[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING MARIAN ANDERSON ON CENTENNIAL OF HER BIRTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Jenkins). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me first of all thank my 
friend and colleague and ranking member of the Science Committee for 
the diversity of his portfolio, and, that is, to come to the floor to 
celebrate a very famous but eloquent and certainly musical American, 
and that is in the name of Marian Anderson.
  I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Brown] for allowing to 
join him in a tribute on a very special day here in Washington. 
Certainly as I was coming to the floor, I took advantage of the 
beautiful sunshine, albeit quite chilly here in Washington DC, and it 
caused me to be reminded of that famous day some years ago, April 9, 
when the first lady of music, contralto Marian Anderson, ascended the 
steps of the Lincoln Memorial and began to sing not to the 75,000 that 
were present but to the world and to the Nation. Her dignity and her 
ability to communicate in song clearly is worth giving tribute to, and 
I appreciate this opportunity to do so.
  As I look over her history and we were able to acknowledge today at 
the Congressional Black Caucus meeting this day and this effort, we 
looked at her history. Certainly she came from a very proud family. She 
graduated from high school. You might consider her, as W.E.B. Du Bois 
described many in the early days of this century, the talented tenth. 
She was certainly someone whose family, albeit she was born an African-
American in this Nation, had great hopes and aspirations for her. They 
had great dreams for her as an American, as a talented young woman.
  Sadly, of course, she grew up in the shadow of Jim Crow. But her 
spirit was undaunted by the atmosphere of what she lived, and the God-
given talent that she had was one that she wanted to share with all to 
hear. She was initially, of course, extended an invitation to speak in 
a facility that later became known as white-only, that she could not 
sing. But good Americans, well-thinking Americans who recognized the 
value of diversity and the importance of a talent in an eloquent woman 
as Marian Anderson should be heard.
  And so this tribute that I give is as well to Marian for her talent 
but for the good Americans who rallied around the excitement that she 
had to be able to convey to America that we all stand as one.
  Mr. Speaker, my tribute today, as I bring it to a close, is to 
congratulate the life and legacy of Marian Anderson. I wish that I 
could conclude this by a musical salute that all could hear, but I was 
moved by the moment and moved by the history of that moment, having not 
been there or been around to have heard it, but certainly all those who 
have been able to tell me of it pay great tribute to how she brought 
the country together, recognizing the value of our great history, of 
African-Americans but as well the history of all the good people who 
allowed her to so sing.
  Let me conclude by sharing some of my time with the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Brown] for him to bring some final remarks and say that 
on this day that the proposition 209 was again reaffirmed. I would ask 
that we look to the good people of America to recognize that diversity 
is legal and that Marian Anderson represented that diversity some many 
years ago.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Brown].
  Mr. BROWN of California. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I want 
to thank her very much for coming to the floor and adding her 
contribution to this tribute to Marian Anderson.
  In closing this special order this afternoon, I would just like to 
say how honored I am to join with all of my colleagues honoring the 
centennial of the birth of Marian Anderson. During the long journey of 
her life, as has been mentioned and despite her unique achievements, 
Marian Anderson nevertheless encountered bigotry throughout her career. 
She met it all with unparalleled dignity, quietly refusing to back down 
from her rights, to forsake her own standard of politeness or to hold 
any grudges.
  One can lose a lot of time hating people, she succinctly explained. 
As you remember, President Clinton urged in his State of the Union 
Address this year that Americans must continuously fight bigotry and 
intolerance. To follow the example set by Marian Anderson, I would like 
to close this special order this afternoon by quoting what she saw was 
the mission of her life, and I quote: ``To leave behind me the kind of 
impression that will make it easier for those who follow.''

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