[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          A CALL TO COMMUNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Chrysler] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CHRYSLER. Mr. Speaker, a call to the community. An honest 
conversation on race, reconciliation, and responsibility. At the close 
of the 20th century, the toxic issue of race confronts society 
everywhere. It is at the core of the crisis facing American cities. 
This working document in its final form will be offered to the American 
people by political, business, religious, artistic, academic, and 
community leaders representing a broad spectrum of opinion. The aim is 
to rally all Americans around a vision of community that transcends our 
divisions.
  Mr. Speaker, America is at a crossroads. One road leads to community; 
the other to the chaos of competing identities and interests. We have 
all hurt one another, often unconsciously, in ways we would never 
intend. We need each other. We need to eradicate the scourge of racial 
division. We must demonstrate that our diversity is our greatest 
strength and that out of this diversity is rising a new American 
community. We can offer hope to a world torn by divisions of every 
kind.
  We invite every citizen to join us in a renewed commitment to an 
American community based on justice, reconciliation and excellence. The 
original promise of this country, that out of a rich diversity of 
peoples a great nation would rise, has only partially been fulfilled. 
This unique experiment remains incomplete because the promise of equal 
opportunity and dignity for all has not been fully realized. Much of 
the distrust, resentment and fear in America today is rooted in our 
unacknowledged and unhealed racial history.
  For many of us, race determines where we live, where we send our 
children to school and where we worship. Because racism is deeply 
embedded in the institutions of our society, individuals are often 
insulated from making personal decisions based on conscious racial 
feelings and do not experience the daily burden that their brothers and 
sisters of color have to carry. We must change the structures which 
perpetuate economic and racial separation. But no unseen hand can wipe 
prejudice away. The ultimate answer to the racial problem lies in our 
willingness to obey the unenforceable.
  The new American community will flow from a spirit of giving freely 
without demanding anything in return. In the new American community, 
when any one individual is injured, exploited or demeaned, all of us 
will feel the pain and be diminished. It will be a place where hearts 
can put down roots and where each feels accepted and at home. Some 
painful memories cannot be erased. But forgiving is not forgetting; it 
is letting go of the hurt.
  To build this new American community, we must empower individuals to 
take charge of their lives and take care of their communities. In 
cities across America, bold experiments are taking place. Citizens have 
initiated honest conversations--between people of all backgrounds--on 
matters of race, reconciliation and responsibility. They have chosen to 
move beyond blame and guilt, beyond hatred and fear, deciding to face 
the past with courage and honesty. They are demonstrating that through 
honesty, a willingness to embrace each other's painful experiences, and 
with God's power to change us, the wounds of the past can be healed and 
our Nation become one community.
  This approach calls us to a new concept of partnership and 
responsibility. It means: Listening carefully and respectfully to each 
other and to the whole community; bringing people together, not in 
confrontation but in trust, to tackle the most urgent needs of the 
community; searching for solutions, focussing on what is right rather 
than who is right; building lasting relationships outside our comfort 
zone; honoring each person, appealing to the best qualities in 
everyone, and refusing to stereotype the other group; holding 
ourselves, communities and institutions accountable in areas where 
change is needed; and recognizing that the energy for fundamental 
change requires a moral and spiritual transformation in the human 
spirit.

                          ____________________