The U.S. House of Representatives last week honored Arkansas political giant Dale Bumpers, whose memorial service is today in Little Rock.
Two Arkansas lawmakers gave speeches eulogizing the former governor and U.S. senator, considered one of the state's most famous stump speakers and storytellers. Bumpers, 90, died on New Year's Day.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, read a short tribute to Bumpers, who was a Democrat. As he spoke, Reps. Steve Womack of Rogers and Rick Crawford of Jonesboro, both also Republicans, stood quietly and somberly beside him, with their hands clasped in front of them.
The Arkansas delegation, Hill said, had risen "to pay tribute to a dedicated public servant, an exceptional orator and a distinguished son of Arkansas."
During his two-minute speech, Hill listed Bumpers' educational background (degrees from the University of Arkansas and Northwestern University), his World War II military service and his role in desegregating a western Arkansas school district shortly after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
"Listed as his proudest achievement, the Charleston School District was the first ... in the [former] Confederacy to desegregate," Hill said.
He noted Bumpers' 1970 election victory over Orval Faubus, who was governor during the Little Rock Crisis of 1957, in which Central High School was ultimately desegregated.
"Nicknamed by The New York Times as 'The Giant Killer,' Sen. Bumpers emerged as the dark-horse candidate to defeat longtime former Gov. Orval Faubus in 1970," Hill said.
Hill also praised Bumpers for helping pass the Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984, designating tens of thousands of acres in the Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis national forests as wilderness areas.
Noting the date of Bumpers' memorial service in Little Rock, Hill requested a moment of silence "to honor this Arkansas leader, public servant and elder statesman."
The House fell silent for 20 seconds while congressmen and staff members bowed their heads.
There weren't any Democrats from Arkansas on hand to eulogize Bumpers. The state's congressional delegation consists of all Republicans now.
Arkansas' 4th District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman had planned to join his fellow Arkansans on the House floor, but he was in a meeting that ran long.
On Thursday, the Republican from Hot Springs delivered brief remarks of his own.
"Since he's from Charleston and the 4th District, I really wanted to do a personal tribute to him anyhow," Westerman said afterward.
In his speech, Westerman noted the Charleston Public School District's "powerhouse football program" and its "stellar graduates," as well as its groundbreaking moves to end segregation.
Calling Bumpers "a giant in the political world," Westerman said the late senator "had a servant's heart," adding: "His decades of public service were about serving others, not prestige or power."
Moments after leaving the House floor, Westerman said there is bipartisan respect for Bumpers. "Obviously our politics probably weren't the same, but you have to appreciate his career and his service and the things he's done," the congressman said. "I think he was a statesman, and I think he worked hard for what he thought was in the best interest of Arkansas."
Similar homage wasn't possible in the U.S. Senate; it didn't meet last week.
Today's private memorial service for family, friends and colleagues is at 2:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Little Rock. Another service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church in Charleston.
Metro on 01/10/2016