[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                           IMAGES OF PROGRESS

  (Mr. HUTCHINSON asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Madam Speaker, for many people across this country, 
Little Rock's Central High School brings a searing image to mind when 
1,000 armed men were forced to escort nine African-American children 
through the doors of the high school. It is an image in this Nation's 
past, one of hostility, fear, and resistance to change.
  However, Madam Speaker, I would suggest that other images survive, 
too, images of courage, hope, and perseverence; the image of the young 
Elizabeth Eckford, an image of personal strength and character. I am 
also inspired by the courage of those students who stood firm in 
support of their new classmates. As Melba Patillo, another of the 
students seeking entrance to Central High School said, ``Each time as I 
was about to give up exhausted from the jeers and insulting remarks, 
some kind face would come up and say: `I want you here.' ''
  Madam Speaker, we have not eliminated intolerance in our country, but 
this weekend, marking the 40th anniversary of the Central High 
conflict, individuals who once confronted one another during those 
angry days will come together. Even as I speak, buses filled with a new 
generation of Freedom Riders from the University of Arkansas are 
arriving in Little Rock to help shape the united future for our Nation. 
Madam Speaker, these images all of them should be remembered. They are 
images of progress.

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