[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE LEGACY OF ADAM CLAYTON POWELL, JR.

                                 ______
                                 


                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 11, 1997

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today to pay special tribute to 
the more than 30 million Americans for whom it has become a tradition 
to pause during the month of February to celebrate black history in the 
United States.
  I want to thank my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus who 
each year set aside a time during February for a special order to which 
all of my colleagues are invited to reflect on the significance of 
black America's contribution to our history. My special commendation 
goes out to my colleagues, Representative Louis Stokes of Ohio and 
Representative Maxine Waters of California, the new chairperson of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, for convening this special order.
  Thirty years ago this month, the House of Representatives was 
preparing to take one of its most infamous actions. On March 1, 1967, 
the House voted to exclude from the 90th Congress Representative Adam 
Clayton Powell, Jr., my predecessor as the Congressman from Upper 
Manhattan and Harlem, and one of this body's greatest Members.
  Two years later, that action was overturned by the Supreme Court as 
unconstitutional, and Representative Powell returned to his seat, 
stripped of 22 years seniority.
  I recall this incident not only as a commemoration of an injustice 
committed against one of the greatest figures in black history. During 
this period in which President Clinton has designated education as a 
national security issue, it is again fitting to recall the career of 
Adam Clayton Powell. Much of Powell's greatness is attributable to his 
support of education as well as his urgings to our Government to pay 
greater attention to Africa and the developing world.
  During Powell's first term as chairman of the Education and Labor 
Committee, which he assumed in 1961, the committee passed not only the 
minimum wage bill, but legislation creating training programs for 
practical nurses, student loans, and manpower and training development 
programs. All of these were enacted into law.
  Years earlier, in the 1950's, Powell was a lonely crusader for 
increased U.S. involvement with Africa and the developing world, going 
against the grain of U.S. policy, which was obsessed with the rise of 
communism around the world.
  Powell was a man of many dimensions, in ways, ahead of his time. A 
vocal warrior on the forefront of our struggles for racial and economic 
justice, and education at home, he at the same time preached a gospel 
of international involvement. Even before our Government recognized 
that our destiny in trade and commerce was moving away from Europe, he 
understood that we continued to ignore Asia and Africa at our own 
peril.
  Today, as we prepare for the challenges of the 21st century while 
reappraising the gains of the civil rights movement, we find that we 
are riding the shoulders of those great leaders, such as Powell, who 
came before us. Through their efforts, we have overcome the legal 
segregation and discrimination that dehumanized us as a people. Through 
their efforts, a viable black middle-class of successful professionals, 
homeowners, and college graduates has emerged.
  But many challenges remain, some in the very areas in which Adam 
Clayton Powell made a mark decades ago, working toward the eradication 
of poverty, joblessness, drug addiction, crime, and sickness.
  If we are serious about addressing those challenges, and maintaining 
our competitive edge in the global economy, we must refocus our 
attention on the goal of providing the best education possible for all 
Americans of every race. In the environment of budget balancing and tax 
cuts in which we exist, that challenge cannot be met by Government 
alone.
  The private sector, which has the most to gain from an educated work 
force, must join in partnerships with Government, the schools, and the 
communities to see to it that our young people are qualified to compete 
in the high-technology marketplace, that they are trained to take their 
place in the 21st century economy.
  As a nation, we must admit that our future as a worldwide economic 
leader is no longer tied to Europe, but increasingly to the economics 
of the Pacific rim, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.
  And even as we recognize the importance of people of color around the 
world, we must also recognize the folly of failing to utilize the 
talents of America's black and brown people who have contributions to 
make in international business, in foreign affairs, and diplomacy.
  More than anything, America must continue the work of our past 
leaders, including Adam Clayton Powell, all of whom recognized that 
education was the key to social, economic, and racial justice.

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