[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 21, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E389]]
 AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH: MARKING A CENTURY OF ACHIEVEMENT AND 
                                STRUGGLE

                                 ______


                         HON. WILLIAM J. COYNE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 21, 1995
  Mr. COYNE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join in this year's 
celebration of African-American History Month which provides an 
opportunity to consider the theme of ``Reflections on 1895: Douglass, 
DuBois, Washington.''
  The 100 years since 1895 have been marked by some of the greatest 
advancements in the struggle for civil rights for the African-American 
community. An ability to look into the past reveals clear markers of 
significant progress in the status of African-American within the 
political, economic, and cultural life of the United States. A review 
of our Nation's past also leads us to identify certain heroic 
individuals who made a unique and lasting contribution to the great 
march forward toward equal rights for all Americans, regardless of 
color.
  Individuals like Frederick Douglass, William Edward Burghardt DuBois, 
and Booker T. Washington are clearly outstanding heroic figures in the 
struggle for African-American dignity. What is less clear to many 
Americans is the fact that their lives were characterized by both 
triumphs and setbacks. The great strides they made on behalf of 
African-American civil rights did not always follow straight lines.
  What is important to stress, however, is the fact that these three 
great African-Americans remain focused with their ``eyes on the prize'' 
even during periods of great challenge. The example they provide of 
commitment and perseverance is one that should continue to inspire 
African-Americans and Americans of all colors who are dedicated to the 
idea of equality.
  The year 1895 marked a period of reconstruction and reaction in our 
Nation's history when African-Americans faced new oppression and 
violence. Hopes for the attainment of African-American civil and 
economic rights were being shattered by a resurgent racism no longer 
constrained by leadership from the Federal Government. An environment 
of violent oppression existed which was characterized by nightriders 
and lynchings. Legalized oppression took the form of poll taxes and Jim 
Crow segregation laws. Efforts by white political groups to deny 
African-Americans their civil rights would be given the sanction of the 
U.S. Supreme Court 1 year later in the 1896 Plessy versus Ferguson 
decision upholding the principle of separate but equal.
  The year 1895 also marked the passing of Frederick Douglass who was 
an outstanding leader of the highest rank in the abolitionist movement. 
Frederick Douglass, who was born in slavery, dedicated his life to 
ending slavery and then securing the
 full legal rights of freed African-Americans. He confronted the 
harshest reality of his time--a brutal and dehumanizing slave system--
with an unending commitment to winning freedom for all African-
Americans.

  Frederick Douglass was a man of his time but he was not constrained 
by the attitudes and expectations of his time. He spoke boldly in the 
cause of abolition to both Presidents and slaveowners. He challenged 
all Americans to stand by the promises made with adoption of the 13th, 
14th, and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Frederick Douglass 
passed away in 1895 after a long lifetime in which he could still see 
both uncorrected injustices and signs of dramatic progress.
  W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington both benefited from the legacy 
of Frederick Douglass but would make their own distinct contributions 
to African-American history. W.E.B. DuBois chose to take up the 
challenge of securing full political rights that had been left behind 
by Frederick Douglass. Booker T. Washington advocated setting aside 
political rights as a primary agenda so that full attention could be 
focused on achieving economic standing for African-Americans. They 
shared, however, a commitment to addressing the realities faced by 
African-Americans in 1895 and dedicated their lives to changing the 
times in which they lived.
  Booker T. Washington was already well recognized as an African-
American leader and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in 1895 when he 
gave a landmark speech at the Atlanta Exposition. He was an advocate of 
a ruralist agenda for African-Americans that steered clear of political 
activism in favor of economic attainments. Booker T. Washington 
believed that African-Americans could best secure a position in 
American society through industrial education and vocational training. 
While this position was controversial among many African-Americans, 
Booker T. Washington's views were instrumental in shaping relations 
among white Americans and African-Americans in the decades immediately 
following 1895.
  In 1895, W.E.B. DuBois became the first African-American to receive a 
Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He embarked on a lifelong 
commitment to using his writings and public remarks to advance the 
political liberties of fellow African-Americans. His many books and 
articles served to document the violence and injustice experienced by 
African-Americans. This work served to focus attention on the status of 
African-Americans to challenge the injustice of the system in which 
they lived.
  Dr. DuBois emerged as a political leader in the tradition of 
Frederick Douglass and played a central role in the establishment of 
the NAACP. He helped to convince a generation of African-Americans that 
Booker T. Washington's vision of economic sufficiency would not be 
adequate to secure a proper respect for African-Americans as U.S. 
citizens. Dr. DuBois provided a new focus on political action that 
would bear its fruits in the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 
1960's.
  The lives of Douglass, DuBois, and Washington were characterized by 
over 70 years collectively of commitment to the advancement of African-
Americans. The passing of Frederick Douglass in 1895 marked a time when 
succeeding African-American leaders like Washington and DuBois would 
take on in turn the mantle of leadership. these were men who responded 
to political realities and provided the vital leadership necessary to 
create a new realities that advanced the standing of African-Americans 
in our society.
  Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago in 1895, the United States looked to the 
leadership of individuals like Douglass, DuBois, and Washington at a 
time when reaction and retreat characterized the attitude of many white 
Americans toward their fellow African-American citizens. Today, we also 
have leaders in the African-American community who are ready to 
confront the forces of reaction and retreat wherever they may be found. 
The men and women active in the civil rights movement today have a 
right to be proud of the accomplishments of leaders like Douglas, 
DuBois, and Washington.
  It is my hope that African-Americans will also be inspired by the 
example of Douglass, DuBois, and Washington as a new generation 
continues to work for the equality and civil liberties that should be 
available to all Americans.


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