[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 15, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H410-H413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CARTER G. WOODSON HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE STUDY ACT OF 1999
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3201) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study
the suitability and feasibility of designating the Carter G. Woodson
home in the District of Columbia as a national historic site, and for
other purposes
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3201
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Carter G. Woodson Home
National Historic Site Study Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Dr. Carter G. Woodson, cognizant of the widespread
ignorance and scanty information concerning the history of
African Americans, founded on September 9, 1915, the
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, since
renamed the Association for the Study of African-American
Life and History.
(2) The Association was founded in particular to counter
racist propaganda alleging black inferiority and the
pervasive influence of Jim Crow prevalent at the time.
(3) The mission of the Association was and continues to be
educating the American public of the contributions of Black
Americans in the formation of the Nation's history and
culture.
(4) Dr. Woodson dedicated nearly his entire adult life to
every aspect of the Association's operations in furtherance
of its mission.
(5) Among the notable accomplishments of the Association
under Dr. Woodson's leadership, Negro History Week was
instituted in 1926 to be celebrated annually during the
second week of February. Negro History Week has since evolved
into Black History Month.
(6) The headquarters and center of operations of the
Association was Dr. Woodson's residence, located at 1538
Ninth Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the
National Park Service.
SEC. 4. STUDY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date on
which funds are made available for such purpose, the
Secretary, after consultation with the Mayor of the District
of Columbia, shall submit to the Committee on Resources of
the United States House of Representatives and the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the United
[[Page H411]]
States Senate a resource study of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson
Home and headquarters of the Association for the Study of
African-American Life and History, located at 1538 Ninth
Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C.
(b) Contents.--The study under subsection (a) shall--
(1) identify suitability and feasibility of designating the
Carter G. Woodson Home as a unit of the National Park System;
and
(2) include cost estimates for any necessary acquisition,
development, operation and maintenance, and identification of
alternatives for the management, administration, and
protection of the Carter G. Woodson Home.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3201, introduced by my
colleague, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
H.R. 3201 serves to honor the prolific accomplishments of the great
American historian, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, by establishing his home,
located at 1538 Ninth Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., as a
national monument.
Dr. Woodson, the second black to ever graduate from Harvard, was an
eminent historian of African-American life and history. His life was
devoted to educating African-Americans and the American public of the
contributions black Americans made in the formation of our Nation's
history and culture.
His efforts led to the establishment of the Association for the Study
of Negro Life and History in 1915. Its purpose was to counter the
racist propaganda and the influence of Jim Crow prevalent at the time.
Every aspect of Dr. Woodson's life was dedicated to the Association's
purpose. Even the headquarters and center of operation was located in
his home. In 1926, under his leadership, the Association instituted
Negro History Week.
This week of commemorating black achievements gradually gained
support and participation from schools, colleges, and other
organizations, and led to the establishment of Black History Month.
The original mission of the Association for the Study of Negro Life
and History, since renamed the Association for the Study of African-
American Life and History, remains the same. Dr. Woodson's vision
continues to serve and educate people of the importance of African-
American history.
H.R. 3201 is an authorization for the Secretary of the Interior to
study the feasibility of designating the Carter G. Woodson home as a
national historic site. To enact this bill in the month of February,
Black History Month, would be a meaningful gesture of bipartisan
cooperation.
H.R. 3201 authorizes the Secretary to conduct a resource study on the
Carter G. Woodson home and the headquarters of the Association for the
Study of African-American Life and History. After 18 months, the study
is then to be submitted to the Committee on Resources and the
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. The focus of this study
will be on the feasibility of designating the Carter G. Woodson home as
a unit of the National Park System.
To include Dr. Woodson's home as a National Historic Site would serve
to heighten the public's understanding of African-American history, and
honor the legacy of Carter G. Woodson and his association.
Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my support for H.R. 3201, and ask for
Members' endorsement to move ahead in the process of preserving this
historic site and honoring this great teacher.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, may I begin by thanking the leadership, and
especially the gentlemen from Texas, Mr. Armey and Mr. Delay, for their
great cooperation and courtesy to me in delaying this bill until the
end of the day. I had to attend a funeral this morning of a
particularly tragic variety. Two model teenagers were killed, and the
funeral was being held at precisely the time that this bill was due on
the floor. I very much appreciate the courtesy of the leaders in
postponing this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I want also to thank the chairman, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) for working closely with me to quickly bring to the
floor H.R. 3201, the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Study Act of 1999.
I also want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) of
the full committee for his strong support. I appreciate that I have
been able to work closely and collegially with both the full committee
and subcommittee not only on H.R. 3201, but on several issues affecting
the Nation's capital.
I am grateful also for the great assistance to me of the gentleman
from California (Mr. Miller), the ranking member of the full committee,
and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo), the ranking
member of the subcommittee.
I especially appreciate that the committee has expedited my bill to
assure the possibility of bipartisan passage on the House floor this
month as a concrete way for the Congress to commemorate Black History
Month.
The man we honor today, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and the organization
that he founded, the Association for the Study of African-American Life
and History, were responsible for establishing the annual black history
celebration.
{time} 1515
Dr. Woodson was a distinguished American historian who began the
process of uncovering African American history and the contributions of
African Americans to our Nation's history. The time is overdue to begin
a feasibility study on designating his home at 1538 Ninth Street,
Northwest, in the Nation's capital, as a national historic site within
the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
Today it stands boarded up in the historic Shaw District. In giving
Dr. Woodson's home its rightful place, the bill begins the process of
uncovering the living black history right here in the Nation's capital,
where Dr. Woodson lived and worked as the founder and director of the
Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Dr. Woodson, the son of former slaves, earned his Ph.D. degree from
Harvard University in 1912, becoming only the second black American to
receive a doctorate from Harvard after the great W.E.B. DuBois.
Woodson's personal educational achievement was extraordinary in itself,
especially for a man who had been denied access to public education in
Canton, Virginia, where Woodson was born in 1875.
As a result, Dr. Woodson did not begin his formal education until he
was 20 years old, after he moved to Huntington, West Virginia, and
received his high school diploma 2 years later. He then entered Berea
College in Kentucky, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1897.
Woodson continued his education at the University of Chicago where he
earned his A.B. and M.A. degrees.
During much of Dr. Woodson's life, there was widespread ignorance and
very little information concerning African American life and history.
With his extensive studies, Woodson almost single handedly established
African American historiography. Dr. Woodson's research in literally
uncovering black history helped to educate the American public about
the contributions of African Americans to the Nation's history and
culture. Through scholarship and painstaking historical research, his
work has helped reduce the stereotypes captured in basically negative
portrayals of black people that have marred our history as a Nation. To
remedy these stereotypes, Dr. Woodson in 1915 founded the Association
for the Study of Negro Life and History, since renamed the Association
for the Study of African American Life and History.
Through the Association, Dr. Woodson dedicated his life to educating
the American public about the contributions of black Americans to the
Nation's history and culture. This work in bringing history to bear
where prejudice and racism had held sway has
[[Page H412]]
played an indispensable role in reducing prejudice and making the need
for civil rights remedies clear. Among its enduring accomplishments,
the Association, under Dr. Woodson's leadership, instituted Negro
History Week in 1926 to be observed during the week in February of the
birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas.
Today, of course, Negro History Week that was mostly celebrated in
segregated schools, like my own here in the District when I was a
child, and historically black colleges and universities, has gained
support and participation throughout the country among people of all
backgrounds as Black History Month.
To assure publication under Dr. Woodson's leadership, the Association
in 1920 also founded the Associated Publishers, for the publication of
research on African American history.
Dr. Woodson published his seminal work, The Negro in Our History, in
1922 and many others under Associated Publishers and the publishing
company provided an outlet for scholarly works by numerous other black
scholars. The Association also circulated two periodicals, the Negro
History Bulletin, designed for mass consumption and the Journal of
Negro History that was primarily directed to the academic community.
Dr. Woodson directed the association's operations from his home on
Ninth Street here in Washington, D.C. From there, he trained
researchers and staff and managed the association's budget and fund-
raising efforts while at the same time pursuing his own study of
African American history.
This Victorian-style house built in 1890, where African American
history was both made and uncovered, already listed as a national
historic landmark, needs to be opened to the public. With today's bill,
this landmark can become a national historic site with care lodged with
the National Park Service.
I ask my colleagues to pass H.R. 3201, to commemorate the work of Dr.
Carter G. Woodson and the association he founded as a particularly
appropriate way for the House of Representatives to celebrate Black
History Month.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), a member of the
subcommittee.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
3201, the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Study Act, and
I commend my friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from the District of
Columbia (Ms. Norton), for introducing this bill. I also thank my
chairman, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen), and the ranking member,
for their support in bringing the bill to the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, Carter G. Woodson, the son of former slaves James and
Eliza Woodson of Buckingham County, Virginia, dedicated his life to the
study and history of African American life and culture. As we heard, he
received his A.B. and M.A. degrees from the University of Chicago in
1908 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, following W.E.B.
DuBois as the second African American to receive a doctorate from
Harvard.
His teaching and travels abroad, including a year of study in Asia
and Europe, as well as a semester at the Sorbonne, gave him a mastery
of several languages. His distinguished career as an educator included
serving as the supervisor of schools in the Philippines, dean of the
Schools of Liberal Arts at Howard University and West Virginia State
College.
In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and
History because of what he saw as the great need to educate the
American public about the contributions of black Americans in the
formation of the Nation's history and culture. It is because of the
efforts of Dr. Woodson that Black History Month is celebrated across
the country today.
Mr. Speaker, I could go on to recount many more of the
accomplishments and contributions that Dr. Woodson made during his
lifetime; but we have heard many of them, and we will hear others
listed by those who make remarks in support of this bill today.
It is entirely fitting, though, as the gentlewoman from the District
of Columbia (Ms. Norton) has pointed out, that we honor this great
American, particularly during Black History Month, by having the
National Park Service study the feasibility and suitability of
designating his home on Ninth Street here in Washington, D.C. as a
national historic site.
I understand that the National Park Service is strongly supportive of
this study, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again thank the chairman of the
subcommittee, the distinguished gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen), and
his staff for their very expeditious attention to this bill and for the
way in which they have strongly supported it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her kind
remarks.
General Leave
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and add extraneous material on H.R. 149 and H.R. 3201, the two bills
just considered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ose). Is there objection to the request
of the gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3201,
the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Study Act. Carter G.
Woodson, a son of former slaves who worked in the mines and quarries
until the age of 20, who matriculated at Berea College and received his
MA in history from the University of Chicago and his doctorate in
history in 1912 from Harvard.
Carter G. Woodson is generally recognized as the Father of Negro
History because of his quest to open the long-neglected field of
African American history. His thirst for life and quest for truth
institutionalized the study of Afro-American and African societies and
cultures in the United States.
Among his notable accomplishments are: Negro History Week, which was
instituted in 1926 and has since evolved into Black History Month; the
widely consulted college text ``The Negro in Our History'', and the
Associated Publishers, a publishing outlet to bring out books on black
life and culture.
Yet despite these towering achievements, there is at present no
suitable memorial for Carter G. Woodson. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I
heartily support the idea of designating the Carter G. Woodson home in
Washington, DC, as a national historic site. To do so recognizes the
great debt we owe this important founding father of Afro-American
scholarship.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Negro History Bulletin, the
Journal of Negro History, the Association for the Study of Negro Life
and History, Black History Month--these were the creations of Carter G.
Woodson. Carter G. Woodson said we must know and celebrate our history.
And, he made it his life's work to see to it that we do.
From his home, Dr. Woodson ran the Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History. At his home, Dr. Woodson trained the scholars and
staff that researched, collected, catalogued and preserved the history
of a people.
I rise in support of the designation of Dr. Woodson's home as a
national historic site. There is no fitting tribute to the man and his
work * * * and to the understanding and appreciation of a people that
more than any other has made our Nation what it is today.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3201.
The question was taken.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair announces that the question will
be put on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal immediately
following this vote, and that that will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 413,
nays 1, not voting 20, as follows:
[Roll No. 20]
YEAS--413
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Archer
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Barrett (WI)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
[[Page H413]]
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Canady
Cannon
Capuano
Cardin
Carson
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth-Hage
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Condit
Conyers
Cook
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crowley
Cubin
Cummings
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Ewing
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Fowler
Frank (MA)
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Granger
Green (TX)
Greenwood
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (IN)
Hill (MT)
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kelly
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kleczka
Klink
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
Kuykendall
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Lantos
Largent
Larson
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Metcalf
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Ose
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pease
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Reyes
Reynolds
Riley
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Salmon
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simpson
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sununu
Sweeney
Talent
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Weygand
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wise
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NAYS--1
Paul
NOT VOTING--20
Baird
Bonior
Brown (OH)
Callahan
Campbell
Capps
Clay
DeFazio
Gephardt
Graham
Green (WI)
Hinojosa
Hutchinson
Kasich
Lowey
McCollum
Pelosi
Radanovich
Sanford
Vento
{time} 1547
So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were
suspended and the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________