[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.

                          ____________________