[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E154-E155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2001

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to honor Black History Month 
for 2001.
  Beginning in 1926 we have set aside a special time to celebrate Black 
History. Mr. Carter G. Woodson established this period for one week in 
February, the month that includes the birthdays of President Lincoln 
and Frederick Douglass, both of whom made immense contributions to 
civil rights. Today, we set aside the entire month of February to 
celebrate Black History, and the men and women who have made that 
history. So many of these men and women have yet to receive the credit 
which they justly deserve for their many contributions. As this new 
millennium goes forward we must continue to educate our country of 
these outstanding great African-American men and women.
  African-Americans have been fighting for the United States since 
before our Independence was declared and have continued throughout the 
course of history. The first American to lose his life to the 
Revolution was Crispus Attucks, a free black man of Boston, 
Massachusetts during the infamous Boston massacre. Since then African-
Americans have served in every great war. Many fought to preserve the 
Union during the Civil War, and at least 400,000 African-American men 
fought in World War I. During World War II more than

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1 million African-American men served in the Armed Forces, and at least 
4,000 women also served the U.S.
  African-Americans have also taken leadership roles and involved 
themselves in the politics of the nation. During the 19th century, many 
African-Americans were Abolitionists fighting against the injustices of 
slavery. Some examples of these great abolitionists included Frederick 
Douglass, a former slave and established writer, and Harriet Tubman and 
Sojouner Truth, who helped organize the Underground railroad as well as 
their fight for the rights of women.
  After the success of the Civil War, African Americans such as W.E.B. 
DuBois and Booker T. Washington fought to bring the lingering 
discrimination to its de facto conclusion. They wrote and spoke out 
against the Jim Crow laws of the south. Their intentions were furthered 
towards the latter half of the 20th century by Dr. Martin Luther King 
Jr. and Malcolm X, both of whom fought for racial equality in a country 
that still had not reached its potential. Because of these 
accomplishments, there have been many African-American men and women 
serving in the United States Congress. We have had in our Supreme Court 
and still have African-American Justices, beginning with Justice 
Marshall and currently with Justice Thomas. And with the new 
administration that we have just ushered in, we have Colin Powell, the 
first African-American Secretary of State, and Condoleezza Rice as our 
National Security Adviser.
  African-American men and women have contributed greatly to other 
facets of our society, constantly improving it for future generations. 
They have been artists, musicians, athletes, educators and scientists. 
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play for a major 
league baseball team and will be memorialized as the man who broke the 
color barrier. Today, there are African-American athletic heroes like 
NBA star Michael Jordan and Marion Jones, member of the U.S. Olympic 
team. With the onset of the Harlem Renaissance musicians like Scott 
Joplin and Ella Fitzgerald flourished, leading the way for other 
African-American musicians. Writers like Zora Neale Hurston and 
Langston Hughes led the way for contemporary writers such as Toni 
Morrison. Many African-Americans have taken great strides in science 
and medicine. Dr. Charles Richard Drew organized the concept of blood 
banks and ran the first full time blood bank during World War II. 
Several African-American men and women have worked with our Space 
Program including Dr. Mae C. Jamison, the first African-American female 
astronaut.
  In my home in Orange County, NY, a recently published book entitled 
``Genealogical History of Black Families of Orange County'' by local 
author Robert W. Brennan, traces the history of our local African-
American families. It underscores the bittersweet truth that the crime 
of slavery was NOT, as many lead us to believe, an unpopular crime 
against humanity confined to certain southern states. In fact, the book 
makes clear that while slavery was abolished in New York State on July 
4, 1827, the lingering residue of racial bigotry continued for many, 
many years afterwards--and, in some ways, right up to the present.
  Black History Month is an appropriate time to look forward as well as 
to the past. We must continue to fight against inequalities. We must 
continue to push all of our children to reach their potential and to 
achieve their goals.
  Our society's strength rests within all its inhabitants. Today, and 
throughout this month we rightfully honor the African-Americans who 
have added to the strengths of our great nation as well as all of 
humanity. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues and all Americans to 
express their appreciation for the contributions African-Americans have 
made to our nation.

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