[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H785-H792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 1999, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) is recognized
for 60 minutes.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I reserved this time tonight for a
special order to allow my colleagues and I to recognize and celebrate
contributions of African Americans during Black History Month.
I stand here the 101st African American to serve in the House of
Representatives. It is only appropriate that I recognize the two people
who are most responsible for my service: My parents, Andrew and Mary
Tubbs, residents of my district, the 11th Congressional District of
Ohio. I stand upon their legacy of hard work, undying faith and love.
Thank you, mom and dad. I love you.
I first want to pay tribute to the founder of Black History Month,
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an historian and educator who pioneered the
research and dissemination of African American history. It was his
mission to dispel the racist myth about African Americans and their
past that the historical writings of scholars promulgated. He asserted,
and I quote, ``If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile
tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world
and it stands in danger of being exterminated.''
One of his most enduring achievements is his initiation of Black
History Month. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week, a commemoration
of black achievement held the second week of February, which marks the
birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
{time} 1830
To encourage African-Americans to celebrate Negro History Week,
Woodson distributed a kit containing pictures of and stories about
notable African-Americans. Negro History Week was changed to Black
History Month in the 1960s.
Woodson was a prodigious author, coauthoring 19 books on various
aspects of African-American history. He was one the first scholars to
consider slavery from the slave's perspective, to compare slavery in
the United States with slavery in Latin America, and to note the
African-American cultural influences in new world slave culture.
Perhaps more than any other person, Woodson helped African-American
history develop into a widely recognized and respected academic
discipline. It was his faith that ``the achievements of the Negro
properly set forth will crown him as a factor in early human progress
and a maker of modern civilization.''
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek) my
friend.
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague,
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), for organizing today's Black
History Month special order. It is a tribute to her creativity to
convene us here today. I think it is Congress's duty to help America
understand what black history is all about.
The gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) follows in the footsteps of
one of the individuals whom history will surely recall as one of the
giants of not only black history but surely the history of this body,
the Honorable Louis Stokes, who for 30 years distinguished himself and
us as a caring and committed legislator who served his constituents and
this Nation with impeccable leadership and integrity.
We are here today not only to celebrate black history but American
history as well. Certainly the history of black Americans is interwoven
with the history of America. Since the first Americans arrived on what
is now American soil in 1619, black Americans have played an important
part in the development of this great Nation. Black Americans helped
build this country's thriving cities, farmed its fields and settled the
West.
Recently, the Allstate Insurance Company of Chicago, Illinois,
recognized 12 contemporary African-American leaders at their ``From
Whence We Came Awards.'' These leaders were honored as architects of
the African-American village for their efforts to help build stronger,
safer communities across America. These were contemporary African-
American leaders and heroes.
I commend Allstate for its efforts to promote black history and for
emphasizing the importance of celebrating the contributions of African-
Americans year-round by making available to schoolchildren a black
history calendar, commemorative poster and video documentary.
So as we celebrate this Black History Month, I want to pay tribute to
some of the more contemporary leaders who history is sure to record as
significant figures in black history and the history of this Nation.
If it takes a village to raise a child, then surely some of the
individuals I am about to mention who were recently honored by the
Allstate Insurance Company can be designated as ``architects of the
village.''
Contemporary black leaders like Dave Bing of the Bing Group of
Detroit, Michigan; actor and actress Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee; Tommy
Dortch, president of the 100 Black Men of America; George Fraser,
author and motivational speaker; William H. Gray, III, president of the
United Negro
[[Page H786]]
College Fund; Linda Johnson Rice, president of Johnson Publishing
Company; Tom Joyner, radio host; Mayor Marc Morial of New Orleans; Dr.
Jane Smith, National Council of Negro Women; Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress;
and Mother Mary Ann Wright.
Each weekday morning from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Tom Joyner entertains
and informs the Nation during his live, nationally syndicated radio
show.
My colleague, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), wants America
to understand that these contemporary leaders are leaders in their own
right; and history will record them as having contributed quite a bit
to African-American history.
A four-time Billboard Magazine award winner, Mr. Joyner's upbeat
attitude has helped America understand at this particular point various
issues that have come over this radio hall of fame. He has established
the Tom Joyner Foundation, and he has funded a United Negro College
Fund scholarship, Dollars for Scholars, to help give financial aid to
students at black colleges.
Linda Johnson Rice presides over two of the world's largest black-
owned companies, Fashion Fair Cosmetics and Johnson Publishing Company.
As president and chief operating officer of Chicago-based Johnson
Publishing Company, Ms. Johnson Rice manages the largest number one
black-owned publishing company in the world, boasting the familiar
magazine titles Ebony, Jet, and Ebony South Africa.
Ms. Johnson Rice is also the President of Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the
largest black-owned cosmetic company in the world, with more than 2,500
stores in the United States, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and Canada.
I can go on and on. But I did want my colleagues to understand that
these are contemporary African-American leaders who will go down in
history as helping America understand and made a contribution and it is
a tribute to them to have been named ``architects of the village.''
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, I want to
thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek), for her
presentation.
Madam Speaker, I yield to my friend, the gentlewoman from the
District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), for a presentation.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for
yielding; and I thank her, in addition, for keeping alive the tradition
of her esteemed predecessor, Congressman Louis Stokes, who retired last
year.
The gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) brings precisely the kind of
intelligence and dedication that Congressman Stokes was well-known for,
and so he has left his seat in the best of hands.
I also congratulate the gentlewoman that she has chosen a subject
which allows us to speak on this floor about the contributions of
African-Americans. In outlining the history of Negro History Week and
Black History Month, she reminds us that the reason for an occasion
like this is precisely that black history and the contribution of
African-Americans have been obscured, even suppressed.
This floor is an appropriate place to begin to expose Members and our
country to these important contributions which have helped build our
country. I would like to devote a few minutes to discussing the life of
a great American leader who died on December 14 and who contributed
much to his country in general and to the Congressional Black Caucus in
particular.
I speak of former Judge A. Leon Higginbotham. And may I say that the
Congressional Black Caucus will hold a memorial service for Judge
Higginbotham on Wednesday, April 14, at 345 Cannon. That, of course,
has to do with our own special relationship to Judge Higginbotham, who
was counsel to us in the voting rights cases.
I was Judge Higginbotham's law clerk, so I have to confess that for
me this is also personal. I remained close to the Judge throughout my
professional life. And to the extent that there is anything noteworthy
about my life as a lawyer, I owe much of it to the head start I got
when I clerked for Judge Higginbotham shortly after I graduated from
law school.
Quite apart from how we may view the Judge as a person or any
personal relationship the Members may have had with him, I think it
fair to say that Judge A. Leon Higginbotham will be evaluated as one of
the great Federal judges of the 20th century. I believe that that will
be the verdict of his own peers on the bench.
He went to the bench at the age of 36 and became known as a principal
judge who was a fine technical lawyer, a man of awesome work habits who
enjoyed the most extraordinary reputation among his peers on the bench.
At the same time, he began to teach while he was on the bench, as a
number of scholarly Federal judges often do. While he was on the bench,
he taught at the University of Pennsylvania, which of course is in
Philadelphia, where he served first as a District Court judge and then
on the Court of Appeals, finally as the chief judge of the Third
Circuit Court of Appeals.
But this extraordinary man managed also to teach at Harvard and Yale
and at Stanford and at NYU. His capacity for hard work is itself an
example for us all and for young people.
The Judge always planned to leave the bench. Perhaps this was because
he was so gifted that it was unthinkable that he would have only one
life. He planned to leave the bench and did so in order to pursue the
scholarly work that had become such a great part of his life while on
the bench.
He wrote two extraordinary books: ``In The Matter of Color'' and
``Shades of Freedom.'' These books have helped to place Judge
Higginbotham in black history and in the history of the United States
of America. Because, in these volumes, Judge Higginbotham demonstrated,
on the basis of prodigious investigation of the statutes and of the
case law, that slavery and discrimination in the United States of
America owed their existence to American law. He did this not simply by
exclaiming it but by years of investigation into the case laws of the
States and of the United States. And there he discovered a real
perversion of law.
I do not speak only of the Jim Crow laws, under which some of us
lived, I, for one, in the District of Columbia, which had legal
segregation, because we all know about those. I speak of law that
enmeshed slavery and discrimination into the character and life of this
country from the very beginning and without law, it must be said,
neither slavery nor discrimination could have either existed or become
so thoroughly embedded in the fabric of our country.
It is the painstaking research, it is looking at it statute by
statute and State by State that gives the Judge's work on the history
of law in discrimination and slavery its credibility.
I would like to give two examples of the kind of discovery, that is
the only word for it, ``discovery'', the Judge made in the complicity
of law in the greatest injustices of our country, slavery and
discrimination. I refer first to the Declaration of Independence.
There was what the Judge discovered a discarded July 2 draft of the
Declaration of Independence, written of course by Mr. Jefferson. Now,
listen to this sentence from that discarded draft. This sentence refers
to King George. ``He has waged cruel war against human nature itself,
violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of
a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carry them
into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their
transportation thither.''
{time} 1845
Here is Jefferson criticizing King George for transporting slaves and
for the institution of slavery itself. Well, if that is the case, you
would have expected the Declaration of Independence to say something
about how there should not be slavery, and, of course, we know there
should not be. This is the kind of work that the judge is known for.
Let me give my colleagues one further example of what he discovered.
There is, of course, the myth of slavery as a southern institution. We
know that it got its worst features perhaps in the South and in how
long it remained in the South. But let me quote from Judge
Higginbotham. So that we will be at peace with this institution, let us
quote from Judge Higginbotham about the State that one least associates
with slavery and most associates with abolition, Massachusetts. I quote
from ``In the Matter of Color'':
[[Page H787]]
``Unlike Virginia, for example, which developed a legal framework for
slavery in response to societal custom, the Massachusetts Bay and
Plymouth colonies statutorily sanctioned slavery as part of the 1641
Body of Liberties a mere 3 years after the first blacks arrived. Thus,
Massachusetts was the first colony to authorize slavery by legislative
enactment.''
We will never rid ourselves of discrimination and its effects unless
we come to grips with how it got into our law. And as lawmakers it is
particularly important for us to recognize how discrimination and worse
can be, and in our case was, imported into the law.
Judge Higginbotham was recognized in virtually every important way,
from the Medal of Freedom that he won from the President to the
Spingarn Medal which he was granted by the NAACP.
The Congressional Black Caucus is particularly grateful for the role
he played in assisting us in the voting rights cases when we were most
under attack.
I close by reminding this body that on April 14, there will be a
memorial service in 345 Cannon for Judge A. Leon Higginbotham.
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia. She is a historical figure
in her own right. I need to remind her that I used to be a lawyer with
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when she was serving on the
commission. I thank the gentlewoman so very much for her comments.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard).
I have to remind him that my father is a graduate of Parker High School
in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mr. HILLIARD. Wonderful.
Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to offer my thoughts on Black History
Month which is observed every year during the month of February.
I stand here humble to the reality that many African Americans
sacrificed their pride, their joy, their jobs, their dreams and, yes,
some their lives so that I and 38 other African-American Members of
Congress would be able to stand here today as duly elected officials of
the United States House of Representatives.
While I am aware of the specific accomplishments of many African
Americans, I do feel that it is important to stress that I do not think
that there should be a Black History Month. I understand the motive
behind observing and acknowledging the contributions of African
Americans to this great country. However, I feel strongly that we must
move away from being contained in a box. Every day should be African-
American day. Every week should be African-American week. And every
month should be African-American month.
Historians for as long as I can recall have written history as they
chose. They have made history in many instances a mockery of what
actually occurred. They only wrote the version they wanted told.
However, historians must have a high duty and a moral responsibility to
record history accurately. They should be charged with those
responsibilities, and they should be inclusive of all of those things
that occur. They definitely should include those persons that made
history, the way in which history was made, and there should be no
prejudice or bias in recording history. A truthful and accurate account
of what happened and who participated should be recorded in American
history, and we would not have to have days, months and times set aside
for Italian Americans, for Hispanic Americans, or for African
Americans.
I truly believe that hopefully in the new millennium, we will have it
such, so that we will have a celebration of American history, and that
they will truthfully and accurately display and record all of the
players regardless of their national origin.
At first glance, most people would assume that this is a given, that
historians write history accurately and truthfully. But we know and it
is sad, a very sad commentary that that is not the case. We must
change.
Madam Speaker, as we move into a new millennium, we must charge those
persons who have duties and certain responsibilities to record our
history as it is done, as it happened, so that the next generations
will not have to deal with the problems of our generation.
I fully urge all historians to include and incorporate all of the
deeds of African Americans and all of the other groupings that make up
this great country so that its achievements and the achievements of all
others will properly and appropriately be recorded.
Yes, I am against what you call African-American Week. I am against
the Hispanics having a day. I am against all nationalities having a
segment to say something about their contribution to American history.
America is a dream land. It is a melting pot. Because it is such, we
should only talk about the accomplishments of all of the players of
history.
And one day hopefully we will reach the place in our history, we will
reach the time in our history when all Americans, no matter how great
or how small their contribution to its history, will be fairly
portrayed and our history will be accurately recorded.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague
from the great State of Alabama for his comments.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson).
Ms. CARSON. Madam Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from
Ohio for yielding. I rise as a proud person tonight in celebration of
black history, because I am indeed a proud recipient of the
achievements that we applaud during Black History Month.
I rise today to celebrate black history in a way that was
demonstrated by a woman named Rosa Parks who has become affectionately
and reverently referred to as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.
Rosa Parks in her quiet courage on December 1, 1955, in the proud
State that Mr. Hilliard represents now, in Montgomery, Alabama,
launched a new revolution that opened doors a little wider and brought
equality a little closer for all Americans in our Nation.
In 1955, Rosa Parks touched off a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama,
when she was arrested for refusing to yield her seat to a gentleman
there who was not of her own race. She was bone weary from a long day
at work, she was on her way home, she was sitting in a colored section
on the bus. But the law said that African Americans in that section had
to yield their seats to people who were not African Americans if no
seats were available in the white section for them. This was a visceral
symbol to African Americans of their second-class citizenship that was
continuing to be reinforced by those blatant segregation laws.
The white section of the bus was full, and a white man demanded that
Rosa Parks give up her seat. She refused and was subsequently arrested.
Because Rosa Parks sat there with the dignity and the courage that she
embraced, she sat there and the whole world stood up. And the name of
Dr. Martin Luther King at that point came to the ears and eyes of
America as the Montgomery bus boycott was created and launched and came
to the ears and eyes of America.
That is why I believe it is important, it is imperative for this
body, the United States House of Representatives, to award Mrs. Rosa
Parks a Congressional Gold Medal, a bill that I introduced on her 86th
birthday, February 4. We have amassed some 127 cosponsors to that
effort, and I would love to see all 435 Members join in this effort to
ensure that while she yet lives that she will understand that the
United States House of Representatives recognizes the achievement in
terms of the movement that she created by virtue of the Montgomery bus
boycott and that she will still be able to live and receive in person
the Congressional Gold Medal.
Mrs. Parks has established, along with her now late husband, an
institute for self-development, a training school for Detroit
teenagers. The legislation, H.R. 573, would authorize the President to
award Mrs. Parks a gold medal on behalf of the Congress and, of course,
as gold medals move through, it authorizes the United States Mint to
strike and sell duplicates to the public.
This legislation not only is symbolic, it is a very necessary action
upon which the United States Congress should engage, because it
bespeaks not only the character and the integrity
[[Page H788]]
but the courage and the perseverance of an incredibly fine woman. On
the eve of the celebration of the International Woman's Year next
month, national periodicals and publications across this land have
identified Mrs. Parks as being one of clearly the dynamic women, if you
will, of the century. I think that it would be extremely befitting for
all Members of Congress to join in this noteworthy and vital effort to
provide this Congressional Gold Medal.
I appreciate very much your indulgence and your attention to this
effort.
When I first heard that Congress has never recognized Rosa Parks'
role in the civil rights movement, I was astounded. We have gone 44
years without expressing our gratitude for her leadership.
Rosa Parks is an outstanding American, the type of person for whom
the Congressional Gold Medal was created. I urge all my colleagues to
join the 122 bi-partisan co-sponsors in supporting this bill.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague
from the great State of Indiana for her presentation and let her know
that I truly and wholeheartedly support her effort to have a
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Rosa Parks and have signed on to
her resolution and legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, let me first of all thank the
gentlewoman from Ohio for not only yielding but also for her leadership
and tenacious manner of jumping into the activities of this Congress
even though this is her first term in office. While we are all going to
miss Mr. Stokes and all of the work that he did from that district, I
think those of us who have had the good fortune to interact with his
replacement know that Lou Stokes is probably sitting someplace smiling,
saying, ``I am so glad that this lady was elected to take my spot.''
{time} 1900
So thank you so very much.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to join with those who are paying tribute
to the concept of African American History Month, and it is a time to
reflect, it is a time to share, it is a time to appreciate the
tremendous ideas of Dr. Carter G. Woodson as we look not only into the
past but also to the present and into the future.
But I am going to read a poem that I was asked to read by a gentleman
from the State of Utah. He is not from Illinois. He is not from
Chicago. As a matter of fact, he lives in Congressman Merrill Cook's
district and, through the Congressman, asked me if I would read this
poem that he has written.
Mr. Harris is a 32-year-old teacher at the Salt Lake Community
College and also does biomedical research at the school. He is
originally from Columbus, Mississippi, and is active in the Salt Lake
chapter of the NAACP, and he wrote this poem to commemorate May 14,
which was declared African American Creed Day in Mississippi.
He says:
I, the African American, man, woman, child, son and daughter
and great grandchild of slaves, descendant of Africa
and child of God, no longer have to search to find my
place in this world.
I, the African American, have a responsibility, to my
forefathers and foremothers whose struggles I must
continue to ward off hatred and bigotry.
I, the African American, descendent of Ishmael and Abraham,
have a responsibility, to help my brothers and sisters
when, and after, they fall by the wayside.
I, the African American, descendent of great kings and queens
of Africa, am obligated to teach my children about our
ancestors and their customs.
I, the African American, of dark complexion, have a
responsibility for keeping my dark beautiful armor
shined with Christ-like luster in my daily walk.
I, the African American, whose ancestors were great warriors,
must become a great warrior against such things as
drugs and gang violence.
I, the African American, come from a race which was so
powerful, to cause a nation to change its views on
segregation and rethink its views of desegregation.
I, the African American, great grandchild of great chiefs in
Africa, have a responsibility to become the head of my
family and to raise my children in such a manner that
will enable my children to become great leaders.
I, the African American, have come from a race which helped
build this country, have a responsibility to keep the
talent alive and to build great buildings that will
stand alongside the great pyramids of Egypt.
I, the African American, whose forefathers came from a land
rich in vegetation and animal life, have a
responsibility to preserve that beauty so that my
children will have the same opportunities to bathe in
the beauty of nature that God has created for all to
enjoy.
I, the African American, whose ancestors used as a part of
their culture great dances, am obligated to pass this
tradition and the history behind the dances on to my
children.
I, the African American, come from a race where such powerful
men and women laid down their lives so that I may be
able to get a fair education. Therefore, I am obligated
to attend a school of higher learning.
I, the African American, whose forefathers have been spit
upon and smitten, all in the name of equality, just so
you and I could stand here today, must be willing to
display in return the same equal kindness that we have
demanded, not just to men and women of the African
American race, but to men and women of all races.
I, the African American, whose fathers and mothers can now
become men of science, medicine and law, am obligated
to follow in their footsteps ensuring the best possible
care, in order to preserve my history.
I, the African American, whose forefathers have died in wars
when they were not allowed to drink from the same
drinking fountain, yet were equal enough to share the
same bullet, but couldn't be buried in the same
cemetery, am obligated to become a great general of the
Armed Forces and even to become a President of the
United States of America.
And so I say, my country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty,
let it be known that if any changes are to occur, it
must start with me. Of thee I sing. Land where my
fathers died, land of every man's pride, from every
mountain side, we shall let freedom ring.
And let me just say that I am pleased to have had the opportunity to
share this all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah, by way of
Mississippi, and I do not represent either one of those, but certainly
the thoughts and ideas that have been generated by Mr. Harris are
worthy of an entire Nation to consider.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Congressman Davis, thank you very much.
Madam Speaker, I reclaim my time, and I would like to have a copy of
that poem, if the gentleman from Illinois would allow me.
Madam Speaker, I now rise to yield to the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Owens).
Mr. OWENS. I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio and congratulate her for
continuing the tradition that was started by her predecessor, Lou
Stokes, in guaranteeing that at least once a year the members of the
Congressional Caucus should make a special effort to note some
achievements in African American history.
There is a lot of talk these days about the fact that it is a little
ridiculous to set aside one month a year to pay tribute to African
American history, and a lot of people say it is a little silly on the
one hand. Others say that it is now being over-commercialized, and
companies are exploiting it, and people are trivializing it by running
advertisements that say that they support Black History Month, et
cetera.
I disagree. I disagree profoundly. I think that only people who are
snobbish and people who are elitists and who have lost contact with the
masses would come to those kinds of conclusions. There is a great vast
body out there of African Americans who are totally ignorant about
their own history and who are victimized with low self-esteem and low
sense of self-worth because they have to hear from other people lies
about their history. They hear from other people that they have no
history. Even such great writers as Arnold Toynbee dared to say that,
you know, of all the races, the Africans were the only ones who made no
contributions to civilization.
You know, since he said that of course there have been many, many
diggings in the desert, and African cities have been unearthed, and the
whole Kingdom of Cush have been attributed to Africa instead of Egypt,
and people have recognized that many of the great kings of Egypt have
Negroid features, and on and on it goes. It was a big lie perpetrated,
however, by a very high-level British scholar.
I would like to pay particular tribute to one individual that
certainly had a great impact on my life in terms of the
[[Page H789]]
importance of African American history. It was a little old lady, one
of the unsung heroes that very few people ever know about, but she made
a contribution, not only an impression on me, but many other people, a
little old lady who lived in the community of Brownsville where I got
my first assignment when I went to New York City as a professional
librarian.
In the local library we have programs of various kinds, and this lady
appeared to ask me to have a series of lectures on African American
history, and I agreed to do that, and she was going to help me set it
up. And during the course of it, of the development of that series of
lectures, I got to know her very well. Her name was Mother Rosetta
Gaston. They called her Mother because when I met her she was already
88. When she died, she was 99. She was quite a person because she was
quite lucid and had all her faculties and quite strong and combative
all the way to the time when I went to the hospital to visit her
shortly before her death, a very short little black lady who also
fascinated me because she is one of the few people I ever met who was
born and raised in New York City. Most of the African Americans in New
York that I met, they came, like me, from somewhere else. I came from
Tennessee. A lot of other people come from North Carolina, South
Carolina, all over, but she was born and raised in New York, and that
fascinated me.
But the most fascinating thing about Mother Rosetta Gaston was the
fact that she actually knew Carter G. Woodson. She had actually met,
and she knew Carter G. Woodson, and she adored him. He was kind of like
a saint for her.
Carter G. Woodson is a founder of the study of Negro life and
history, the Association for Study of Negro Life and History, which
later sponsored the first Negro History Week and then later became
Negro History Month and Black History Month or African American History
Month, whichever way you like to label it.
And Carter G. Woodson was, of course, a scholar. He had a Ph.D. And
Carter G. Woodson was interested in dealing with other scholars, trying
to straighten out people like Arnold Toynbee who distorted history by
saying that Africans had never contributed anything to history, trying
to straighten out the people who wrote the textbooks in America, who
refused to recognize basic facts about African American history. He
wanted to change curriculums and do many kinds of things that needed to
be done at the level of scholars and educators.
He was not particularly interested in popularizing it. It was Mother
Gaston who influenced him to begin the Negro History Weeks and to start
young people's groups called Negro History Clubs throughout the
country. And a whole youth movement was developed as a result of Mother
Rosetta Gaston pushing the great scholar, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, to
popularize African American history.
So it is, you know, most people will find it hard to understand how
in school districts and in local schools where 90 percent or 95 percent
of the young people attending the school, students, were African
Americans, it was hard to get the teachers to acknowledge that there
was anything significant that African Americans had ever contributed.
It was hard to get them to break away from racist textbooks.
You know, I had textbooks when I was at this school in the south, in
Memphis, and they described the Civil War as a disagreement between the
States, and there is nothing wrong with slavery according to that
textbook. And on and on it goes. Corrections like that Carter G.
Woodson was very concerned about, moving to have the curriculum
supplemented so that some sense of self-worth, some sense of self-
esteem could be communicated by the curriculum.
In a place like New York, a rich history of slavery, most people do
not know that New York was the third largest slave port in the country.
They think slavery is something totally associated with the south.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are many streets in Brooklyn
named after great slave owners and slave holders, and New York City's
early days, when they cleared the forests and built the area from the
downtown waterfront upward to Central Park, all of that was done by
slave labor. We recently unearthed a burial ground in the building of
the Federal building which documented that fact very well.
So there is a whole lot of history that needs to be dealt with at the
scholarly level, and all of it in my opinion is filled with the kinds
of anecdotes and incidents and facts that should be communicated to the
larger population. The larger population needs to know the history, and
Mother Rosetta Gaston is one of the heroines of the movement to
popularize African American history.
I hope that we will not never fall into the trap of being snobbish
and elitist to the point of wanting to get rid of African American
History Month.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would like to
thank my colleague from the great State of New York (Mr. Owens) for his
comments; and at this time I yield to the gentlewoman from the State of
Texas, my colleague, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee.
{time} 1915
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
Cleveland, Ohio (Mrs. Jones) for yielding. I thank her for her
initiative and for the history of what she brings to this place.
Needless to say that the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) will be
making her own history, but I know that she is gratified by the fact
that her predecessor served so ably in this House and as well creates
his page in African American history.
That is why I would say that this is such an important special order,
because I want to pick up on the theme of my friend, the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Owens). I heard his last words saying that is why we
should not engage in debate on the question of whether or not we should
have commemoration of African American history.
I think that is an important discussion because, as I understand it,
there are several movements around the country where people are rising
to express their opposition to months that commemorate Hispanic
heritage month or Asian heritage month or black history month, because
they say we are one America.
I believe that we can all sing from the same page, but we are tenors
and altos and sopranos. We are bass and, therefore, to eliminate the
celebration of African American history is, of course, to eliminate the
very infrastructure of a nation.
I rise today to thank Carter G. Woodson for his vision. I rise today
to acknowledge that we first came to this Nation, African Americans, in
the bottom of a belly of a slave boat. Having read extensively the
Constitution over the past 13 months, we also were three-fifths of a
person when the Constitution was written. So we find that our history
is worn but it is wrapped up in challenges. It is wrapped up in people
overcoming obstacles.
I think that there is every reason to continue to commemorate. It is
important that we acknowledge the most recent of episodes in our
history: Brown v. Board of Education, Sweatt v. Painter, the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, the Voter Rights Act of 1965, landmark decisions
all based upon the advocacy and the energy and the excitement of
African American warriors and African American challengers to the
system.
They used vehicles that were not weapons of war but they were weapons
of words. They were similar to the words of why a caged bird sings with
Maya Angelou recalling her graduation ceremony in Stamps, Arkansas, the
students sang ``Lift Every Voice and Sing'' the song that has become to
be known as the Negro national anthem.
Her expressions were such to give to America the understanding of why
those of us of African American heritage are, one, perceived as a caged
bird but yet, in being caged, we sung out for freedom and for justice.
It is important that we claim our history and it is important,
although we recognize that we have come from different perspectives and
that America is one Nation, that it is still very valuable that we talk
about being a mosaic.
As I close, let me, Madam Speaker, say just a moment of tribute to
home, to Houston, Texas, for there are, again, African leaders, African
Americans
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who have accepted the call, the challenge, to not be turned away by the
inequities in the law and the injustices, the segregation, the
discrimination, but to stand up. Moses Leroy, one of the first fighters
for workers' rights; Luella Harrison, a premier teacher who taught
young African American students that they could be anything they
desired to be as long as they sought to achieve; Hattie Mae White, the
first member of the school board; Erma Leroy; Zollie Scales, who taught
us what politics was all about, claiming your constitutional rights;
Mack Hannah, our first banker; Reverend Jack Yates, who a school was
named after and who a whole community, Freedomstown, was part of;
Mickey Leland; Dr. John B. Coleman, a doctor who not only nurtured our
sickness but also our community; and finally Dr. C. Anderson Davis, who
has founded the emancipation organization that for over the years has
helped us understand the emancipation proclamation; Juneteenth, where
Texans learned about our freedom two years later.
Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones)
for giving me this opportunity but more importantly let me tip my hat,
let me raise my hand, to all of those African Americans who gave to me
the opportunity to stand here tonight and let me challenge America that
the wrong message is to eliminate this day, this month, but that we
should all live a commemoration of African American history in our
lives.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam speaker, I would like to thank the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) for her presentation.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of
Georgia (Mr. Bishop).
Mr. BISHOP. Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from Ohio
(Mrs. Jones) for handling this special order and for her kindness and
graciousness in yielding the time to me to speak at this very, very
important time.
Madam Speaker, like many of our colleagues, I have been making talks
about black history this month at schools, churches and civic
organizations throughout my area of middle and south Georgia. It is an
honor to participate. I believe that the goals Dr. Carter J. Woodson
had in mind when he established this observance 73 years ago are indeed
being fulfilled.
As a historian, he wanted to make American history as accurate and as
complete as possible. As an African American who worked his way up from
poverty to become a renowned teacher, a writer and a scholar, he wanted
to give black people, particularly young people, a better sense of
their heritage and a more hopeful vision of their future and the
country's future.
Today, Americans everywhere recognize the contributions that African
Americans have made in science, exploration, business, education,
religion, the arts, in politics and government, in entertainment and
supports and the military and citizenship and in every field of
endeavor that has made our country a beacon of freedom and opportunity
throughout the world.
One example from my area of southwest Georgia, Thomasville, is
Lieutenant Henry Flipper. Henry Flipper was born a slave, became the
first African American to graduate from West Point. After serving with
distinction as an officer in the legendary Buffalo Soldiers on the
western frontier, he was falsely charged with the disappearance of
commissary funds. He was found innocent of these charges but was
nevertheless dismissed from the Army on a wrongful charge of conduct
unbecoming an officer.
Others might have been defeated by this setback but Henry Flipper
never lost his sense of duty and responsibility and he rose to great
heights in the years that followed.
As a civilian, he was a pioneer in the oil industry, helped develop
the railroad in the west and served as an inventor, surveyor, engineer,
author and newspaper editor. He rose to positions of extraordinary
influence in government, serving as an assistant to the Secretary of
the Interior, a special agent to the U.S. Justice Department and as an
advisor to Congress.
Just a few days ago, he was formally pardoned of all charges by
President Clinton at a White House ceremony with many of his
descendants in attendance. Today his statue can be found on the campus
of West Point. A post office is named in his honor in the community
where he was born in my district. Efforts are being made to issue a
stamp with his portrait. He was truly a hero.
It was not his extraordinary accomplishments that made him such an
inspiring figure. What made him special were the personal values and
strengths that enabled him to overcome adversity time and time again
and continue to live a highly productive life; qualities such as his
remarkable courage and sense of discipline, personal dignity, duty, his
fighting spirit and his unwavering faith in his country through all of
the difficulties and injustices that he had to endure.
During his years at the military academy, Flipper experienced
mistreatment and ostracism but he persevered and graduated as one of
the academy's better students. In civilian life, he encountered a
series of new challenges with the same skills and determination and the
duty that characterized his career at West Point and in the military
making historic contributions to our country's westward expansion.
In spite of his bitter experiences in the military, when Henry
Flipper died in Atlanta in 1940 his death certificate listed the one
occupation that he wished recorded: Retired Army officer.
America has produced many heroes. They come from all races, creeds
and colors. We find examples of great necessary among all people in the
patchwork of cultures that has become the strongest, freest and most
productive nation the world has ever known. Black history month gives
us an opportunity to learn from their lives.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my
colleague, the gentleman from the great State of Georgia (Mr. Bishop)
for his comments.
It is true that I stand here, and I say, on the shoulders of the
great Congressman Louis Stokes of the 11th Congressional District of
Ohio. I stand here bringing this special order, part of the tradition
he began here in Congress.
I cannot recount in the few remaining minutes all the greatest of
Congressman Louis Stokes but it is written in the annals of history.
There are not many people who will retire from Congress that have a
street named after them, a college technical building, a medical school
building, a day care center, a library building, a recreational
facility and his name plastered in the hearts and minds of all the
people, not only of the State of Ohio but across this country.
I would end this special hour, Madam Speaker, with a poem. All of us
have stood here and said we rise. I conclude with a poem by Maya
Angelou that reads as follows, entitled, Still I Rise.
You may write me down in history with your bitter twisted
lies. You may trod me in the very dirt but still like
dust I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells pumping in my
living room.
Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides,
just like hopes springing high, still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops, weakened by my
soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard
'cause I laugh like I've got gold mines digging in my
own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your
eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still,
like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise that I
dance like I've got diamonds at the meeting of my
thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame, I rise. Up from a past
that's rooted in pain, I rise. I'm a black ocean,
leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise. Into a
daybreak that's wondrously clear, I rise. Bringing the
gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the
hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in
celebration of Black History Month.
This year's proclamation from the President for Black History Month
is ``Celebrating African-American Leadership Past and President.'' My
hometown of Dallas and homestate of Texas are fortunate to have many
prominent African-American leaders of whom I would like to mention just
a few.
Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk is a prime example of a successful African-
American leader. He
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was born in Austin where he lived until graduating from the University
of Texas School of Law. He later worked in Washington, DC for United
States Senator Lloyd Bentsen in the early 1980's. Kirk returned to
Dallas to work for the City Attorney's office. In 1994 he was appointed
by Governor Ann Richards to be the Secretary of State, prior to his
election as Dallas Mayor. As the elected leader of Dallas, Mayor Kirk
has effortlessly promoted the city's economic opportunities helping
make it one of the nation's top business, tourist and convention
centers in the country.
Not only has Mayor Kirk been a strong leader in the public sector, he
has also been a tremendous volunteer having been awarded in 1992 the
Volunteer of the Year Award from Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Mayor Kirk has also been a strong proponent of celebrating the legacy
of African-American leadership. Last year I worked with Mayor Kirk and
the city of Dallas to secure a $14,000 grant from the Corporation For
National Service. This grant allowed the city to incorporate youth
service into its very successful annual Martin Luther King celebration.
Another standout is singer Charley Pride, the first African-American
to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Through not a native Texan, he has
made Dallas his home for the last 30 years. This three-time grammy
award winner started his public career in the Negro American baseball
league. He later went on to record such song hits as ``Snakes Crawl at
Night,'' ``Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger'' and ``I Know One.''
Currently, Pride resides in Dallas, Texas, where he is part owner of
Cecca Productions.
Bessie Coleman, the first African-American to fly an airplane, was
born in Atlanta, Texas in 1892. An exhibition flyer, Bessie earned her
nickname ``Queen Bess'' as she appeared at air shows across the nation
performing daring aerial acts with her plane. Rejected from American
aviation schools, Coleman went to France to learn to fly where she
became the first African-American female to earn an international
pilot's license.
Madam Speaker, Texas is proud to have many other African-American
leaders who have helped make Texas and especially Dallas world class.
Many I have mentioned here before; the late Joseph Lockridge, A. Maceo
Smith, George Allen Sr., Dr. Napoleon Lewis, Mrs. Juanita Craft,
Clarence Laws, Roosevelt Johnson, the Rev. S.M. Wright and so many
others. Without the determination, courage and talent of these
individuals many African-American would not be able to achieve their
dreams today. I salute the African-American leaders of our past and
look forward to the success of the leaders of our future.
This is not to overlook a long string of African Americans who helped
to make Texas and especially Dallas world class.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with a great sense of honor that
I rise to celebrate Black History Month. As we honor the great cultural
and historic legacy that African-Americans have left to us and to
future generations, we recognize that they led one of the greatest
social transformation in the history of the United States: the civil
rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The civil rights movement was a period of enormous growth for our
country and society. Great African-American leaders such as Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and others forced us, as a
nation, to search our souls and confront the forces of hate and
ignorance that were splitting our society.
Today, we continue to confront the forces of hate and ignorance. The
fact remains that much still needs to be done before true equality and
racial harmony become a fact of life in this country. Now, more than
ever, we need strong African-American leadership. We must have leaders
who, like the leaders of the civil rights movement, are able to take
action and inspire others to confront bigotry.
In the First Congressional District of Indiana, we are blessed with a
number of outstanding African-American leaders. But there are 10
specific leaders that I want to recognize today for their devotion to
public service and their ability to inspire future generations to
achieve all that they can.
Suzette Raggs is the current Deputy Mayor of Gary. She is the first
black woman appointed Deputy Mayor in the state of Indiana. She was
appointed by Mayor Scott King in 1996. She is President of the Gary
City Board of Public Works and Safety, the body that oversees all of
the contractual agreements for the city. She is also Co-Chairman of the
Harambee African Celebration in the Gary City Council Chambers as part
of the Black History Month celebration. She currently sits on the Board
of Redevelopment Commission for the Department of Redevelopment.
Sandra Jean Carr Irons has been the President of the Gary Teachers'
Union, Local No. 4, since 1971. Her involvement in union activities has
taken her all across the nation and the world. She has served in
leadership positions with the American Federation of Teachers and the
International Federation of Free Trade Unions. She has served on a
number of state and local bodies, including the Gary Commission on the
Status of Women and the State of Indiana Civil Rights Commission's
Employment Advisory Committee. Prior to her service with the Gary
Teachers' Union, she had been a mathematics teacher in the Gary
Community School Corporation. She holds a B.S. Degree in Mathematics
and Chemistry from Kentucky State College and a Masters Degree in
Teaching Mathematics from Purdue University. She was also the
Valedictorian of her high school class at Rosenwald High School in
Harlan, Kentucky.
State Senator Earline Rogers of Gary, Indiana was first elected to
the Indiana General Assembly as a State Representative in 1982, after
two years as a member of the Gary City Council. In 1990, she became a
member of the Indiana State Senate. During her tenure in the
legislature, she has severed in several leadership positions and
currently serves as Assistant Minority Floor Leader of the Democratic
Caucus. As a retired teacher, Senator Rogers has taken a special
interest in education reform and has co-authored many of the state's
education bills. She is actively involved in many community
organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, the Urban League, the Black Professional Women, the
American Federal of Teachers, the Indiana State Teachers' Association,
the National Council of Negro Women, the YWCA and the Hoosier Boys'
Town.
Rudolph Clay is a 13-year member of the Lake County Board of
Commissioners. In 1972, he was elected to the State Senate, making him
the first black state Senator from Northwest Indiana. During his stay
in the State Senate, he earmarked $100,000 in the state budget to
recruit and hire minority state troopers. He was also elected to two
terms as a member of the Lake County Council, beginning in 1978, and
served as Council President. In 1984, he again broke barriers as the
first black county recorder. As a member of the Board of Commissioners,
he has instituted a major overhual of the county's Affirmative Action
policies and practices. Most recently, he was part of the Board that
adopted the most comprehensive Equal Employment Opportunity Plan to
date.
Bernard A. Carter was appointed to the position of Prosecuting
Attorney of Lake County, Indiana, in December 1993 to fill the
unexpired term of his predecessor. In May of 1994, he was elected to
the position. Prior to being named Prosecutor, he served for three
years as the presiding Judge of the Lake County Superior Court, County
Division III. He was the first African-American Judge elected in the
history of Lake County. Prior to his election, Carter served as a Lake
County Deputy Prosecutor for six years. During that time, he
successfully tried more than 80 important felony cases and was
appointed Supervisor of the County court division of the Lake County
Prosecutor's Office.
William A. Smith, Jr. is the Lake County Third District councilman
and has held that seat since 1983. In 1999, his peers elected him Vice
President of the Lake county council. A graduate of the Lincoln Service
Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Smith served for 20 years as a
firefighter and 12 years as the Gary City Court Administrator. He
currently serves as the Deputy Government Liaison for the Calumet
Township Trustee's Office.
Lonnie Randolph is the current City Judge of East Chicago, Indiana.
He was appointed to that position in August of 1998. He served as an
Assistant States Attorney and a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Lake
County before entering private practice for the past 17 years. In 1992,
he was elected to the Indiana State Senate. In addition to his public
service, he is involved with a number of community organizations
including the East Chicago Lions Club, the East Chicago NAACP, the East
Chicago Katherine Boys Club of America and the Hammond YMCA.
Morris W. Carter is the Recorder for Lake County, Indiana and is a
former County Councilman. Educated through the Gary Community School
system, he attended the Indiana University Northwest School of Public
and Environmental Affairs. As a County Councilman, Mr. Carter served on
as many as 25 boards and committees throughout Lake County. He has also
served in administrative posts throughout city, township and county
governments. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Carter has served as mentor
for some of the most outstanding leaders in the Gary community and of
his generation. Recently, he has devoted much of his time and energy to
the Gary Accord and the local Commission on the Status of Black Males,
where he serves as a board member.
Troy Montgomery is the current President of the Lake County Council.
He has represented the citizens of Gary for seven years. He is also a
33-year employee of U.S. Steel corporation. A disabled veteran, he has
been active in the United Steelworkers of America,
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holding a number of leadership positions, including serving on the
International Civil Rights Committee. He has also been active with the
NAACP, serving as Chairman of the Gary Branch of the NAACP Labor and
Industry Committee and as Chairman of the Indiana State Conference of
Branches State Labor and Industry Committee.
Dharathula ``Dolly'' Millender is a former school librarian and Gary
City Councilwoman. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees
for the Gary Community Schools. She is the author of several books for
children, including Martin Luther King, Jr. which is published in both
English and Norwegian. She has authored two other books on the
childhood and young adulthood of Crispus Attucks and Louis Armstrong.
She has also written Yesterday in Gary, a book about Gary's African-
American heritage. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of
the Gary Historical and Cultural Society. She is considered the
Historian of Gary, Indiana, and frequently speaks to audiences of
children, youths and people of all ages about the history of Gary and
Lake County.
Madam Speaker, I ask you and my distinguished colleagues to join me
in commending these outstanding African-American leaders and their
efforts to build a better society for our country and the citizens of
Northwest Indiana.
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to lift up three
extraordinary people who have contributed much the Civil Rights Era:
Martin Luther King, Jr., John Coltrane and Nelson Mandela.
Dr. King was very much aware of the cultural impact of jazz on the
civil rights struggle. He talked while he was in Berlin, Germany about
how music is such a great unifying force, in particular jazz, that
connects people and enhances cultural development of society. King went
on to discuss how jazz evolved from the black churches gospel songs and
hymns into a popular art form that has wide appeal across racial and
ethnic lines. Coltrane was instrumental in insuring jazz's distinction
as a National American treasure. Coltrane once said, ``My goal . . . is
to uplift people as much as I can, to inspire them to realize
capacities for living meaningful lives.'' Through his boundless music,
he like King and Mandela helped to break down the walls of prejudice
and intolerance in our nation. Because of Coltrane, jazz has become the
music that America is known for around the world. Jazz has such
cultural significance that it crosses racial, ethnic, socio-economic,
and geographic boundaries. The importance of music cannot be
understated in the struggle for African-Americans in this country to
gain rights of equality and fair treatment. Coltrane's musical genius
acted to soothe the wounds after the harsh, brutal fight, acted as
healing salve to bring both black and white, red and brown peoples
together. It is Coltrane musical essence that still brings us together
today.
President Nelson Mandela is the last name in this trinity that I
would like to lift up. It was Mandela who endured 27 years of prison
interment only to merge as the leader of the most feared, apartheid
ruled, police state in the world. It was Mandela who, in his brilliance
organized his people and all South Africans to move toward
reconciliation and forgiveness. President Mandela was also acutely
aware of the healing power of music to the soul. If you ever listen to
African music, to the congo drums, the singing, envision the women and
men swaying with the beat, you can hear reminiscences of jazz, you can
sense the cultural divide weakening, you can feel the healing in the
music. We owe a great deal to King, Coltrane and Mandela and we
profoundly thank them for their contribution to our lives.
Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank my
colleagues, the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Clyburn, chair of
the Black Caucus, and the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Tubbs Jones, for
organizing this Black History month special order.
Today I join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, and our
colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we acknowledge the
contributions of African American women and men to the building and
shaping of this nation.
What began as Negro History week in 1926, expanded to Black History
month in 1976. Let me say that one month cannot capture in full the
history of a people. It is important that we make efforts to
incorporate the contributions and achievements of African Americans to
this nation, year round.
As we mark the 1999 observance of Black History month, I do so
keeping in mind this year's theme, ``The Legacy of African American
Leadership for the present and the future,'' The theme this year gives
us an opportunity to draw strength and inspiration from the many
African Americans who have gone before us. I would like to use this
time to highlight the legacy of African American women's political
involvement and participation.
The history of African American women's participation in American
politics must recognize our involvement in traditional political acts,
such as registering, voting, and holding office, but also those
nontraditional activities in which we engaged long before we had access
to the ballot. Because African American women are simultaneously
members of the two groups that have suffered the nation's most blatant
exclusions from politics, African American and women, our political
behavior has been largely overlooked.
African American women organized slave revolts, established
underground networks, and even sued for the right to be free. Public
records reveal that many African American women were involved in the
abolition movement and were active participants in the early women's
rights movement. African American women's political activity has
largely been directed towards altering our disadvantaged status as
African Americans and women.
Because African American women have only recently been granted access
to the political arena as voters and officeholders in significant
numbers, there is a lack of information about them, and even less
information about those actions that predated these roles.
Today, we look to African American women holding political office as
a recent experience. The First African American women elected to state
legislature took office in 1938, the first to sit on a federal bench in
1966, and the first elected to Congress in 1968.
This is the legacy that I follow. I am thrilled to stand here on the
House floor as an American, as an African American, and as a woman
member of Congress. I stand here as the 171st Woman, the 99th African
American, and the 19th African American woman ever to have the
privilege of serving in this body. I stand here today because of the
legacy of those who have gone before me.
I stand here today because of those African American women who had
the courage to be involved in electoral politics, and I stand here
today to fulfill my role as an African American leader.
Again, Madam Speaker, I thank so much the gentlewoman from Ohio, and
the gentleman from South Carolina for the opportunity to say these
words.
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