[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 26 (Thursday, February 29, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, as Black History Month, 1996, draws 
to a close, we have had an extraordinary opportunity to remember 
African-Americans who have changed America. We find our Nation more 
culturally enriched in the arts, in film and theater, in literature and 
music, in the humanities, the sciences, in our military and political 
history, in education, communications, and civil rights because of the 
contributions of African-Americans. But the most compelling stories are 
of the earliest African-American leaders who are among America's 
greatest heroes. They struggled and succeeded in the face of slavery 
and against the odds, and rose above the extraordinary prejudice and 
hatred of the 19th century to have a lasting impact on the cultural, 
social, and spiritual fabric of America. To name just a few: poets like 
Phillis Wheatley, a Massachusetts native and the first African-American 
woman to have her poetry published; Crispus Attucks, said to be the 
first person killed in a Boston battle that presaged the Revolutionary 
War; and the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first 
African-American unit in the Civil War who were memorialized in the 
film, ``Glory,'' and in a statue on Boston Common are not heroes to 
just African-Americans, but heroes to every American.
  Their stories are part of this Nation's lexicon and should be as 
commonly known as the story of another Massachusetts native, Paul 
Revere, but they are not. That is one of the reasons that, 20 years 
ago, Black History Month formalized a 70-year-old celebration begun in 
1926 by Dr. Carter Woodson, the father of black history. Dr. Woodson 
set aside a special time in February to celebrate the achievements and 
contributions of African-Americans and the rich traditions and proud 
heritage of those who contributed so much to the building of this 
Nation.
  But, as we celebrate we must also recognize that the contributions of 
African-Americans serve as a bridge over the troubled waters of 
economic insecurity. Their struggle and achievements in the face of 
incredible odds give us hope when we see that struggle for freedom, and 
equal justice has become an economic as well as a social struggle that 
finds hard working, self-reliant, responsible African-Americans looking 
for a good job at a liveable wage. The economic disparity between 
African-Americans and the rest of America is disproportionate. I know 
that African-Americans in Massachusetts--from Roxbury to Lowell, from 
New Bedford to Springfield--are working harder and harder, like all 
Americans, without receiving a raise, struggling to get the skills they 
need, and trying to educate themselves and their families, and some are 
falling further and further behind.
  So, this month, in recognizing the importance of African-American 
heroes and their contribution to the history of America, we must not 
only reaffirm our commitment to civil rights and equal opportunity but 
to building an opportunity economy that provides for a better paying 
job, decent benefits, and a chance for their children to make more and 
do better in a world that judges them as Martin Luther King said, ``on 
the content of their character.'' Black History Month is one more 
important step in tearing down the economic, social, and cultural walls 
that divide us and bridging the racial gaps between us. As we approach 
the 21st century, this will be one of our greatest challenges.

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