[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   JOHN LEWIS AND THE FREEDOM RIDERS

  (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend my friend and colleague 
John Lewis for the special order he organized last night on the 30th 
anniversary of freedom summer.
  ``Hero'' is a term that is often used too lavishly in political 
arenas. Everyone from sports stars to cartoon characters are called 
heroes on the floor. But John Lewis and the freedom riders are true 
American heroes. The courage to find peaceful methods, to stand with 
conviction in the face of overwhelming forces, and to accept violence 
and punishment as the price for exposing bigotry is by any definition 
heroism.
  Today we take for granted the notion that there are legal protections 
against racial discrimination. Those protections were passed on this 
floor only after John Lewis and others demonstrated what the lack of 
those protections meant.
  In this era of tremendous cynicism about Congress, it is heartening 
to know that John Lewis serves as a Member of this body. Thirty years 
ago, John stood up by sitting down. It says something special about 
Georgia's Fifth District and the country as a whole that he now works 
to enhance the laws that he helped create.

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