[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8717-H8720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZING MEMORIAL AND GARDENS IN HONOR AND COMMEMORATION OF
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5331) to authorize the Frederick Douglass Gardens, Inc., to
establish a memorial and gardens on Department of the Interior lands in
the District of Columbia or its environs in honor and commemoration of
Frederick Douglass.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5331
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MEMORIAL AND GARDENS TO HONOR AND COMMEMORATE
FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
(a) Memorial and Gardens Authorized.--The Frederick
Douglass Gardens, Inc., is authorized to establish a memorial
and gardens on lands under the administrative jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Interior in the District of Columbia or
its environs in honor and commemoration of Frederick
Douglass.
(b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works.--The
establishment of the Frederick Douglass memorial and gardens
shall be in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
(c) Payment of Expenses.--The Frederick Douglass Gardens,
Inc., shall be solely responsible for acceptance of
contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, the
establishment of the memorial and gardens. No Federal funds
may be used to pay any expense of the establishment of the
memorial and gardens.
(d) Deposit of Excess Funds.--If, upon payment of all
expenses of the establishment of the memorial and gardens
(including the maintenance and preservation amount required
under section 8(b) of the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C.
1008(b)), or upon expiration of the authority for the
memorial and gardens under section 10(b) of such Act (40
U.S.C. 1010(b)), there remains a balance of funds received
for the establishment of the memorial and gardens, Frederick
Douglass Gardens, Inc., shall transmit the amount of the
balance to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in the
account provided for in section 8(b)(1) of such Act (40
U.S.C. 1008(b)(1)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
[[Page H8718]]
Faleomavaega) 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, H.R. 5331 is a bipartisan bill that was introduced by
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
Mr. Speaker, Frederick Douglass was one of the most prominent leaders
of the 19th century abolitionist movement. Born into slavery in eastern
Maryland in 1818, Douglass escaped to the North as a young man where he
became a world-renowned defender of human rights and eloquent orator,
and later a Federal ambassador and advisor to several Presidents.
Frederick Douglass was a powerful voice for human rights during the
important period of American history, and is still revered today for
his contributions against racial injustice.
H.R. 5331 authorizes the Frederick Douglass Gardens, Inc., a
nonprofit organization, in partnership with the National Park Service,
to establish a memorial and gardens in the District of Columbia or its
environs in honor and commemoration of Frederick Douglass. Although not
certain, the preferred site would be in the D.C. area, east of the
Anacostia River, where Douglass spent the last 20 years of his life.
The Douglass memorial will comply with the Commemorative Works Act,
and no Federal funds may be spent for any expense of the establishment
of the memorial and gardens. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to
support H.R. 5331.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis), who is the chief sponsor of this legislation. I
am also listed as an original cosponsor of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5331 authorizes the establishment of a memorial and
gardens in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor and
commemorate the life and achievements of Frederick Douglass. Frederick
Douglass was the Nation's leading 19th century African American
spokesman. A gifted writer and speaker, he was a key figure in the
abolitionist movement. Because of this historic significance, the
National Park Service administers the Frederick Douglass national
historic site currently now in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Speaker, we are supportive of this measure, and I want to commend
again my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois, for his leadership
in sponsoring this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).
Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I want to personally thank the gentleman
from Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the ranking member for moving this
expeditiously, and I want to join my colleagues in urging the passage
of H.R. 5331, which establishes the Frederick Douglass National
Memorial Gardens within the District of Columbia.
For years now, many people have asked about the legacy of Frederick
Douglass. Certainly it lives on through his family, especially his
great great grandson, Frederick Douglass, IV, who I had the pleasure of
meeting last week, and it also lives on within each of us because
Frederick Douglass bestowed upon us an awesome responsibility to choose
the harder right over the easier wrong. He freed himself from slavery
and went on to advise President Lincoln, and served as an inspiration
to those who yearned to breathe free.
Earlier today, the House passed legislation to appropriate funds for
the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library to be built in Springfield,
Illinois. I think that President Lincoln would be pleased that we would
honor another hero of the common man by passing this bill to establish
the Frederick Douglass National Memorial and Gardens.
Like President Lincoln, Frederick Douglass stands as a reminder of a
time when our Nation faced its greatest peril. Through the strength of
their resolve and the millions of others who had tasted freedom, our
Nation survived and flourished. There are still many issues and
problems facing us today, but the foundation they built for us stands
strong and allows us the opportunity to meet our challenges together.
Frederick Douglass paved the way for us to better understand the true
meaning of the statement that all men are created equal. His legacy
lives in each of us, and with the memorial gardens we will ensure that
his legacy lives among us as well.
Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis), for his forethought in bringing this legislation to the floor,
and I want to thank him for bringing me into the fold and allowing me
to help him cosponsor this legislation. I also want to thank him for
his leadership.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the
gentleman from American Samoa for yielding me this time. I also want to
thank the ranking member of the subcommittee not only for his diligence
but also for his sensitivity in helping to move this legislation
forward.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be a principal sponsor of this
legislation to honor the renowned 19th century abolitionist leader
Frederick Douglass with the National Memorial and Gardens in the
Nation's capitol. Without question, Frederick Douglass is an American
hero deserving of such honor.
During the course of his remarkable life, Frederick Douglass freed
himself from slavery and became internationally renowned for his
eloquence in the cause of individual liberty and human rights. Douglass
is rightfully regarded as the true father of the civil rights in
America and one of profound intellectual thought.
Frederick Douglass published the North Star and Frederick Douglass'
Paper, which spread news of the abolitionist movement. His piercing
commentary earned him a role as a trusted advisor to President Abraham
Lincoln and other American Presidents as the Nation struggled to make
good on the promise of emancipation.
Breaking yet another racial barrier, in 1877, Frederick Douglass
moved to a house on a hill, Cedar Hill, he called it, in the Anacostia
neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where he could look down on the
Nation's most historic monuments from the sanctity of his garden.
From his offices in Anacostia in the late 19th century, he published
the New National Era, a beacon for a reformed, racially integrated
Nation which was to be published, in his words, ``in the interest of
the colored people of America; not as a separate class, but as a part
of the whole people,'' the American people.
He represented the United States as a foreign diplomat in both Haiti
and the Dominican Republic and also served as a member of the Howard
University Board of Directors. He resided in Anacostia until his death
in 1895, and is remembered by local schoolchildren to this date as the
``Sage of Anacostia.''
In a speech for which he is perhaps most well-known, Frederick
Douglass deplored how little democratic ideals had yet extended to his
people. By building a national memorial and gardens to Douglass in the
Nation's capitol, in the sight line of the U.S. Capitol, we
demonstrate that his voice was heard.
America is not finished fighting for a 4th of July that includes all
people. By surrounding the memorial with a beautiful garden, we pay
tribute to the contemplative side of the man that fed his public
passion. We remember a man who understood rightly the nature of true
power. He knew the value of power vested in a ``moral majority of
one.'' To quote his contemporary, Thoreau, ``And he wielded the power
of personal example as his weapon of choice in the greatest moral
struggle of modern times.''
The outcome of that struggle could be different if not for the
looming presence of Douglass, a man who Langston Hughes said quite
simply, ``is not dead,'' and we know what he meant. It would be
inappropriate to build a passive memorial of silent, motionless stone.
Our most fitting tribute to Douglass is a memorial that will include in
its presentation the living,
[[Page H8719]]
breathing lives grown out of his life, lives fleshing Douglass' dreams
of liberty and inspiring others to manifest the personal qualities of
Douglass the man: Integrity, courage, passion, a love for liberty and
justice, and a commitment to intellectual excellence.
As a passionate defender of the best of American ideals, Frederick
Douglass remains a powerful symbol for our times and a goad to constant
vigilance. Freedom is not free, and we would do well to provide a
reminder to our children that, as Douglass would say, struggle,
struggle, strife and pain are the prerequisites for change. And if
there is no struggle, there can be no progress.
Mr. Speaker, this moment would not be possible if it were not for
people like those in the Anacostia Garden Club; my colleagues, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Talent), and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms.
Norton); who all were very instrumental in helping to shape this
legislation and bring it to the floor. I thank them for joining as
original cosponsors.
Also I thank the Speaker, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert);
the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the ranking member; the
gentleman from California (Mr. Miller), the subcommittee chairman; the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen); and the ranking member, the gentleman
from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo) for their help in getting this
matter to the floor.
Finally, I urge all my colleagues to join with us in passing this
legislation, not just for Anacostia or Frederick Douglass, IV, but for
the entire Nation and for the entire world to see.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher).
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this effort to pay
tribute to a truly, truly great American, Frederick Douglass.
Frederick Douglass has been an inspiration to me throughout my adult
life. Let me say that Frederick Douglass was one of the truly great
orators in American history, and I have read so much about him in the
past. I, of course, was a speech writer for President Reagan, and when
I read about Frederick Douglass and how he moved people and changed
history with his passion, with his moral passion, I just could not help
but admire him so.
And, of course, he was also a gifted writer, and I am a former
journalist, and I certainly admire the fact that we have a great orator
and a gifted writer who did what? He helped save America from a moral
sin. He helped cleanse America. He was a freedom fighter. He was a
human rights advocate when the freedom fighters and the human rights
advocates needed to work on the United States of America because we
needed cleansing from our horrible institution of slavery.
So I am happy to join in this tribute to Frederick Douglass.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining on
this side of the aisle?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The gentleman from American
Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) has 13 minutes remaining.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentlewoman
from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), and I also do want to thank
the gentleman from Illinois for his most eloquent statement about this
great American leader.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa
for yielding me this time and for his work in facilitating this bill to
the floor so soon after it was introduced. I also thank the gentleman
from Utah (Mr. Hansen), who has worked with me on similar bills and
without whom this bill would certainly not be here so promptly.
I am particularly indebted to my good friends, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis),
whose leadership has been central to this bill.
Mr. Speaker, on any list of the 10 greatest Americans of all time
Frederick Douglass' name would probably appear. A man of multiple
talents and great principle.
Of course, he is known for many on the one hand as the great
abolitionist. That is his national-international reputation. Those of
us in the District of Columbia call him the Sage of Anacostia,
Anacostia and southeast Washington. This much seems clear: Frederick
Douglass was the most important black man of the 19th century, just as
Martin Luther King is surely the most important black man of the 20th
Century.
There are two important differences, though. First, a memorial for
Martin Luther King, Jr. is about to come forward on the mall. We are
very close to that now. A mall site has been approved, the memorial
itself has been approved, yet there is none for Douglass anywhere in
the Nation's capitol.
And, secondly, we do not seek a place for Douglass on the mall. To be
sure, Douglass deserves a national memorial wherever the greats are
sited, but there has been great sensitivity in thinking through where
this memorial should sit.
{time} 2015
I thank the original cosponsors with whom I have cosponsored this
bill, because, in a very real sense, Douglass belongs with us in the
District of Columbia.
Now, the National Park Service maintains a very interesting,
wonderfully educational home, the home he called Cedar Hill in
Southeast, in Anacostia. If Members have not been there, it is a place
you must not avoid. They have set that home up exactly as Douglass left
it. It is a great and wonderful mansion that he purchased in historic
Anacostia.
It is also in historic Anacostia where the memorial itself belongs,
not on the overcrowded mall where with all our hubris we all seek to
crowd but in Anacostia, in Southeast, where Douglass lived, where he
wrote, and from where he often rode on horseback and even walked to
Capitol Hill. He held every conceivable position in the District, U.S.
marshal, board of Howard University, recorder of deeds for the District
of Columbia. He was a man for all seasons and all nations and he was a
man of the District of Columbia. To be sure, a national and
international hero and diplomat, but above all, a man of this town.
So it stands to reason that it would be a local group in Anacostia
who wishes to raise the funds, working with the National Park Service,
for this memorial, of course, with no funds to come from the United
States Government.
One of the most appealing aspects of the notion of this memorial is
that it is a memorial and gardens, and the sponsor is the Frederick
Douglass Gardens. What a wonderful idea, an idea that did not come from
us but from the community which has thought about Douglass and his
life, how he lived that life, close to the city, close to nature.
Supporters, of course, include not only the Frederick Douglass
Institute, Frederick Douglass, IV himself, a man who looks strikingly
like his great great grandfather, I might add, but also the Anacostia
Historical Society and the Anacostia Garden Club; residents of the
District of Columbia who studied his life and try to live by his
principles.
The preferred site is even more wonderful. Again, it is not some
grand site in the middle of the most important part of the memorial,
though heaven knows Douglass would deserve such a site were it
appropriate in our sight, but it would be, we hope, on Poplar Point.
Where is Poplar Point? Poplar Point is a discarded site where the
Architect of the Capitol maintained his greenhouse. There is nothing
there now. We have moved the greenhouse. We would like to reclaim it
and integrate it as a memorial grove to be kept by the Park Service
with some appropriate memorial to the great Frederick Douglass in the
gardens, gardens so that people can come not just to watch whatever we
put there but to think about his life, to think about where he lived,
to think about what Douglass stood for.
I do believe this is the way to do a memorial, Mr. Speaker, at least
for this man. It is, as well, a way to spread out the memorials to
other historic parts of the District. We all somehow see ourselves
close to the Capitol, waving to history. You cannot do it. You cannot
fill it up with ourselves. You cannot fill it up with our favorite
heroes. Yet much of the District is historic. Not far from the Capitol
is where the great historic figures like George Washington and Abraham
Lincoln
[[Page H8720]]
spent their time, not in this plot of land but in the wonderful plots
surrounding the District. That is where Douglass belongs. That is where
we want a memorial to him, in another historic part of the District,
historic old Anacostia.
We hope it will prove a perfect precedent for memorials for other
great men and women. This was a perfect idea. I thank the original
cosponsors, and I thank my own constituents here in Washington for
giving us an idea that I hope will be repeated to honor great men and
women like Frederick Douglass.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia for an excellent presentation concerning her
support of this legislation. Again I urge my colleagues to support this
bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am also honored to be a part of honoring this great American. If I
may be a wee bit political, the gentleman from California tells me he
was one of the founders of the Republican Party.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). 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. 5331.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________