[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

[[Page H790]]

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

[[Page H791]]

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,

[[Page H792]]

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.

                          ____________________