 |  | "You have elected not a black man to be Speaker of the House of Representatives, but, more importantly, you have elected a man who happens to be black, and that is the direction that this country must continue to go. We must... search out the individual values in men and women and let the residual ones -- such as how tall or short, how light or dark, how quite or how articulate, how educated or not the person -- be relegated to secondary consideration"
-- Acknowledgement Speech, May 23, 1977 |
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When K. Leroy Irvis was first selected to be Majority Leader in 1969, his colleagues, as well as himself, had no idea their choice was the first riveter, steel chipper, wood-carver, and poet in the nation to be elected to such high office. Eight years later, he became the first Speaker of African-American heritage in the nation. Speaker Irvis went on to make his mark in the annals of the Commonwealth. He was Speaker for almost eight years, longer than anyone else since 1774, when Pennsylvania was a colony. He was in leadership for 26 years, including seven as Majority Leader and four as Minority Leader, the longest such tenures in House history. During his three decades of active service, he sponsored more than 875 bills, and a record 264 became law. His broad interests covered advances in education, civil rights, human services, health, mental illness, governmental administration, justice, and housing. "The soul of this House," a Republican opponent once called him. A member of his own caucus exclaimed, "He has helped to raise the art of politics to that of an honorable profession." By instinct a modern "Great Commoner," Irvis found the House of Representatives to be the natural habitat for his abilities and aspirations. Irvis' qualities came from his life experiences as a wage earner, high school teacher, World War II civilian attaché, Urban League secretary, assistant district attorney, family man, and public citizen. He has numerous talents, but perhaps two stand out above the others - his dazzling oratory and his respect for all persons, even when he disagrees with them. "I feel blessed in many ways that I am able to disagree with a man or woman without disliking him or her. There is no one in the Hall of the House to whom I will not talk and to whom I will not listen. . . I will talk and I will listen and I will learn." Speaker Irvis was a friend to all Pennsylvanians and a compatriot to his colleagues. His words had the resonance of the poet and the prophet, whether he was commending in good cheer, or was admonishing in deep concern. Speaker Irvis was a profound believer in the "American Dream." In 1975, he told fellow Pennsylvanians that "We need to rekindle our love of liberty and our confidence on our political system. Our institutions will face their greatest test in our third century. Let this be the century in which we demonstrate that we are truly people of plenty and that our plenty is of the spirit." Before he retired as Speaker, Temple University published 58 of his poems in a volume entitled This Land of Fire. The concluding poem, "Daisies," has only 12 simple words but its concept is eternal: "Quickly gone/And/Soon forgotten/So it is/With men/And/Daisies." In his farewell remarks made on the House floor on November 29, 1988, Speaker Irvis praised the General Assembly as "the most wonderful invention on earth, a parliament... (in which) all of us have a voice." He concluded with a mere four-word description of the House of Representatives, often used since as its unofficial motto: "Through us they speak." |