Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Virgin Islands for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the committee for its consideration in support of H.R. 4890 as well as thank all the members of the Maryland delegation for their steadfast support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4890, which designates the post office at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District the Wayne K. Curry Post Office in honor of our late county executive.

Wayne Keith Curry was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in a racially segregated neighborhood in Cheverly, Maryland. His family was among the first non-White families to integrate the community in the early 1950s. He and his older brother were the first African American students to integrate Cheverly Tuxedo Elementary School and then Bladensburg High School.

Wayne began his career in public service in the administration of Prince George's County Executive Winfield Kelly, Jr., from 1975 to 1978. Through his vision, devotion, and tireless work ethic to make a better Prince George's County, he quickly rose through the ranks of county government.

He went on to serve in various roles, including community affairs assistant, administrative assistant to the county's chief administrative officer, and senior assistant to the executive.

Mr. Curry commuted nightly to Baltimore, eventually graduating with honors from the University of Maryland Law School, receiving his juris doctorate in 1980.

From 1980 until 1983, Wayne worked as counsel for a large real estate development company in Prince George's County, and later decided to start his own law practice in 1984. During this time, he served as general counsel for Dimensions Health Corporation, among other high- profile clients.

Although he was a partner at a lucrative law firm, public service had a strong grasp on his heart. He served as chairman of the United Way Campaign of Prince George's County, president of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the School Superintendent's Advisory Committee on Black Male Achievement, and chairman of the Prince George's County Substance Abuse Advisory Board.

When the opportunity presented itself, he ran for Prince George's County executive in 1994. Running as the underdog, he ultimately prevailed. He made history when he became the first African American to serve in the county's highest elected office.

He brought a renewed vitality to the office and focused his administration on the economic empowerment of his constituents.

The transformation of Prince George's Count reflected Wayne Curry's own life from a sleepy southern hollow that was rural and all White to a large African American majority and increasingly cosmopolitan.

County Executive Curry presided over a period of unprecedented population growth, development, and modernization of Prince George's County and making it the national standard of African American success in local governance. Under Wayne's leadership, Prince George's County became the first county in our history where education and income levels rose as it transitioned from majority White to majority African American.

His business-friendly approach led Prince George's County through a severe financial crisis, the end of court-mandated bussing, the construction of 26 new schools and a new stadium for the Washington Redskins.

He saw the county go from a deficit of $108 million to enjoying a $120 million surplus, protecting the county's AAA bond rating.

County Executive Wayne K. Curry passed away on July 2, 2014, at the age of 63 after losing his battle to lung cancer. He is survived by his wife, Sheila Curry; his son, Julian Curry; and daughter, Taylor Curry.

Wayne Curry never sought to make history, but simply to serve the community and the people and to better their lives. He was always about the future and getting it right.

Wayne K. Curry will live on through his historical impact on the people that I represent, and this bill will honor the vision, contribution, and legacy of the iconic Wayne K. Curry and will be a daily remainder in the heart of the county he cared so deeply about.

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