Candelaria Reardon honors civil servant and civil rights activist from Northwest Indiana on the House Floor

INDIANAPOLIS – State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon (D-Munster) yesterday honored Richard Morrisroe, a long-time resident of East Chicago, community leader, civil servant and civil rights activist, on the House Floor.

“I am proud to recognize Mr. Morrisroe for his many contributions to Northwest Indiana and our country, he carries with him a passion for learning and community,” said Candelaria Reardon. “From his valiant efforts in Alabama during the civil rights movement to his work in church ministry, city planning and municipal law, as well as higher education, Mr. Morrisroe has servant’s heart.”

In 1965 Mr. Morrisroe joined Dr. Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights Movement in Chicago and, later that year, attended his Southern Christian Leadership Conference. While in Alabama, Mr. Morrisroe was arrested with almost twenty other demonstrators after organizing against economic discrimination. After being released from jail, he was shot in the back outside of a Hayneville, Alabama general store. After extensive surgery and 6 months in the hospital, Mr. Morrisroe lived and worked in church ministry, became a city planner, earned a municipal law degree, worked in higher education and enjoyed family time. Mr. Morrisroe and his wife, Sylvia, and their children, Richard Jonathan and Sioban, have lived in East Chicago for more than 45 years.

To read a copy of the Resolution, click here.