[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3842-S3843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ERASE THE HATE DAY

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the Senate for 
passing a piece of legislation this morning that designates today, 
National Erase the Hate and Eliminate Racism Day. The legislation we 
passed this morning also calls on President Clinton to issue a 
proclamation urging all Americans to use each day as an opportunity to 
take a stand against racism and hate.
  In 1964, Mike Mansfield of Montana, then majority leader of the U.S. 
Senate, ushered through this body the landmark Civil Rights Act. His 
national foresight and courage in those years was widely praised in the 
press and by his peers. As one colleague said upon Senator Mansfield's 
retirement, ``The distinguished majority leader votes his convictions 
and lets the chips fall where they will.''
  In the last several years, however, Montanans of a different 
generation have come under the microscope of less favorable scrutiny. 
The reputation of Montana as a State of forward-thinkers and tolerant 
individuals was marred by the standoff between the FBI and the so-
called Freemen outside Jordan, and a series of hate crimes in some of 
our cities.
  Make no mistake, it is important for the media and others to focus on 
these events, whether they occur in Montana or elsewhere. But equally, 
if we are to learn from them, then we also need to listen to the 
stories of hope, of the people who are willing to stand up to bigots 
and hate groups.
  Because those stories are happening all the time in Montana. Whether 
it is a community like Billings that stands up to a group of skinheads, 
or a Missoula high school class that devotes an entire project to 
studying the Holocaust.
  It was in this spirit and with the strong support of the YWCA of 
America, the Anti-Defamation League, and the USA Network, that I 
cosponsored the legislation that designated today as National Erase the 
Hate and Eliminate Racism Day.
  There is no doubt that we have come a long way as a nation. But with 
8,000 hate crimes reported to the U.S. Department of Justice each year, 
it is clear we still have much more work to do.
  In addition to taking a day to recognize the importance of the fight, 
we must continue to support groups like the Northwest Coalition Against 
Malicious Harassment, the Montana Human

[[Page S3843]]

Rights Network, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the many 
other groups and individuals who continue this work every day.
  In fact, many of those involved in this arena are now urging 
President Clinton to convene a White House conference on the issue. 
They have my strong support in their request. Surely, what we can do to 
encourage voluntarism, we must do to end hate.
  I know a simple Senate resolution, or even a national conference, 
will not end the problems we still have. A piece of paper alone cannot 
teach a child that hate is wrong. But I do believe a piece of paper can 
make people think. A conference will not end intolerance. But it can 
make people talk about hate crimes. Designating today as a day to 
address these important problems is a first step and it can light a 
spark of hope in people's hearts and minds.
  Again, perhaps our predecessor in the Senate, Mr. Mansfield, when 
speaking about the task in 1964, said it best when he noted,

       What we do here in the . . . Congress will not, of itself, 
     correct these faults, but we can and must join the wisdom--
     the collective wisdom of this body--to the efforts of others 
     in this Nation to face up to them for what they are--a 
     serious erosion of the fundamental rock upon which the unity 
     of the Nation stands.

  Tolerance and respect are our nation's bedrock. Today we can join 
together to renew the fight for a better America. And if we continue to 
look at the good, courageous, decent things our neighbors are doing, 
the sparks of hope we light just might catch fire, in Montana and all 
across the country.

                          ____________________