[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1216-H1222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FAREWELL ADDRESS BY KWEISI MFUME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Metcalf). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Mfume] is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, for those Members that are still in their 
offices and others who are watching, this is in fact probably the last 
time that I will come into the well of the House of Representatives to 
address this Chamber and to address the people of the United States in 
this capacity.
  As many of you know, on the 18th of this month, I will conclude my 
service here in the House of Representatives, lay my resignation 
forward, and move from that point on on the 18th into a new capacity, 
that being the President and CEO of the NAACP.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to the well with mixed emotions but I come 
nonetheless because this has been for me a place of partisan wrangling 
and a place quite frankly to make amends. This well is used by Members 
for a number of things, most of which is to talk about their 
legislation, but it also, I think, ought to be a pulpit from which we 
seek to bridge a better understanding of one another, from which we try 
to build coalitions and from which we try to understand not just the 
Members of this Chamber but ourselves differently and also the millions 
upon millions of people throughout the United States who watch on a 
daily basis our actions as Members of this august body.
  I came here, Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago, in the class of 1986. We were 
51 in number and we were a part of what was known then as the historic 
100th Congress, a unique class, I think, in many respects, but a class 
nonetheless that I regret having to depart from as many others have 
before me.

                              {time}  2215

  But those were different days, and in many respects this was a 
different Congress and, indeed, perhaps even this was a different 
Nation.
  I have fond memories of the years that I have served in this 
capacity. I would be remiss if I did not thank the people of Baltimore 
City and Baltimore County that comprise the Seventh Congressional 
District of Maryland for vesting in me year after year both in this 
capacity and previously in a local capacity their trust, their goodwill 
to represent them here in elected office. They have been good to me 
over the years, returning me to office with 84 percent of the vote in a 
day and in an age where there is a great deal of cynicism, when 
totalities are considered landslides if they approach 65 percent. So in 
that respect, I have been blessed.
  I have also been blessed in these 10 years to have an opportunity to 
serve with a number of distinguished Members of the House, many of whom 
are still here, others who have gone on to other careers, and some of 
whom are no longer on this Earth.
  I remember the days of serving with Claude Pepper of Florida, a 
distinguished gentleman who had in his heart of hearts one desire and 
one true commitment, to try to bring about change in this body with 
respect to how we viewed those in the twilight of their lives. I 
listened to Claude Pepper from this well as others did as he continued 
to talk about why we needed catastrophic health care in this country 
and why we ought to understand the treasure chest that we have and the 
repository that we have in our senior citizens, why we had to have a 
sensitivity toward them as we must have a sensitivity toward young 
people.

  I remember Sil Conte of Massachusetts, a Republican who understood 
partisan debate and partisan discourse, but, who at the end of the day, 
recognized that we were all the same people cut in many respects from 
the same cloth and given, if we were lucky, the same challenge in this 
institution to heal and bring us together. Sil Conte passed away many 
years ago also, but it is the memory of him and Claude Pepper that 
reverberate in this Chamber, the memory of Mickey Leland coming from 
Houston, TX, with the desire to represent not only those in his 
district but those around the country who were voiceless and, indeed, 
ultimately those around the world who had no voice who in the end gave 
his life on a mountaintop in Africa trying to feed the hungry and to 
clothe the naked.
  So it has been an interesting 10 years. Having served as I have under 
three Presidents, I have developed at least a different appreciation 
beyond what I learned in the classroom about the relationship between 
the legislative branch and the executive branch of 

[[Page H1217]]
Government. Coming here as I did under Ronald Reagan's administration 
and leaving as I prepare to do now under the administration of Bill 
Clinton, it has for me been enlightening, and it has also been 
humbling.
  Someone asked me today what things do you think about when you think 
about leaving this Chamber, and I said what I will miss most of all are 
the people, those who are here who serve now, those who were here, and 
perhaps even those who are running now in districts around the country 
because they have a desire to come here and to help this institution. I 
would caution those people, wherever they may be, no matter what State 
or region of this country, who seek to serve to remember that service 
has with it a great sense of humility, that these seats before us in 
which we sit day in and day out are not our seats. They belong to the 
people of the district that we represent. They are on temporary loan to 
us, and if we learn nothing else, if we are fortunate enough to get 
here, we must remember that at some point in time, and at some day in 
time we must return those seats to them.
  I think about at this moment many of the major bills that have gone 
through this House in the last 10 years, how we debated in one of the 
more finest hours of this Congress the whole issue of the gulf war, 
whether or not there ought to be an American involvement, and to what 
extent that ought to be, a debate that carried over several days, and I 
think brought out the best of Members of this body on both sides of the 
aisle in a very wrenching issue that 5 years ago confronted us in the 
starkest of ways and one that we were able to come to grips with. I 
remember the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act when people 
in this country with all sorts of disabilities were thought somehow in 
some way to be second-class citizens, and many even thought that they 
had no rights or privileges that the law and this Congress were bound 
to respect, and when Steny Hoyer of Maryland and others got together 
and allowed me to be a part of the sponsorship of that very historic 
piece of legislation, how even then people found problems with it. And 
yet you ask the disabled have their lives changed as a result of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act, and most would say it in fact has.

  I remember in 1990 the desire to deal with what we thought was a 
rather aggressive Supreme Court, a Supreme Court that had turned back a 
number of civil rights cases, for whatever reason had begun moving 
judicially toward the right at a great speed, and how in that year we 
prepared for what was to ultimately be introduced in the next year the 
Civil Rights Act of 1991, and everyone then thought that we would 
either pass this or we would not pass it on the merits of the bill. But 
regrettably the merits got lost in the sauce, and people began to throw 
things on the table that were not here. They spoke of quotas. They 
played the race card. They fanned the fears of everybody in this body 
to the extent that we became as polarized as the problems that we were 
trying to solve. But we worked on that day in and day out, month after 
month. Serving as an original cosponsor and as a conferee, watching as 
we did when the White House vetoed the bill and then working diligently 
because we did not give up to try to come up with something that would 
pass this body, we ultimately did that. It became known as the Civil 
Rights Act of 1991, and also became known as one of this body's most 
shining moments of the last 10 years.
  Some of you recall the 5-year deficit reduction plan spearheaded by 
the Democratic leadership in this instance, ultimately passed by the 
full House that gave us real deficit reduction at a time in our history 
when people talked about it and if you were ready to move forward with 
it.
  I could go on and on about what I consider to be the best moments of 
this body. But let me also talk about those moments that were far from 
the best, and in many instances became the worst, those moments when we 
fought beyond the principle and the power of ideas, when our ideas were 
put aside and put asunder so that we might then in a very emotional and 
gut sort of way deal with things that had nothing to do with the power 
of ideas and nothing to do with the right to object on principle, but 
went to the personal nature of Members of this body, personal attacks 
that not only belittled the person making them but lowered, I think, 
the dignity and the esteem of this body, times when we decided to talk 
about one's orientation or times when we laughed at the fact that one 
was in a minority group or times when we even spoke in a very strange, 
discordant way about what was wrong with the Democratic Party or what 
was wrong with the Republican Party on a personal level; the low points 
of this or any other Congress, those instances when we got out of the 
lofty, privileged, and blessed positions of being Members of Congress 
that would come here and debate the issue and debate the power of ideas 
and to stand on principles, and when we lowered ourselves to make very 
personal and vicious attacks at one another. I know the sort of tense 
debating that takes place in this body. I understand the emotion and 
the passion that comes with it.
  But I would caution those who continue to serve and those who seek to 
serve to remember that the words that are inscribed behind me on this 
desk that speak of tolerance and justice and union and the words above 
me that say ``In God we trust'' must in fact be words that we live by. 
Otherwise, we lose our ability to effectuate the hearts and minds of 
other people and to effect change in such a way that we then have added 
to what we consider to be the lifestyle and the decor and the 
principles of America and instead have detracted from them in a very 
evil and vicious way.
  Now, I need to say just a couple of things, if I might, about staff. 
Obviously my own personal staff who year after year served with me, 
worked with me, believed in me, trusted me, became a family and became 
the kind of staff that I have been very proud of; I had a very, very 
low turnover rate in those 10 years, and I took a great deal of pride 
in that, because I think if you treat people as people, if you let them 
know what is expected of them and you give them goals and objectives 
and you allow them to work toward them, people then give you the 
maximum amount of productivity. People give you everything they have, 
and people in turn feel like people. They feel like they are included. 
I say that about my personal staff.
  But I say it also about the committee staffs that serve this 
institution. Oh, they are significantly reduced from what they used to 
be. Maybe that is good, and maybe it is not so good. But they are still 
people, and they serve every committee of this institution, and they 
serve day in and day out, and they do not get a lot of fanfare or 
notoriety. But we are empowered as Members of Congress, because we have 
their wisdom and because we have their views and because we have what 
they give us in terms of their friendship.
  Finally, it also includes the staff that works this floor. Some of 
you who watched the debate and the discussion on C-SPAN oftentimes will 
get a glimpse of some of the people who work here. Many of you will 
never get to know, however, the special people that they are, because 
they are people with their own unique stories, their own unique 
beliefs. They are Republican and they are Democrat, they come from 
different regions, they are different in many respects, but they serve 
this institution long hours, laboring day in and day out. Oh, they get 
a salary for it, true. But they also do it because they recognize how 
important this institution is, and the function of this institution is 
to the society that we all love and the society that we all come to 
embrace as Americans.
  I have had some partisan battles here like all of us. I leave this 
place not with regrets but with fond memories. I leave it also with an 
understanding of what it takes to find true compromise and what it 
takes also to find true respect. I know that respect is earned, that it 
ought to be reciprocal, but it must first be earned.
  And so I leave to take up the leadership of the National Association 
for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, 87 years old, formed 
in 1909 in an apartment in Manhattan, brought together by a number of 
converging forces in the first decade on this century, not that 
different from converging forces in the last decade of this century.
  Charles Kellogg, in his book that chronicles the first two decades of 
the 

[[Page H1218]]
NAACP writes about those forces when he says it was in fact a retreat 
judicially by a Supreme Court that had begun to render decisions that 
were moving the Negro back and not moving him forward. He spoke also 
about a Congress that was very reactionary in their moment and 
legislated in such a reactionary way that they were polarizing the 
country and not always bringing it together. He spoke about the 
periodicals of the intellectuals that, in their own way and through an 
academic entree, decided to talk about what was in fact wrong with 
people, so that in order for you to justify how you felt, you had now 
the periodicals of the intellectuals that talked about inferiorities 
that were genetic and otherwise, and he also talked about the need 
among the Negroes in this country to find a way to organize, to do the 
best they could to bring the best from them, to add and to contribute 
to the society.
  But when you look at those converging forces that were there in 1909 
in the first decade of this century and you look at the converging 
forces that are here now in 1996 in the last decade of that century, 
the similarities are frightening. There is still a Supreme Court that 
is legislating or, rather, rendering judicial decisions, as was the 
case in 1909, that are making it more difficult, not less difficult, 
for the Negro, as it were, to empower himself or herself and to move 
into the mainstream of American society. They talked about then, and 
there pretty much is today, reactionary forces in the Congress of the 
United States that legislate in such a way that we polarize communities 
too often and polarize people.
  There is, as there was then, the periodicals of the intellectuals. We 
refer to them now as the bell curve. They are the academic entrees that 
talk about inferiority being genetic, thereby giving one the basis to 
legislate accordingly.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. Speaker, and then there is also, as there was then, the need 
among African-Americans to understand that in bringing out the best in 
ourselves, and in working with other people, that we could, in fact, 
and will, contribute mightily to the fabric of the Nation that we all 
have come to love.
  So, because it is the NAACP and because it is the same organization 
that offered the word ``coalition'' in the civil rights struggle and 
meant it, and means it today; because it is still prepared to work with 
all people; because it welcomes the support of Latinos, of like-minded 
whites, of Asians, of Native Americans, of people throughout the 
African diaspora in this country and elsewhere; because it recognizes 
that one must not be measured by their religious beliefs but, rather, 
what they have in their heart and what they bring to the table in the 
spirit of real compromise. That young people, those who were 4 and 5 
and 6 years of age, tonight really represent in a mirror image what 
this Nation will look like 20 years from now and why their fate is so 
desperately sealed to our fate. And because it understands also that as 
a historic American institution, it has a mission and a mandate to do 
all that it can as the NAACP, to once again try to heal our Nation, and 
to bring people together and to forge a new day.
  We focus so much in our society on differences. Our differences of 
race, our differences of religion, our differences of ethnicity, our 
differences of opinion, that so much time is spent on differences that 
we have little time left over to spend on similarities, those ways in 
which we are all alike.
  Everybody in this country believes that, if they could, they would 
like to have a better life for their children than they had. That is a 
very big similarity. Every person in this country wants to believe that 
they can have safe streets and a safe community. They want to think 
they can educate their children. They want to think they can grow old 
and die and watch America be a better nation at the point of their 
death as opposed to the point of their birth. Similarities that cut 
across race and gender and religion and everything else.
  But when we focus on differences only, and focus on them in a 
negative way, we do a disservice. I think cultural differences are 
important. I think every cultural and religious group and ethnic group 
and racial group in this country ought to hold proudly to their 
heritage, ought to find ways and monuments that speak to them and pass 
on those traditions to another generation.

  Those are positive differences that in the aggregate make America 
what she is. But when we focus on differences for the purpose of 
putting people down, and developing inferiorities, when we focus on 
differences to point out what is wrong instead of what is right, we do 
a disservice.
  America at her best has treated such differences with a blend of 
common sense and compassion. America at her worst has treated those 
differences with the empty evenhandedness of Marie Antoinette. And so I 
would say to this Chamber and to all who serve here and in fact those 
who seek to serve, that we have a bigger mission in life because we 
carry a sacred trust. We asked to come to this body. We asked for 
people to vest their votes and their support in us. We asked for the 
opportunity to cast important votes.
  We came here because we asked to be here, and someone heard us in the 
majority and we were elected. But it is a sacred trust, so we are 
responsible for more.
  And as such, we must do more and worry less about whether or not we 
are going to get reelected in 2 years, and worry more about what kind 
of nation we help to build.
  So, I leave this Chamber and this institution to do, as Kipling said, 
and that is to take ``the road less traveled.'' The road less traveled 
is still the road less certain. But in traveling it, if we navigate 
properly, if we understand what our road signs are, if we keep our eyes 
on our objective and on our mission, if we seek to be the good 
Samaritan on the way, and if we believe in our heart of hearts that at 
the end of that road there is a reward not for ourselves but for our 
country, then we do the sort of service that I think we can and must 
provide as people of America, from all walks of life and from all 
religions and races who understand the gift of this country. What makes 
it so very special is the unique way in which we have grappled with our 
problems and, because we are so diverse, we have before us a very 
unique and special history.
  When you read Gibbons, ``Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire'' and 
other empires, there are certain things that are always precursors to 
those declines. Fortunately, every time we have met a precursor in this 
country, whether it was the evil institution of slavery; whether the 
denial of suffrage to women; whether it was the second class 
citizenship to minorities, we have tried to recognize those precursors 
when we met them and to recognize also that, if we did not deal with 
them, then all that led to the decline of other great empires would in 
fact lead to the decline of America.
  I think we can still do that. We can still understand when things are 
wrong. We can still have the courage enough to recognize that the 
salvation of this Union is utmost. And if we are daring enough and 
believing enough both in God We Trust and in ourselves, then we will 
find a way to do that.
  And this Union will be secure and safe for generations still unborn. 
So I bid a fond farewell to the Chamber and to all that I have served 
with. To those who taught me and to those who I have had a chance to 
teach, I shall be back again and again in another capacity. But I shall 
always be forever fond of the 10 years that I have served as a Member 
of the U.S. Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the NAACP is the oldest and 
largest organization of its kind in the world--and it is.
  It is said that it is the most effective of its kind--and it is. It 
said that it is the most consulted, most militant, most feared, and 
most loved organization of its kind in the world--and it is.
  We have been charged with this from the genesis of our beginnings, in 
1909.
  Just a few moments ago we stood, ankle deep in mud in the roadways of 
the Old South, after blacks had trudged through hot fields and dusty 
hills to the ballot box only to be turned away due to the manufactured 
grandfather clauses, literacy clauses and, poll taxes. But we fought 
back.
  In 1915, we stood side-by-side and took the battle back to the white 
marble chamber of the Supreme Court, where those racist tools of 
disenfranchisement were found to be in violation of the Constitution. 
But the battle did not end there.
  Just a few moments ago in history, a black man could not walk down a 
road, could not go 

[[Page H1219]]
into a store, could not go into a courtroom without the threat of a 
noose hanging over his head or a torch being thrust into his life.
  Two years after the NAACP was founded, in a grimy steel town in 
southwestern Pennsylvania, a seriously wounded black man was charged 
with killing a police officer. He never had the chance to prove his 
innocence.
  A mob of people dragged him from his hospital room in Coatesville and 
burned him alive. A conspiracy of silence prevented the mob leaders 
from receiving the justice they deserved. Racism was alive in the 
North.
  On November 14th, 1915, southerners were witness to one of the most 
notoriously racist films of all time: D.W. Griffith's ``Birth of A 
Nation.'' In it, reconstruction was distorted, emancipation was 
assailed, and blacks were reviled. And the heroes of the movie were the 
Ku Klux Klan.
  From 1910 to 1919, 840 African-Americans were lynched in the United 
States of America.
  In a Texas town in May of 1916, a mentally retarded black teenager 
was convicted of murdering a white woman. He would never have a chance 
at an appeal.
  He was seized by a mob and taken to the public square. Before a crowd 
of 15 thousand people, fire and flames were the center of attention in 
what was then called ``the Waco Horror'' as the boy was tortured and 
burned alive.
  When black soldiers were baited and harassed, they in the end would 
pay the harshest penalties. On a hot Houston day in 1917, race 
prejudice against members of the 24th Infantry let to violence. 
Seventeen whites and two blacks were dead when the smoke cleared.
  A court martial sent 41 members of the all-black unit to life in 
jail. Four others were given long prison terms. And 20 of them were 
condemned to death. One-fifth of the condemned men were summarily 
executed without even the benefit of an appeal.
  It was the NAACP that worked long and hard through four presidential 
administrations. Eventually 10 lives were saved, and the last man from 
the 24th Infantry was released from jail--21 years later. The battle 
did not end there.
  In 1919, there was rampant brutality and military occupation of the 
Republic of Haiti. Three thousand citizens there were cut down by 
troops who claimed they were ``bandits.''
  Censorship was rampant, news of the brutalities inflicted by the 
troops on our brothers and sisters there was suppressed. Why? The 
forces occupying Haiti were from the United States of America.
  The NAACP pressured President Wilson. James Weldon Johnson went to 
Haiti and showed the world through his writings what kind of inhumanity 
was being visited upon the people there by the troops sent from the 
nation calling itself the land of the free.
  It was this great organization that helped Haiti create an 
organization for independence, one modeled on our own. When they came 
to New York to lobby for their freedom, the offices they used their 
were the NAACP.

  The NAACP learned early the political game and played presidential 
candidates off presidential incumbents. When Woodrow Wilson wouldn't 
listen to us, Warren Harding would, and then President Wilson sat up 
and took notice.
  Through the actions of the NAACP, the military presence was cut back. 
Through their investigations, the abuses were brought to light. And 
with the continued pressure, American occupation of Haiti was fully 
ended -- almost 20 years later. And the battle did not end there.
  From 1920 to 1927, 304 people were lynched in the United States of 
America.
  The NAACP was issued a challenge to help end lynching by the 
philanthropist Philip Peabody. Peabody would help us help ourselves by 
donating ten-thousand dollars and more if we could match his grant by 
fundraising on our own.
  It was the NAACP, massed and clad in white, that marched silently 
down New York's Fifth Avenue, to protest treatment of African-
Americans.
  Four times anti-lynching laws were introduced and passed in this 
House of Representatives. Four times those laws went down to defeat due 
to stonewalling, filibustering and indifference in the Senate. But 
people paid attention.
  The esteemed and historic magazine of the NAACP, The Crisis was set 
upon by the Department of Justice as radical and seditious. In the end, 
it prevailed, and even flourished.
  In 1929, 10 lynchings were recorded for the year.
  But the battle could not end there.
  Just a few moments ago in history, in the second decade of the 20th 
century, we stood arm-in-arm, as the NAACP took to the hallways of the 
courts of the District of Columbia to fight again. We were denied the 
simple right to ride streetcars as we chose, marry as we chose or be 
promoted within the Armed Forces as we deserved.
  As this historic organization was in its infancy, African=Americans 
were limited within the military to two cavalry regiments and two 
infantry regiments. In many cases the only fighting seen by the rest of 
the blacks in uniform came only when the action got too close to the 
mess tent.
  African-Americans were fighting regularly for the right to become 
commissioned or even non-commissioned officers in the military then, 
with the highest-ranking black officer of the era having been cashiered 
on the grounds of so-called ``physical disability.''
  Later on, the Army was found out. When it was proven that they were 
reluctant to promote Charles Young, a graduate of west Point and the 
highest ranking African-American in the military. It just would not do 
to have a black general in the Army -- heavens no. Only a colonel would 
do, and they felt he could also retire that way, as a colonel.
  It was the NAACP that made sure Charles Young was restored again to 
active duty. But the battle did not end there.
  We had to fight for every inch, we had to fight for every right -- 
even in the military, which nowadays is one of the most integrated 
aspects of American life.
  The Surgeon-General then, William Gorgas, felt what color you were 
determined who you worked on. It mattered not who was sick, who was 
ill, who was dying. Black nurses only nursed black wounds. Black 
dentists only fixed black teeth. Black doctors only saved black lives. 
And black units were still separate--and unequal.
  It was the NAACP in 1931 that organized the defense of the Scottsboro 
Boys who were unjustly accused of rape. And the legal battles 
intensified and this organization sharpened itself and began to come 
into its own.
  In 1938, when the Daughters of the American Revolution denied Diva 
Marian Anderson the use of Constitution Hall, it was once again the 
NAACP who took up the cause an fought for what was just and right.
  In the 1950's, the desegregation battle began to take on a new 
urgency as the NAACP successfully battled against segregated public 
housing. And in 1954, it was the great Thourgood Marshall, who as the 
Director of the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund, fought and 
won that historic Surpreme Court case, Brown versus Board of Education, 
which outlawed once and for all the separate but equal doctrine in 
public education.
  The next year, the NAACP joined with other civil rights groups and 
concerned Americans by taking an active role in the Montgomery, Alabama 
bus boycott. This boycott was initiated after Rosa Parks made her 
valiant stand by refusing to give up her seat for a white passenger.
  As our Nation entered the turbulent 60's, the NAACP was there, front 
and center. In 1963 I remember marching the historic March on 
Washington from our black and white television. We couldn't afford the 
bus trip from Baltimore, but I felt the power nevertheless.
  By 1965 the power of the NAACP had reached a new pinnacle when 
President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. After years of fighting 
for basic equality, the dream was finally becoming real.
  As the needs of the African American community have changed, so has 
this historic, beloved organization. In the 1970's and 80's the NAACP 
tackled educational excellence and established SAT Preparation clinics 
which helped raise the average test scores by 50 points. And the 
organization continues to grow and meet the demands of the day.

  New efforts have been made to attack discrimination through legal and 
legislative means. Child welfare and mentoring programs have taken on a 
new urgency. Economic empowerment programs have been launched to make 
the logical next step in the civil rights movement. And just last month 
in Stone Mountain, Georgia we launched the new Voter Empowerment 
Project, which seeks to energize the electorate from the bottom up. 
This new effort was initiated because of court rulings that have eroded 
the Voting Rights Act.

[[Page H1220]]

  Some of our gravest crises have come from within. This was an 
organization born of wealthy white liberals, nurtured by newspapers and 
brought into its own by the black intelligentsia.
  Booker T. Washington had honest differences of opinion with W.E.B. 
DuBois at the start of this organization. Washington's Niagara Movement 
was in open disagreement with the new association tasked with the 
advancement of our peoples. It continued until Washington was dead, and 
debate and differences continue even now.
  W.E.B. DuBois differed with Walter White over the future of the NAACP 
and the finances necessary to run it. It continued until DuBois 
resigned.
  How little times change.
  It is time we stand up to say again--``The battle begins here.''
  Where once it was poll taxes and literacy tests, now it is cries of 
reverse discrimination and a roll back of voting rights.
  When we once were subject to the noose and the torch, we are now 
plagued by the pipe and the needle and crimes against each other.
  Where once our mother and sister countries of Africa and Haiti were 
run through by colonization and occupation, so they are now by 
militarization and discrimination.
  We were not monolithic then, nor are we now. We have different 
agendas, we follow different drummers, we have differing destinies. But 
all of them are intertwined with who we are.
  If we cannot remind ourselves of the challenges overcome in the past, 
we will never overcome the obstacles set in our future. The battle 
begins here.
  We have fought in the courts--we can do so again, now. We have made 
presidents listen by the force of our numbers and our will. We can do 
so again, now.
  We can vote in greater numbers. . .
  Speak, in louder voices. . . 
  Write, with sharper pens. . . 
  Walk, with bigger strides. . . 
  Act, with firmer conviction. . . 
  Look forward, with stronger resolve. . . 
  And fight . . . fight with the knowledge that history is on our side. 
We have won before. We can do so again, now.
  Just a few moments ago in history we overcame all that 41 percents, 
nine wars, and innumerable verdicts could put in our way. That is all 
history now. .
  The conscience of America is resting in our hands. We can cup them 
and nourish our freedoms or we can open them and see them blow to the 
winds.
  Let us pray that our hands, joined together, will know what's right 
for us, our children and our future.
  And so, it is for me a high honor and a distinct privilege to be 
selected in the capacity of President-designate or our Nation's largest 
and oldest civil rights organization. I am honored to have been chosen 
for this opportunity, and I am moved by the support that our 
Chairwoman, the members of the search committee and the members of the 
board have shown me.
  The decision to accept this new opportunity did not come lightly. For 
the last 16 years, I have served in elected office: seven years in 
local government and the last nine as a Member of the United States 
Congress. To the people of Baltimore, who year after year have given me 
the opportunity to represent them and who continue to vest their 
confidence and trust in my abilities, I am, and forever will be, 
grateful.
  At this point in time, however, I am convinced, without reservation, 
that I can best affect social, economic and political change in the 
broader capacity that the NAACP represents.
  As you all know, the NAACP is at a critical point in its history. In 
fact it is at the most critical point. Our focus must be on: First, 
increasing political power by organizing and energizing voters in every 
congressional district in America; second, emphasizing educational 
excellence and individual responsibility; and third, creating an 
infrastructure for empowerment and economic parity. There is much work 
to be done and the time for such work is now. We must, without 
equivocation or timidity, reclaim our rightful place as the voice of 
African-Americans and others who believe in the power and the premise 
that all persons are, in fact, created equal. The task before us will 
be significant, but all challenge is significant. The greater challenge 
will not be measured by its size, but rather by our willingness to 
accept it. As such, there must be an ever escalating crescendo of clear 
and consistent voices that become part of the national dialogue and the 
national debate.
  The extreme ultra-conservative policies of the far right wing in our 
nation are draconian and punitive. They are policies that punish the 
elderly, restrict the poor, and deny opportunity to our children. Those 
policies must be countered with effective and realistic responses that 
reflect our need as a society for inclusion and tolerance. We can only 
do that by reinvigorating the age-old concept of coalitions where 
people work together for the common good.
  Racism, sexism, anti-Semitism cannot, and will not, be allowed to 
enjoy a comfortable and quiet acceptance. The damaging divisions 
brought about by xenophobia cannot be allowed to color our thinking 
about those who come to our shores in search of a better life. Fear, 
which often finds its incubator in our refusal to stand up for what is 
right, will forever be challenged by a new NAACP--reunited and 
reinvigorated at the threshold of change.
  At the risk of understatement, we all know that the task ahead will 
not be easy. The time is now to restore the financial, spiritual and 
political health of this historic American institution. As such, we 
must move quickly toward that end, and my job is to provide the 
leadership to make that happen. Make no mistake about it, there will be 
change. It will be swift, it will be focused, and it will be 
constructive. Efficiency and fiscal integrity within the organization 
will not be just a concept. It must, in fact, become a reality. We will 
re-tool our apparatus and re-harness our energies.
  The time is now for a new generation to join the NAACP. While we 
value maturity and experience, we must also learn to cherish youth. 
Thus, I reach out today to a new generation to join in this effort. And 
I reach out to the current generation and say to you in the clearest of 
terms that it's alright to come back home to the NAACP.
  We are at the crossroads of tremendous change in our nation. Despite 
the gains made by African-Americans, racism continues to divide our 
country and polarize people. We can stand by and watch in the comfort 
of our own circumstance, or we can step forward and dare to lead.
  The NAACP has a long and proud history filled with major 
accomplishments that have changed forever the America that we know and 
love. The lives of millions of our citizens who are black, white, 
Asian, and Hispanic have been made better because of it. Yet, our 
country is still in desperate need.
  In his renowned chronology of the NAACP from 1909 to 1920, Charles 
Kellogg begins his historical work with the following observation: ``In 
the first decade of the twentieth century few voices were raised in 
defense of the Negro and his rights as a citizen of the United States. 
Reactionary attitudes about race had been strengthened. [And] by 1909, 
the civil rights gained during reconstruction had been severely 
limited. The prevailing attitudes toward the Negro were reflected in 
the sensational press, in the hate literature, in the periodicals of 
the intellectuals, in court decisions reinterpreting the fourteenth and 
fifteenth amendments, and in legislation.''
  Eighty-six years later, in the last decade of the same century, 
again, few voices are being raised in defense of African-Americans and 
their rights as citizens of the United States. Reactionary attitudes 
about race regrettably continue to be strengthened. Civil rights gained 
during the second reconstruction have now also been severely limited. 
And, the prevailing attitudes toward minorities are still reflected in 
the sensational press, in the hate literature, in the periodicals of 
the intellectuals and in court decisions.
  Only a strong, revitalized and focused NAACP can accept the realities 
that were present in that first decade and readjust to the challenges 
still present in this last decade.
  I look forward to this gift of opportunity to serve in a different 
but continued public capacity and I thank God Almighty for continuing 
to bless me.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues Louis 
Stokes and Donald Payne in celebration of Black History Month. This 
special order has now become a time-honored tradition in the House, and 
I always enjoy participating.
  Black History Month is a time of reflection and honor. During Black 
History Month, we recall and pay tribute to the towering achievements 
and inspiring contributions that African-Americans have made to this 
country. It is a time to reflect on the progress we have made as a 
society based on the constitutional principles of liberty, equality, 
and justice. It also is a time to assess, as individuals, our personal 
role and responsibility to our fellow citizens, our children, and our 
Nation's future.
  During Black History Month, we honor those men and women who 
influenced, shaped, and altered American life, culture, and politics--
those who believed in a democracy that would not tolerate prejudice and 
discrimination, those who fought brutal injustice with the power of 
moral truth.
  We thank those who through their writings and teachings have enabled 
all of America to know and appreciate the African-American legacy, past 
struggles and present dreams. We pay tribute to American's sports 
heroes, such as Arthur Ashe, the great activist and renowned 
humanitarian, who inspired all Americans with his courage. We honor the 
scientists and educators, who labored so hard to overcome the racial 
barriers in our society and proved that America could not afford to 
squander the talent and knowledge of African-Americans. We recall the 
words and visions of some 

[[Page H1221]]
of our Nation's most revered ministers and theologians, such as Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., who braved the wrath of society to change our 
society to fit the principles it espoused but did not practice.
  Black History Month has a broader significance as well. It is a 
critical prism through which to view America's history overall. Our 
examination of this history is both painful and shameful, but it is 
also essential as only in this way can we appreciate the importance of 
this country's ability to redress past injustices. Only with the 
awareness of past wrongs can we define our future as one in which the 
right to live with dignity and freedom from persecution will be 
accorded all Americans. Only with the knowledge or our heritage and the 
conviction that we are indeed a Nation of people ``endowed by their 
creator with certain unalienable rights,'' can we practice the 
teachings of those whose legacy we remember today.
  One of our better teachers, who I would like to honor today is the 
Honorable Barbara Jordan. She left us just a few short weeks ago but 
her incredible spirit will remain with us forever.
  We all know of her impressive educational, political, and legal 
background. However, it ease her eloquence and sense of integrity which 
made here such a gifted leader. She championed opportunity, demanded 
equality, and vociferously espoused the principles of equal opportunity 
for all Americans.
  There are some in this body who carry with them a ``Contract With 
America.'' But it was Barbara Jordan who carried in her purse a copy of 
the U.S. Constitution which we as American legislators all need to 
uphold. During the historic Watergate hearings, it was Barbara Jordan 
who said, ``My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it 
is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to 
the iminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.'' 
As we celebrate Black History Month, it is my hope that every Member of 
this body heeds Barbara Jordan's words.
  Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, February has been celebrated as Black 
History Month since 1976, but the origins of this event date as far 
back as 1926 to Carter G. Woodson, a noted historian and author. Black 
History Month is a special month designed to recognize the heritage, 
contributions, and achievements of African-Americans, and I rise today 
to recognize and pay tribute to the holistic experiences and culture of 
African-Americans. Their experiences have contributed so much to this 
great Nation, and their culture is an inseparable part of American 
culture.
  The 1995 National Black history theme, ``Reflections on 1895: 
Douglass, Du Bois, Washington'' causes us to be reflective of the 
visions and dreams of three men of vigor who tenaciously championed the 
cause for freedom through vigilant, assertive, non-violent action. 
These three men personified resolve, dedication, and commitment, and 
with these characteristics they were able to alter the course of 
history. Their courage and successes empowered Black Americans. Their 
memories and accomplishments should empower all Americans.
  African-Americans have made great strides in recent years, assuming 
leadership positions in record numbers, and uniting to address and 
solve shared problems and ailments and celebrate successes and 
victories. A great amount of opportunities exist in an increasingly 
expansive number of fields. African-Americans in the 1990's are finding 
that mobility and equal opportunity are the norm rather than the 
exception.
  At this time we should look to past and present leaders in the 
African-American community and heed their cries. Frederick Douglass, 
the foremost voice in the abolitionist movement of the nineteenth 
century called for freedom and equality; W.E.B. Du Bois, and editor, 
scholar, author, and civil rights leader called on Blacks to cultivate 
their own aesthetic and cultural values; Booker T. Washington, an 
educator and statesman advocated economic self-sufficiency, self-help, 
and moral advancement; and Martin Luther King, Jr., a cleric, educator, 
and recipient of the Nobel Peace prize, led the Civil Rights Movement 
in the 1950's and 1960's calling for equality. The list is expansive 
and we must not forget the prolific writings of Alice Walker, Toni 
Morrison, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison; the music of Louis 
Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Ella Fitzgerald; and the courage and moral 
rectitude of Rosa Parks.
  These men and women have messages for us all. By rediscovering their 
hopes, aspirations, and successes we can forge ahead and continue where 
they left off. America is a special country indeed. We are privileged 
to be the most diversified, democratic country in the world. Our 
culture as a people is personified by our demographics. Everything that 
we are is interrelated to our history. Black History Month is not just 
for African-Americans, rather it is for all Americans. The separate but 
equal doctrine of the past has been abandoned, and a united and equal 
doctrine must be ushered in and secured; a nation divided is a nation 
at risk. The heritage, achievements, trials, tribulations, 
contributions, and successes of African-Americans should be remembered 
365 days a year, not only in February.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank both the Congressional Black Caucus 
for reserving a special order to observe Black History Month, and the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Cardin] for reserving a special order 
yesterday to honor our distinguished colleague, Congressman Kweisi 
Mfume.
  Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago this month, as a freshman Member of 
Congress, I delivered my first speech on the floor of the House of 
Representatives in honor of Black History Month. I could not have been 
more proud to dedicate my first address in this Chamber to the 
celebration of African-American freedom and accomplishment.
  As many of my colleagues know, I have a special link to the African-
American struggle for freedom. Some 35 years ago, I rode though 
Mississippi as a freedom rider and witnessed first-hand the desperate 
and often brutal attempts to preserve segregation. In that summer of 
1961, Mississippi was a war zone. Innocent black Americans were beaten 
and killed. Angry mobs attacked black men and women at will. Random 
gunfire contributed to an environment of terror and fear.
  I spent several months in a Mississippi State Penitentiary isolation 
cell as a result of my efforts in the struggle for equality.
  We have come a long way since then. Today, African-Americans have 
more opportunities open to them then ever before. African-Americans 
attend our Nation's finest schools, are some of America's most 
successful entrepreneurs, and hold office at the highest levels of 
state and federal government.
  African-American children can base their hopes and dreams on a host 
of African-American heroes: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, 
Thurgood Marshall, Maya Angelou, and many other who have led the fight 
for equality and justice. But we still have much to accomplish.
  Thousands of people whose names do not yield national recognition 
bravely continue the struggle every day for the rights of African-
American. The spirit of Black History Month applies to these local 
heroes who stand as more than a symbol of success to African-American 
youth. These are people who offer a helping hand, a smiling face, or a 
word of encouragement to young African-Americans. These are people who 
make a personal and direct contribution to the lives of young African-
Americans in their communities.
  There are many such heroes in California's 50th Congressional 
District. As the focus of this year's Black History Month is on 
African-American women, I will mention one who, along with her husband, 
has made a profound difference in the San Diego community.
  Evelyn George of San Diego realized 18 years ago that the money her 
husband, Aaron, spent on cigarettes could be used on something more 
constructive. She implored him to give up his smoking habit, and 
together they transformed their home into a Christmas wonderland for 
neighborhood children each December--complete with ferris wheels, 
merry-go-rounds, caroling angels, a nativity scene, and nearly 5,000 
holiday lights.

  After 18 years, Aaron George has become known as the ``Black Santa'' 
of San Diego, handing out more than 2,700 candy canes, signing some 325 
autographs, and posing for more than 250 pictures for area children 
this year alone.
  This Christmas was a difficult one for Mr. George. Evelyn, his wife 
of 42 years, passed away in July. In her honor, Aaron has promised to 
maintain the display every Christmas, bringing joy to the lives of 
hundreds of young San Diegans.
  There are thousands of other African-Americans in San Diego and 
across the Nation making unique and positive contributions to their 
communities. But there is also reason for concern in the African-
American community. Division and hatred, always lurking in the depths 
of interracial relations, have begun to surface again with 
unprecedented ferocity, threatening the strides that whites and blacks 
have made together.
  No one understands this threat better than Congressman Kweisi Mfume. 
During his 9 years in Congress, he has emerged as a national leader and 
advocate for the rights of African-Americans. His leadership abilities 
were brilliantly displayed during his 2-year term as chairman of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, a period during which the caucus achieved 
unprecedented levels of influence.
  Individuals of Congressman Mfume's character and intelligence rarely 
are able to keep their value secret for long. It was to no one's 
surprise, then, that Congressman Mfume was chosen to be chief executive 
officer of the NAACP, a proud organization that has fought for the 
rights of African-Americans since the early part of this century.

[[Page H1222]]

  The House of Representatives will lose a great leader, an ardent 
advocate and a brilliant legislator as Congressman Mfume leaves to 
assume his new responsibility. But our loss is the NAACP's gain. I am 
confident that Congressman Mfume will make great strides in the 
advancement of the rights of African-Americans and continue his effort 
to improve interracial relations throughout the country. These goals 
are given special significance during the celebration of Black History 
Month.
  Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for 
Black History Month. This year we are celebrating African-American 
women of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In Minnesota, we are fortunate 
to have a fine tradition of civic leaders who have dedicated their 
lives to enriching the lives of others through their selfless 
contributions. Today, I'd like to recognize three, among many, of the 
African-American women in Minnesota who have become shining role models 
for us all.
  In its brief history, the State of Minnesota has had many fine 
leaders who were also African-American women. In 1923, Ethel Ray 
Nance--1899-1992--was the first black woman hired by the Minnesota 
Legislature and was the first black police woman in Minnesota. During 
her long life, Ms. Nance was an activist in several civil rights 
organizations, including the National Association for Advancement of 
Colored People [NAACP]. She also served as the director of research for 
the National Urban League.
  In more recent years, Nellie Stone Johnson, who celebrated her 90th 
birthday in December 1995, has been one of the most outspoken and 
thoughtful leaders in Minnesota's African-American community. 
Generations of Minnesotans owe Nellie a great deal for her dedication 
to community building, to civil rights, and to economic fairness. In 
the tradition of Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, Nellie Stone 
Johnson has been rock solid in her commitment to the most vulnerable in 
our society.
  Finally, representing a new generation of African-American women 
leaders, Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, elected in 1993, is 
the first African-American and the first female mayor of Minneapolis. 
Mayor Sayles Belton began her public service career immediately after 
college--when as a civil rights worker she traveled to Jackson, MS, to 
register voters. She later became the first African-American president 
of the Minneapolis City Council. As mayor, she has continued her 
efforts to strengthen families and children by focusing on education, 
crime prevention, and the economic development of neighborhoods in the 
city.
  I am proud to say that these women, and many other African-Americans, 
have had an important impact on my life and the lives of many 
Minnesotans. I wish to thank them for their service to the community, 
the women's movement, and the United States of America. All citizens 
should be grateful for their accomplishments and endeavors. Mr. 
Speaker, as we observe Black History Month, I commend Ethel Ray Nance, 
Nellie Stone Johnson, Mayor Sayles Belton, and all African-Americans 
for their contributions to our society.
  Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my 
colleagues in proud observation of Black History Month and its 1996 
theme, ``African-American Women: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.'' I 
thank the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman 
Payne, and the distinguished gentleman from Ohio, Congressman Stokes, 
for once again reserving this annual special order.
  This year, as we celebrate the vital role which African-American 
women have played in our Nation's growth and development, I would first 
like to spend a moment reflecting on the life of one of the most 
influential of these women who recently passed away, the Honorable 
Barbara Jordan of Texas.
  Having served with Barbara in this House, I can tell you first hand 
of the tremendous intellect, passion, and presence she commanded. As an 
untiring, articulate, and outspoken defender of the Constitution and 
the rights and liberties of all citizens, she was effective in ensuring 
access to legal services for the poor, advancing consumer protection at 
the Federal level, and securing a livable minimum wage for all working 
Americans among other numerous achievements.
  Morton Dean of ABC News summed up the overwhelming impact Barbara 
Jordan had on American society when he said, ``Where she walked, 
barriers fell, historic barriers against blacks and women in politics. 
When she talked hearts swelled, awakened to America's potential.'' We 
will all miss her deeply.
  But before Barbara Jordan, Mr. Speaker, there were other African-
American heroines who blazed a path of opportunity for her, and there 
will be many more who will come after. It is each and every one of 
these women that we also honor today.
  We all know of Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an 
Academy Award for her role in ``Gone with the Wind'' in 1939. Her 
breakthrough performance opened the door for other black actresses and 
performers such as Lena Horne, Cicely Tyson, Whoopi Goldberg, and 
Angela Basset to showcase their talents and skills on both the American 
and world stage and screen.
  Nor can we forget in the field of literature the incredible poetry of 
Phillis Wheatley and Maya Angelou, novels of Toni Morrison and Alice 
Walker, and writings of Jean Toomer and June Jordan. These African-
American authors have lifted our spirits, our hopes, and our dreams 
with their thoughtful words and honest reflections.
  From inspirational words stem inspirational music and we would be 
remiss not to mention the incredible jazz vocals of ``The First Lady of 
Song,'' Ella Fitzgerald, or the deep rhythm and blues notes belted out 
by ``The Queen of Soul,'' Aretha Franklin. What about Billie Holiday, 
Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington?--each of them 
being an exceptional African-American female artist of the modern era.
  In the world of sports, black women have as role models the 
outstanding track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee, holder of the 
world record in the heptathlon and winner of four Olympic medals in 
this event as well as Althea Gibson, the first African-American tennis 
player to participate in and win a championship at Wimbledon.
  I could go on and on for hours Mr. Speaker, elaborating on the lives 
of courageous abolitionists Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, the 
great civil rights activists Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer, and such 
deft legislators as Shirley Chisolm and, as I have mentioned, Barbara 
Jordan. As you can see, African-American women have an exceptionally 
rich history of contributions to this country, from the arts and 
athletics to politics and our overall social progress. It is therefore 
only fitting that this year's observance of Black History Month 
recognizes and heralds the many accomplished and talented among us, 
before us, and those yet to come.
  Again, I thank my distinguished colleagues for this special order and 
yield back the balance of my time.

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