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IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ALVIN SYKES
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HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, it is with sorrow and a heavy heart that I rise today to commemorate the life and legacy of the late Alvin Sykes, who passed away on March 19th. Alvin was a monumental man--one who dedicated his life to seeking truth and justice for those who were long denied it because of the systemic injustice that was so prevalent in the civil rights era. While he was only on this Earth for sixty-four years, the reverberations of his actions will extend for much longer.
Born in 1956, Alvin came of age during the height of the civil rights movement. Following the eighth grade, Alvin left formal education and continued his learning in the libraries of Kansas City, Missouri. As a young man, he was deeply moved by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., solidifying his lifelong commitment to carrying on the banner of civil rights. While it was the death of Dr. King that galvanized Alvin, it was a personal tragedy that entrenched his methodology. In 1980, Steve Harvey, a young KC jazz musician and close friend of Alvin, was murdered. Despite the original trial ending in an acquittal, Alvin dug deep through legal resources and collected enough information to reopen the case. Establishing the Steve Harvey Justice Campaign, Sykes collected thousands of signatures in an effort to demonstrate the public's desire to seek justice. In the end, his hard work paid off. Because of his efforts, the man responsible for Mr. Harvey's murder was found guilty of his crime and sentenced to life in prison. With his first case behind him, Alvin turned his eyes to issues of nationwide injustice. Renaming the Steve Harvey Justice Campaign, the Justice Campaign of America, Alvin and his fellow activists sought to right the wrongs of injustice anywhere that they could find it.
While his work on Mr. Harvey's case was notable in its own right, Alvin found national recognition for the integral role he played in the development and passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. Identifying the legal barriers stymying the prosecution of civil rights era cold cases, he pushed for the creation of a bill that would enable the federal government to reopen and pursue racially motivated, pre-1969 cold cases. As a direct result of the bill's passage, over one hundred cases were reopened and investigated under the U.S. Department of Justice's Cold Case Initiative. Consequent to his actions and passion for justice, over a hundred families across the country have been able to gain some sense of closure where none had been before.
Alvin's work to rectify the shortcomings of the civil rights era justice system did not stop with the passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. In 2010, Alvin was able to reopen the murder case of Leon Jordan, a former Kansas City policeman and cofounder of the city's local, Black political organization known as Freedom, Inc. Equipped with his intimate understanding of the legal system and with newfound evidence, he sought to bring forth justice for Mr. Jordan. While his investigation and efforts into the case did not lead to a prosecution, Alvin did not consider this a failed effort. As he once stated, ``My brand is that I go for the truth and, if possible, justice. That formula hasn't failed me yet. Find the truth. After that, justice may be possible.''
Alvin's lifelong commitment to finding the truth and seeking justice and closure for those whom it had been denied is one that deserves to be memorialized in the annals of history. Without his guiding hand, historic legislation within the state of Missouri and in the halls of Congress may not have been brought into reality. Madam Speaker, please join me in celebrating and honoring the life and accomplishments of Alvin Sykes, a man that was truly larger than life. Let his legacy live on in the closure and peace that his work may still bring to the families that have yet to find answers.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 61
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