Congresswoman Barbara Lee Makes Statement on Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai's Passing
Contact: Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-1882
Washington, D.C.– Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) released the following statement upon learning of the death of Professor Wangari Maathai:
“It is with a heavy heart that I received the news of Professor Maathai’s passing. I send my sincere condolences to her family and loved ones. Professor Maathai’s inspirational work was built on the simple act of planting a tree, an act repeated over forty million times since Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977.
“I was pleased to have the opportunity to plant a Golden Rain Tree with her on the Capitol Grounds at an event I organized in 2005 along with the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Architect of the Capitol. It was the first tree ever planted on the Capitol grounds in honor of an African woman or a Nobel Laureate.
“Her Nobel Peace Prize, the first awarded to an African woman, was well deserved for her outstanding contributions to a sustainable, peaceful, and democratic Africa.
“Beyond the Nobel Prize and many prestigious awards, Professor Maathai’s greatest legacy will be the tens of millions of lives she has impacted and will continue to touch long after today due to her critical work empowering women, strengthening democracy, and working on behalf of Africa’s most impoverished communities.”
###
Follow Barbara Lee on Twitter @RepBarbaraLee