[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 124 (Friday, October 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATE THE REDEDICATION OF THE ELMER JACKSON BRIDGE IN TOPEKA, 
                                 KANSAS

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                             HON. JIM RYUN

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 6, 2000

  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
rededication of the Elmer Jackson Bridge in Topeka, Kansas, to take 
place on October 21, 2000.
  On June 15, 1920, in Duluth, Minnesota, three young black men were 
lynched by a mob numbering in the thousands. One of those men was Elmer 
Jackson, from Topeka, Kansas.
  Leading newspapers throughout the North vilified the Duluthians for 
having stained their city's good name and castigated them for being 
evil, murderous racists. The governor of Minnesota, J.A.A. Burnquist 
commissioned his adjutant general to launch a formal investigation. 
Three dozen men were indicted for taking part in the mob action. And 
one year later, in reaction to the event, the state legislature enacted 
an anti-lynching law.
  Michael Fedo, a former journalist, has written an account of the 
incident entitled the Lynchings in Duluth, based on newspaper accounts, 
court records and state files. The account of the lynchings shows that 
the mentality necessary for such events was not particular to any 
region.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Mr. Fedo and the various 
individuals and organizations involved in this effort for raising our 
consciousness by recognizing a painful time in our nation's history.

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