[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E464-E465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                             BLACK HISTORY

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 1995
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, for the last 14 years, I have been the proud 
sponsor of an Annual Congressional Black History Month Breakfast. Each 
year, it has been a privilege to hear the remarks of many distinguished 
guest speakers and this morning was no exception. The honored speaker 
for this year's breakfast was the Honorable Eric Holder, U.S. attorney 
for the District of Columbia. I found Mr. Holder's remarks insightful, 
thought provoking, and timely. Therefore, I am proud to submit his 
statement for the Record.
                          Black History Speech

                            (By Eric Holder)

       In discussing black history we must always be cognizant of 
     its continuing nature and we are obligated to assess where 
     black America stands at the time of that discussion. Though I 
     would like to talk today about the concept of, and importance 
     of, black history I would also like to discuss the black 
     present. The past and the present are inextricably bound and 
     to understand either, one must comprehend both. History 
     should be used as a tool in trying to understand a present 
     that seems at times to be frightening and illogical. It is my 
     belief that the seeds of our inner cities present distress 
     are found in the manner in which this nation has dealt with 
     its black population over the years. But we must also 
     acknowledge that this same population has done much in recent 
     years to contribute to its present negative condition. The 
     study of black history is a means by which we can understand 
     and plan for a better black future. To look forward one must 
     also look back.
       Let me start with the present. Black America today stands 
     at a crossroads. A valiant past filled with courage and 
     struggle is being replaced with a present replete with 
     irresponsible behavior and an almost passive acceptance of 
     negative actions in general and of violence in particular. 
     Black Americans, like too many others in our society, have 
     become all too willing to blame others for their situation. 
     It is definitely true that government has not done all that 
     it could, or should, have done in the recent past. But a 
     study of black history indicates that we have frequently had 
     to deal with governmental indifference or outright hostility. 
     This did not stop our striving in the past, cannot be used an 
     excuse in the present, and must not inhibit our growth as a 
     people in the future. We black Americans must commit 
     ourselves to responsible behavior and do all that we can to 
     retard the growth of the culture of violence that so grips 
     many of our communities.
       It is time for black America to come to grips with the 
     crime and violence problem that destroys so many promising, 
     young black lives. Put quite simply, it is time for black 
     people to begin to identify with, and work with, the forces 
     that are fighting to make our streets safe.
      The preoccupation with criminal defendants and the abject 
     neglect of criminal victims is in some ways a moral 
     indictment of our community. This concern was 
     understandable in a past where people of color were 
     systemically, routinely and legally denied the rights to 
     which they were obviously entitled. But in a present where 
     at least the legal impediments to equality have been 
     largely erased, such concerns are largely misplaced. I am 
     not naive, however. Black people must be ever vigilant to 
     insure that all of our people, criminal defendants 
     included, are always treated in the same constitutional 
     manner as all other Americans. But for too long we have 
     sought to excuse that which we know to be wrong and in the 
     process have ignored the real pain suffered by members of 
     our own community. The overwhelming majority of crime 
     committed by black defendants is directed at other black 
     people. Over 90% of the nation's black homicide victims, 
     for example, were killed by other black people. This is 
     truly a sad part of black history but is an aspect of our 
     existence in this country that must be explored and 
     honestly discussed if the next chapters in our story are 
     to be filled with hope and progress.
       We must also strive to curb other voluntary conduct that 
     threatens the very existence of our people. The plagues of 
     AIDS and unwed births that so affect the black community, for 
     example, are the products of irresponsible sexual conduct. 
     Because this conduct is voluntary it can, and should, be 
     rather easily controlled. I understand that in things sexual 
     and personal we must tread lightly but is it not painfully 
     clear that by being just a little more responsible these 
     problems could be cured? We must insure that we do all we can 
     to reduce the rate of black unwed births in our nation that 
     now stands at 67%--two out of every three black babies are 
     born into this condition. In some parts of Washington that 
     figure rises to over 80%--four out of every five babies. This 
     plague tears at the fabric that has traditionally bound us 
     together. It inhibits the development of the black community 
     by stunting the growth of both the mother and the child 
     itself. A recent study showed that women who became mothers 
     when they were married, over 21 and high school graduates 
     gave birth to children who lived in poverty about 10% of the 
     time. By contrast, women who were under 21, high school 
     dropouts and not married gave birth to children 79% of whom 
     lived in poverty. There is little dispute that there is a 
     direct line between poverty and the social problems that so 
     bedevil us. As you can see, at least a part of the poverty 
     problem is self inflicted and could be controlled by self 
     restraint.
       In the current discussion about unwed births, welfare 
     reform and values we too frequently focus on women as if they 
     created children without the assistance of men. We must never 
     stigmatize the women in our community who valiantly struggle 
     against great odds to raise good kids and we must always love 
     all of our children whatever the marital status of their 
     parents. But we must recognize that this is a problem. And we 
     must acknowledge the irresponsibility of men in this 
     situation. When I was a judge at the District of Columbia 
     Superior Court it was striking to me to find that virtually 
     every young man who came before me in a criminal case did not 
     have a man who was meaningfully involved in his life. As the 
     United States Attorney for this city I have been struck by 
     the way in which children have responded to the men in our 
     office, both black and white, in our outreach efforts. We 
     have programs with elementary schools in the city and it is 
     in some ways sad to see our youngsters, black youngsters, 
     cling to the men in my office for the support and guidance 
     they should be receiving from their fathers at home. In any 
     discussion of our situation we must
      focus more on absentee fathers. We cannot hope to have our 
     young boys grow up to be good men without role models to 
     emulate. And the best role model is not an athlete, not an 
     entertainer and not a United States Attorney. The best 
     role model is a father at home who devotes himself to the 
     child he has brought into the world. An army of these kind 
     of fathers would probably do more to cure our social 
     problems than all the government programs we might ever 
     devise. We must somehow force the concept of family back 
     into the consciousness of the men who are now too willing 
     to create children but not willing to help raise them.
       Moving from a partial examination of the black present to a 
     look into the black past one finds that the history of black 
     America and the history of this nation are inextricably tied 
     to each other. It is for this reason that the study of black 
     history is important to everyone-black or white. For example, 
     the history of the United States in the nineteenth century 
     revolves around a resolution of the question of how America 
     was going to deal with its black inhabitants. The great 
     debates of that era and the war that was ultimately fought 
     are all centered around the issue of, initially, slavery and 
     then the reconstruction of the vanquished region. A dominant 
     domestic issue throughout the twentieth century has been, 
     again, America's treatment of its black citizens. The civil 
     rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's changed America in 
     truly fundamental ways. Americans of all colors were forced 
     to examine basic beliefs and long held views. Even so, most 
     people, who are not conversant with history, still do not 
     really comprehend the way in which that movement transformed 
     America. In racial terms the country that existed before the 
     civil rights struggle is almost unrecognizable to us today. 
     Separate public facilities, separate entrances, poll taxes, 
     legal discrimination, in essence an American apartheid, all 
     were part of an America that the movement destroyed.
       In addition, the other major social movements of the latter 
     half of this century-feminism, the nation's treatment of 
     other minority groups, even the anti-war effort are all tied 
     in some way to the spirit that was set free by the civil 
     rights movement. Those other movements may have occurred in 
     the absence of the civil rights struggle but the fight for 
     black equality came first and helped to shape the way in 
     which other groups of people came to think of themselves and 
     to raise their desire for equal treatment. Further, many of 
     the tactics that were used by these other groups were 
     developed in the civil rights movement.
       And today the link between the black experience and this 
     country is still evident. While the problems that presently 
     afflict the 
     [[Page E465]] black community may be more severe, they are an 
     indication of where the rest of the nation may be if 
     corrective measures are not quickly taken. For example, the 
     rate of white unwed births has risen dramatically in recent 
     years, continues to rise and now stands at almost 30%. The 
     level of violence now found in once quiet suburbs is alarming 
     and further demonstrates that our past, present and future 
     are linked. It is not safe for this nation to assume that 
     unaddressed social problems in the poorest parts of our 
     country will not ultimately affect the larger society.
       Black history is extremely important because it is American 
     history. Given this, it is in some ways sad that there is a 
     need for a black history month. Though we are all enlarged by 
     our study and knowledge of the roles played by blacks in 
     American history, and though there is a crying need for all 
     of us to know and acknowledge the contributions of black 
     America, a black
      history month is a testament to the problem that has 
     afflicted blacks throughout our stay in this country. 
     Black history is given a separate and clearly not equal 
     treatment by our society in general and by our educational 
     institutions in particular. [It is only given a month (the 
     only month with 28 days!) of recognition.] As a former 
     American history major I am struck by the fact that such a 
     major part of our national story has been divorced from 
     the whole. In law, culture, science, sports, industry and 
     other fields, knowledge of the rules played by blacks is 
     critical to an understanding of the American experiment. 
     For too long we have been too willing to segregate the 
     study of black history. There is clearly a need at present 
     for a device that focuses the attention of the country on 
     the study of the history of its black citizens. But we 
     must endeavor to integrate black history into our culture 
     and into our curriculums in ways in which it has never 
     occurred before so that the study of black history, and a 
     recognition of the contributions of black Americans, 
     become commonplace. Until that time, Black History Month 
     must remain an important, vital concept. But we have to 
     recognize that until black history is included in the 
     standard curriculum in our schools and becomes a regular 
     part of all our lives, it will be viewed as a novelty, 
     relatively unimportant and not as weighty as so called 
     ``real'' American history.
       I was invited to speak to you today because some consider 
     me, the first black person to be named United States Attorney 
     for the District of Columbia, a part of black history. We do 
     a great disservice to the concept of black history 
     recognition if we do not acknowledge that my appointment 
     cannot be viewed in isolation. I stand on the shoulders of 
     many other black Americans, all of whom should be widely 
     known to all Americans: admittedly, the identities of some of 
     these people, through the passage of time, have become lost 
     to us--the men, and women, who labored long in fields, who 
     were later legally and systemically discriminated against, 
     who were lynched by the hundreds in this century and those 
     others who have been too long denied the fruits of our great 
     American culture. But the names of others of these people 
     should strike a resonant chord in the historical ear of all 
     in our nation: Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Walter 
     White, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, 
     Malcolm X, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Paul Robeson, Ralph 
     Ellison, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Ralph 
     Bunche, Rosa Parks, Marion Anderson, Emmit Till. These are 
     just some of the people who should be generally recognized 
     and are just some of the people to whom all of us, black and 
     white, owe such a debt of gratitude. It is on the broad 
     shoulders that I stand as I hope that others will some day 
     stand on my more narrow ones.
       Black history is a subject worthy of study by all 
     Americans. To truly comprehend this country you must have 
     knowledge of its constituent parts. Black Americans have 
     played a pivotal role in the development of this nation. 
     Perhaps the greatest strength of the United States is the 
     diversity of its people. But an unstudied or misunderstood 
     diversity can become a divisive force. An appreciation of the 
     unique black past, acquired through the study of black 
     history, will help lead to understanding and compassion in 
     the present, where it is so sorely needed, and to a future 
     where all of our people are truly valued.
     

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