The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING GARY NATIVE AND OSCAR WINNER MIA NEAL
______
HON. FRANK J. MRVAN
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Friday, May 14, 2021
Mr. MRVAN. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I congratulate Gary, Indiana, native Mia Neal, and celebrate her noteworthy achievement of winning an Oscar at the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony on April 25, 2021. Presented with the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for her work in the film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Mia, along with Jamika Wilson, have become the first African American women to win in this category. For this historic and extraordinary accomplishment, Mia is worthy of the highest praise.
Mia attended Horace Mann High School in Gary, where she participated in theater and was a member of the school's talented dance troop. After graduating in 1997, Mia's interest in hairstyling and makeup blossomed as she attended Merrillville Beauty College and Columbia College in Chicago before enrolling at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from Jackson State University, Mia completed a Professional Internship for Wigs and Makeup at the famed Juilliard School in New York City where she honed her craft. After completing her studies, Mia remained in New York and has amassed an impressive career in her field, designing hair and makeup for many stage productions and feature films.
While Mia has certainly had a successful career, her greatest accomplishment is being a mother to her son, James G. Deacon. Mia is daughter of Dena Holland Neal, a longtime active community member in Gary and Pastor at Peace United Church in Merrillville, Indiana, and the sister of Nia and Thamian Neal, as well as the cherished aunt of DeWayne, Jordan, and Karren. Mia's grandparents, James and Dorothy Holland, also hold deep roots in Gary. James taught at Roosevelt High School for more than fifteen years and served as Gary's first Deputy Mayor from 1976 to 1988.
Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me in recognizing Mia Neal on her historic Oscar award and congratulate her for this outstanding accomplishment. She has made her family, the entire Gary community, and all of Northwest Indiana so very proud.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 84
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