so we should act accordingly.  And we should see it in everyone else and be respectful of that.  And again, a call to justice.  His selflessness was because of his spark of divinity and his spark amidst the difficult, unprecedented times in which he served.  We know that he was courageous in his own physical challenges and the rest.  

 

As we celebrate Congressman McEachin, let us honor him by embracing his same passion and working to ‘bring good news,’ as he quoted Jesus.  Bring good news to all.  I hope it's a comfort to you – to you, Colette, to Mac, to Briana, to Alexandra, to your whole family that so many people mourn your loss, are praying for you at this time across the Commonwealth, of course, across America, certainly in the Congress.  So many mourn with you at this sad time.  Since we're in a Baptist church, I want to say: may he rest in peace.  Amen.

 

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