[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 16, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1767-E1768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE CONSORTIUM OF PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS WHO CREATED THE 
                   FIRST AMENDMENT/BLACKLIST PROJECT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. WALTER H. CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 1997

  Mr. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize 
the noble work of those individuals and institutions who are taking 
part in the development of the first amendment/blacklist project. On 
October 5, a fundraising event will be held in San Luis Obispo, which I 
represent, in order to address this important issue.
  In October 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee 
subpoenaed 10 filmmakers to question them about alleged subversive 
behavior. These filmmakers, known as the Hollywood 10 refused to 
testify, choosing instead to invoke their first amendment rights. They 
were then held in contempt of Congress and were eventually jailed and 
blacklisted for their refusal to testify. Over the next few years, 
hundreds of American citizens were accused of holding subversive 
political beliefs and were consequently blacklisted. The Red baiting 
associated with this period is now widely recognized as a horrendous 
abuse of official power. Today the idea of jailing American citizens 
for their political beliefs--or perceived political beliefs--is deemed 
to be an unacceptable breach of civil liberties.
  On October 27--the 50th anniversary of the McCarthy hearings--
individuals associated with the first amendment/blacklist project will 
break ground on a monument which will serve to remind future 
generations of this painful chapter in American history. The project 
will document events antithetical to American principles and our 
constitutionally protected freedoms.
  The first amendment/blacklist project committee is composed of 
faculty members of the filmic writing program in the school of cinema--
television at the University of California in Los Angeles. The project 
was begun at the suggestion of an undergraduate student enrolled in the 
filmic writing program, and was undertaken in recognition of the fact 
that many future filmmakers are unaware of the incidence of the gross 
misuse of power and authority which characterized the McCarthy hearings 
of the late 1940's. Margaret Mehring, a former director of the U.S.C. 
filmic writing program and a valued constituent of mine, has taken it 
upon herself to assure the successful completion of this project.
  Since its inception, the organizing committee of the first amendment 
blacklist project has

[[Page E1768]]

expanded to include screenwriters--some of whom were themselves victims 
of blacklisting--film historians, are museum directors and curators, 
and other sympathetic individuals. It is the desire of the organizing 
committee that this memorial serve as a reminder to future generations, 
rather than as a memorial to specific individuals.
  The memorial will be designed by the internationally renowned artist 
Jenny Holzer. Holzer bases her art on the expression of language and 
freedom of speech. She is, therefore, an ideal candidate to design the 
first amendment/blacklist project memorial.
  Her design has three components. The first is a circular 
configuration of granite benches, each inscribed with statements on 
essential American freedoms--including an excerpt from the bill of 
Rights. The second component of the memorial is a shallow well from 
which will emanate recordings of the congressional testimony given by 
the Hollywood 10. The final element of the project will be a beacon of 
light directed at the sky--symbolizing the illumination of this dark 
period in our Nation's history.
  This project bears witness to the travails of those individuals 
persecuted during the infamous McCarthy trials of the 1940's. It is my 
hope--and the determination of those individuals involved with the 
first amendment blacklist project--that this memorial will inspire 
vigilance and personal responsibility, now and in the future, in 
exercising, upholding, and defending the civil liberties granted to 
citizens under the Constitution of the United States of America and the 
Bill of Rights.

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