[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1678-S1682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the celebration 
of Black History month. It began in the 1920's when Dr. Carter G. 
Woodson, a historian and educator, proposed the idea of creating 
``Negro History Week'' during the second week of February to 
commemorate the history and achievements of the black community. He 
chose this week to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick 
Douglass, both of whom had a great impact on the lives of African 
Americans across the country. Since 1976, we have dedicated the entire 
month of February to celebrating the contributions of African Americans 
throughout our Nation's history.
  Today, African Americans represent about 13 percent of our total 
population, and they greatly contribute to the increasingly dynamic 
cultural tapestry of America. Over the years, they have actively shaped 
the future of our country in the roles of teachers, parents, judges, 
doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, and factory workers.
  Although the African American population of my home State is smaller 
than most, the cultural heritage of South Dakota has been enriched by 
our African American community.
  I am proud to tell you about Oscar Micheaux, the first African 
American to produce a feature-length film, as well as the first African 
American to break the ``sound barrier'' with a ``talkie'' motion 
picture, the earliest form of film with sound. Born to freed slaves in 
1884, Micheaux grew up in Illinois as one of 11 children, before he 
moved to South Dakota to become a farmer. It was on the South Dakota 
prairie that he began to write, publish, and sell his first novels.
  At a time when blacks were not welcome in the film industry, Micheaux 
started his own company, where he wrote, directed, and produced at 
least 43 movies during the course of his life. He dealt with such 
controversial subjects as white-on-black crime, intra-racial 
discrimination, and lynching. In 1919, he released ``The Homesteader,'' 
a movie based on his autobiographical book that describes his 
experiences on the South Dakota plains. This became the first feature 
length film produced by an African American.
  Because Hollywood discriminated against blacks, Micheaux was forced 
to do all of the work for his films independently. He was responsible 
for not only producing, but distributing his films which were only 
viewed in segregated black theaters. Some of his films that addressed 
issues like real estate discrimination and inter-racial relationships 
were censored and confiscated for being too ``controversial.'' Despite 
facing discrimination, Micheaux paved the way for blacks in the film 
industry.
  Micheaux is revered by such entertainment industry figures as Spike 
Lee, Robert Townsend, Tim Reid, and Carl Franklin. South Dakota holds 
an annual film festival in Micheaux's honor. A true pioneer in every 
sense, he is a hero to all Americans who have a dream.
  I salute this accomplished, self-made man. His achievements serve as 
a wonderful example of how barriers can be overcome and how dreams can 
be attained. Micheaux and other figures in the African American 
community remind us of the difference an individual can make to the 
Nation, and that dreams can still be attained, even in the face of 
adversity. Micheaux's life encompasses Dr. King's vision when he said 
that he had a dream that ``. . . children will one day live in a Nation 
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the 
content of their character.''
  We are still working today to realize this dream. Black History Month 
not only celebrates the individual achievements of the African American 
community, but reminds us all that we need to come together as a 
greater community to ensure that everyone has equal rights, freedoms, 
and the resources to achieve their dreams.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition, honor and 
celebration of Black History Month. This year's theme is ``Creating and 
Defining the African-American Community: Family, Church, Politics and 
Culture.'' We should use the forum this month to educate all Americans 
that African-American history is American history. African-Americans 
have played a key role in shaping America by their known and untold 
contributions to science, art, education, politics, commerce and 
culture.
  Dr. Carter G. Woodson is the founder of Black History Week which has 
expanded to Black History Month. Dr. Woodson, the son of slaves, 
realized that the rich and detailed history of African-Americans was in 
danger of fading to obscurity, so he became an impassioned teacher and 
advocate of African-American history, and created some of the first 
courses and textbooks devoted to this topic. He also founded what is 
now known as the Association for the Study of African-American Life and 
History. A firm believer in the importance of education, he studied at 
Harvard, the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Chicago. Dr. 
Woodson was also Dean at Howard University in Washington DC.
  Black History Month gives Americans an opportunity not only to learn 
of great African-American leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but 
also to learn of lesser known African-Americans who have played key 
roles in molding our great country. For instance, most Americans do not 
know that Jean Baptist Pointe DuSable

[[Page S1679]]

founded the city of Chicago. Mr. DuSable was born in 1745 in Haiti to a 
white French sea captain and a black former slave. After his mother's 
death, Mr. DuSable went to France with his father to be educated and at 
the age of 20 sailed to America. Eventually, Mr. DuSable settled in 
what would become the great State of Illinois and became a fur trader. 
In 1779, Mr. DuSable built a trading post in a location that the 
Indians called Eschikcago or ``place of smelly waters.'' The trading 
post eventually developed into the settlement now know as Chicago.
  Similarly, Lewis Howard Latimer made great contributions to society. 
Mr. Latimer perfected Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light 
bulb by creating the carbon filament light bulb. Mr. Latimer was the 
sole African-American member of Edison's team of inventors. His 1881 
creation of the carbon filament light bulb alleviated the electric 
light bulb's design flaws of a short life span and a tendency to 
shatter when becoming too hot.
  In addition, African-Americans like Daniel Hale Williams have 
accomplished astounding breakthroughs in the medical field. One night a 
deliveryman, who had been stabbed in the heart, was rushed into the 
emergency room at Chicago's Provident Hospital. Dr. Williams decided to 
open the man's chest and operate. He successfully repaired the torn 
tissue in the man's heart and completed the operation. Dr. Williams 
made history that night as the first doctor to perform open-heart 
surgery. His patient went on to live for another 20 years.
  Dr. Charles Richard Drew also made contributions that revolutionized 
the medical field. Dr. Drew was a world-renowned surgeon, medical 
assistant and educator. He transformed the practice of medicine by 
creating a way to preserve blood. Dr. Drew also created the first blood 
bank and developed a way to efficiently store blood plasma.
  While most American know of the courageous story of Rosa Parks, not 
as many are aware of the bravery of her predecessor, Ida B. Wells-
Barnett. Ms. Wells-Barnett was a school teacher who refused to give up 
her seat on a Memphis-bound train. After being physically forced out of 
her seat, Ms. Wells-Barnett brought a suit against the railroad for 
their actions, and won. Later, however, the State court overruled the 
decision of the circuit court. Ida Wells went on to become an 
influential journalist. She moved to Chicago at the turn of the century 
and worked tirelessly to fight against the horrible scourge of 
lynching, and to fight for fair treatment of African-Americans. The 
Chicago Housing Authority named one of its first housing developments 
the Ida B. Wells Homes, and in 1990, the U.S. Postal Service honored 
her life's work by issuing the Ida B. Wells stamp.
  I am pleased to be able to speak today about the accomplishments of 
these great Americans. Black History Month can help us look back and 
recognize the great obstacles African- Americans have overcome. It can 
also help us look ahead and recognize the great obstacles that still 
hinder African-Americans today.
  The disenfranchisement of thousands of African-American citizens in 
Florida this past election year clearly illustrates this point. Instead 
of being proud that they participated in the democratic process, many 
African-Americans were outraged because their voices were silenced. 
Their votes did not count. A disproportionate number of the invalidated 
votes cast for President in South Florida were from African-American 
and Caribbean communities. In all, an astounding one third, 22,807, of 
the rejected ballots were cast in predominantly black areas.
  Many African-Americans rightfully believe their disenfranchisement 
resulted from the use of antiquated voting equipment. Analysis of the 
Florida election plainly shows that Americans who voted in areas that 
utilized punch card ballots had a much greater chance that their vote 
would be invalidated than those who voted in areas that utilized more 
modern equipment. In this great democracy, it is unacceptable that 
thousands of legally qualified voters were disenfranchised because of 
obsolete voting machinery.
  Unfortunately, this problem was not limited to Florida. In Fulton 
County, GA, a community with a large African-American population, 
punch-card voting equipment was used which resulted in one out of every 
16 votes cast for President being invalidated. However, Fulton's 
neighbors, two largely white counties, utilized more modern equipment 
which resulted in only one in every 200 votes cast for President being 
invalidated.
  Even my home State of Illinois was plagued with problems stemming 
from outdated voting equipment, especially in largely African-American 
communities. For instance, in Chicago, one out of every six votes cast 
for President was invalidated while almost none of the votes in some of 
the city's outer suburbs were rejected. This indefensible disparity is 
one of the reasons that I am proud to cosponsor the Federal Election 
Modernization Act of 2001. This Act will supply funding to States to 
help replace obsolete voting equipment. I personally believe the price 
to equip every voting precinct in the country with user-friendly and 
reliable mechanism to cast and count ballots is well worth it. The 
millions of dollars in estimated costs to ensure accuracy pale when 
compared to the value of protecting each individual's right to vote and 
the price paid by those who fought and gave their lives to secure this 
right.
  As Americans, we must realize that even though discrimination is 
legally eradicated from American society, vestiges of the decades of 
discrimination still remain today. We need only look at the voting 
difficulties that plagued African-Americans in the 2000 election to 
demonstrate this point. If America is ever to achieve its full 
potential, we must acknowledge, address and eliminate the obstacles 
that African-Americans face not only during Black History Month, but 
every day.
  Mrs. CARNAHAN. Mr. President, every February, our Nation pauses to 
recognize the tremendous contributions of African-Americans to the 
history of our Nation. In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro 
History Week because he saw that most of the contributions African-
Americans had made to American culture and industry were being ignored 
by historians.
  We have come a long way since 1926. More and more of our history 
books acknowledge the contributions of African-Americans. Our schools 
have made it part of their curriculum, libraries and museums create 
exhibits, and our celebration of African-American history has been 
expanded to an entire month.
  But we still have a long way to go.
  We need African-American History Month because many people don't know 
about African-American heroes like Crispus Attucks, who led the Boston 
uprising in 1770 and became the first casualty of the American 
Revolution. Equally forgotten are African-American inventors like 
Garrett Morgan, who developed the traffic light and gas mask.
  These Americans have added to the richness and greatness of our 
country. It is appropriate that as we stand in our Nation's Capitol, a 
structure which was built by the back-breaking labor of both free and 
slave African-Americans, we talk about the contributions African-
Americans have made to this country's history and to its future.
  I want to take a moment to focus on the contributions of Missourians.
  Any Missourian can name George Washington Carver's most famous 
invention, peanut butter, but few realize the role Carver played in the 
agricultural revolution that occurred in the South in the early 1900's. 
Carver's work to wean the South from its single-crop cultivation of 
cotton and his development of commercial uses for alternate crops like 
peanuts and sweet potatoes helped modernize Southern agriculture, 
paving the way for a better life for the entire South.
  Scott Joplin led a revolution of a different kind. While living in 
Sedalia, MO he created a blend of classical and folk music that took 
America by storm. Ragtime, as his style came to be called, has become 
America's unique contribution to classical music and is a driving force 
behind jazz and blues.
  In literature, Missourians are proud of the heritage of Langston 
Hughes of Joplin, Missouri. One of the major American writers of the 
20th century, Hughes was a poet, novelist, editor, playwright, and 
journalist.

[[Page S1680]]

  Another African-American Missourian became famous not only as an 
inventor but also as the most outstanding jockey of his time. Tom Bass, 
of Mexico, MO trained some of the finest race and show horses of his 
day. At the peak of his career he rode in the Inauguration of President 
Grover Cleveland and gave a command performance before Queen Victoria. 
In addition to being a famous jockey, he invented the ``Bass bit'' 
which is still used today.
  Missouri has borne some notable civil rights leaders as well. Perhaps 
the most prominent of them is Roy Wilkins. Wilkins served as executive 
director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People from 1955-1977. Appointed during the most turbulent era in the 
civil rights movement, Wilkins kept the NAACP on the path of 
nonviolence and rejected racism in all forms. His leadership and 
devotion to the principle of nonviolence earned him the reputation of a 
senior statesman in the Civil Rights Movement.
  All of these great Missourians, and others too numerous to mention, 
struggled against bigotry and violence, but each showed, through their 
natural talents, that racism was not just wrong, but un-American. So it 
is fitting that we take this month to learn more about the history of 
African-Americans in this country, and recognize the contributions of 
African-Americans to our great Nation.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, February is Black History Month. For the 
last several years I have worked with other Senators and the 
Administration to help make history by breaking down the remaining 
vestiges of barriers to African-Americans and other minorities and 
women on the Federal courts around the country. We have had a number of 
successes in that regard over the last few years. I recall, in 
particular, the confirmations of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Second 
Circuit, Judge Julio Fuentes to the Third Circuit, Judge Eric Clay to 
the Sixth Circuit, Judge Ann Williams to the Seventh Circuit, Judges 
Richard Paez, Marsha Berzon, Johnnie Rawlinson, Kim Wardlaw and 
Margaret McKeown to the Ninth Circuit, Judge Charles Wilson to the 
Eleventh Circuit and a number of others.
  Many took too long. Many were delayed by anonymous holds. Many other 
outstanding nominees were never accorded a hearing, a Committee vote or 
a vote by the United States Senate. One of my greatest regrets during 
my service in the Senate was the Republican caucus vote against Judge 
Ronnie White in 1999. I was glad to be able to provide him with the 
opportunity to testify and correct the record and clear his reputation 
and good name in the course of confirmation hearings on the Attorney 
General nomination in January.
  As important as it is to remember our history, it is also important 
to make progress and add to that history. We continue to have the 
opportunity to do that here in the United States Senate. On January 3, 
2001, President Clinton renominated Roger Gregory to serve on the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Even though the 
Fourth Circuit, covering Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Virginia, and West Virginia, contains the largest African-American 
population of any circuit in this country, it had never had an African-
American appellate judge.
  Last December, during an extended congressional recess, the President 
exercised his constitutional power to make recess appointments and 
appointed Roger Gregory to the Fourth Circuit.
  In early January, when the Senate convened to begin this new season, 
the President resubmitted Judge Gregory's nomination to us.
  In the ensuing weeks, the new President has seen fit to leave that 
nomination before the Senate for our consideration and action. Both 
Senator Warner and Senator Allen support this nomination. Last year 
Senator Robb also strongly supported it.
  Senator Warner, Senator Allen, Senator Robb and Senator Edwards and 
others have all spoken in the last several months in support of the 
confirmation of Roger Gregory. Now it is time for the Senate to step up 
to the challenge and act on Judge Gregory's nomination to a full, 
lifetime appointment to that important judicial position.
  Mr. Gregory was not the first African-American nominated to the 
Fourth Circuit. President Clinton nominated four qualified African-
Americans to the Fourth Circuit: Judge James Beatty, of North Carolina 
was nominated in December 1995, and re-nominated in January 1997; Judge 
James Wynn, of North Carolina, was nominated in August 1999; Roger 
Gregory was nominated in June 2000; and Judge Andre Davis was nominated 
in October 2000. None of these exceptional candidates ever received a 
Judiciary Committee hearing, let alone a vote on the Senate floor.
  Senator Allen, in one of his first speeches on the Senate floor, came 
here to talk about Roger Gregory's qualifications, and the importance 
of acting in a bipartisan way to confirm him. Here is what Senator 
Allen said:

       [I]t is my belief that in Roger Gregory, the Fourth 
     Circuit--and, indeed, America--has a well-respected and 
     honorable jurist who will administer justice with integrity 
     and dignity. He will, in my judgment, decide cases based upon 
     and in adherence to duly adopted laws and the Constitution. I 
     respectfully urge my colleagues and the administration to 
     join me in supporting Judge Gregory.

  Senator John Warner joined the discussion, rising to say that he 
agreed with what Senator Allen had said on the need to confirm Roger 
Gregory. As reflected in letters that Senator Warner shared with the 
Senate, he and Senator Allen have written to Senator Hatch and to 
President Bush urging that Judge Gregory receive a hearing and be 
confirmed. I commend them for their commitment to this nomination.
  Roger Gregory was an outstanding lawyer, and he will be an 
exceptionally good judge on the Fourth Circuit. From Richmond, 
Virginia, Judge Gregory was the first in his family to finish high 
school. After college and law school, he returned to be a professor at 
a school where his mother had worked as a maid. He entered private 
practice, and later founded his own, highly-respected law firm in 
Richmond, where he handled a wide variety of complex litigation matters 
in State and Federal court for individual and corporate clients. Roger 
Gregory built a reputation as a seasoned litigator and widely respected 
member of his community.
  Judge Gregory's recess appointment as the first African-American 
judge on the Fourth Circuit also places him firmly in a tradition of 
using such appointments to bring diversity to the federal bench. Four 
of the five first African-American appellate judges were recess 
appointed to their first positions as Federal judges. That includes the 
appointment of William Henry Hastie as the first African-American on 
the Federal bench by President Harry Truman in 1949. Not long after 
that appointment, a little over 51 years ago, the Senate confirmed 
Judge Hastie, showing itself to be, as I have said many times, the 
conscience of the Nation.
  The roster of trailblazing African-American recess-appointees also 
includes President John Kennedy's 1961 appointment of Thurgood Marshall 
to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals; Spottswood Robinson to the D.C. 
Circuit; and President Lyndon Johnson's 1964 appointment of Leon 
Higginbotham to the Third Circuit. Other well-known and well-respected 
judges to be appointed during a recess are: Judge David Bazelon to the 
D.C. Circuit; Judge Augustus N. Hand to the Second Circuit; Judge 
Griffin Bell of the Fifth Circuit; and Supreme Court Justices William 
Brennan and Earl Warren.
  Today, during the month of February, Black History Month, I come to 
the Senate floor to call on my colleagues to once again shine as the 
conscience of the nation, and move quickly toward making Roger 
Gregory's lifetime appointment to the Fourth Circuit. He is eminently 
qualified to sit on the court, he has received praise for his integrity 
and legal talent, and he has been strongly endorsed by both of his home 
state Senators.
  Roger Gregory should be given a hearing before the Judiciary 
Committee without further delay. In deference to the position that 
President Bush took during the campaign, the Senate should act on this 
nomination in the next couple of weeks. The excuse from last year, that 
his nomination in June came too late in the year for Senate action, is 
inapplicable now. Let his be the first judicial nomination to

[[Page S1681]]

come before the Committee and the Senate this year. His papers have 
long since been submitted to the Committee--we have had them in hand 
for eight months now. There can be no reason not to commit today, 
during this month when we honor the achievements and contributions of 
African-Americans, to move Roger Gregory swiftly to a hearing, through 
the Committee and then on to the Senate floor for a full Senate vote.
  After all of the delays meted out to the previous African-American 
nominees to the Fourth Circuit, the Senate has another chance to make 
history. As history has been made in so many other occasions for 
African-American judges, let us not squander this opportunity to make 
Roger Gregory the first African-American to be confirmed by the United 
States Senate to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am very pleased to commemorate African 
American History Month. Each year, doing the month of February, we 
remember and reflect on the rich and extraordinary achievements of 
African Americans. We also remember and reflect on the suffering, 
degradation and brutality of slavery, which cannot be repaired, but the 
memory can serve to ensure that no such inhumanity is ever perpetrated 
again on American soil.
  We remember and celebrate the brave and determined African American 
conductors of the Underground Railroad, like Harriet Tubman. In 1849, 
Tubman escaped from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and became known as 
``Moses'' to her people when she made 19 trips to the South and helped 
deliver at least 300 fellow captives to liberation. We remember and 
celebrate John Parker of Ripley, Ohio who frequently ventured to 
Kentucky and Virginia to help transport by boat hundreds of runaway 
slaves across the Ohio River; and William Still, Robert Purvis and 
David Ruggles who in the 1830s organized and stationed vigilance 
committees throughout the North to help guide slaves to freedom 
destinations. And we remember and celebrate James Fairfield, who went 
into the deep South and rescued enslaved African Americans by posing as 
a slave trader, risking his life and property. We remember and 
celebrate the City of Detroit in my home state of Michigan where the 
Underground Railroad assisted over 40,000 slaves in reaching freedom in 
Canada.
  Let us not forget, that we celebrate African American History Month 
because in 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, son of former slaves, proposed 
such a recognition as a way of preserving the history of the Negro and 
recognizing the enormous contributions of a people of great strength, 
dignity, faith and conviction, a people who rendered their achievements 
for the betterment and advancement of a Nation once lacking in humanity 
towards them. Throughout the Nation, we celebrate the many important 
contributions African Americans have made in all facets of American 
life.
  Lerone Bennett, editor, writer and lecturer recently reflected on the 
life and times of Dr. Woodson. In an article he wrote for Johnson's 
Publications, Bennett tells us that one of the most inspiring and 
instructive stories in African American history is the story of 
Woodson's struggle and rise from the coal mines of West Virginia to the 
summit of academic achievement:

       At 17, the young man who was called by history to reveal 
     Black history was an untutored coal miner. At 19, after 
     teaching himself the fundamentals of English and arithmetic, 
     he entered high school and mastered the four-year curriculum 
     in less than two years. At 22, after two-thirds of a year at 
     Berea College, in Kentucky, he returned to the coal mines and 
     studied Latin and Greek between trips to the mine shafts. He 
     then went on to the University of Chicago, where he received 
     bachelor's and master's degrees, and Harvard University, 
     where he became the second Black to receive a doctorate in 
     history. The rest is history--Black history.

  In keeping with the spirit and the vision of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, I 
would like to pay tribute to two courageous women, claimed by my home 
state of Michigan, who played significant roles in addressing American 
injustice and inequality. These are two women of different times who 
would change the course of history.
  Sojourner Truth, who helped lead our country out of the dark days of 
slavery, and Rosa Parks, whose dignified leadership sparked the 
Montgomery Bus Boycott and the start of the Civil Rights movement are 
indelibly etched in the chronicle of not only the history of this 
Nation, but are viewed with distinction and admiration throughout the 
world.

  Sojourner Truth, though unable to read or write, was considered one 
of the most eloquent and noted spokespersons of her day on the 
inhumanity and immorality of slavery. She was a leader in the 
abolitionist movement, and a ground breaking speaker on behalf of 
equality for women. Michigan recently honored her with the dedication 
of the Sojourner Truth Memorial Monument, which was unveiled in Battle 
Creek, Michigan on September 25, 1999. I commend Dr. Velma Laws-Clay 
who headed the Monument Steering Committee and Sculptor Tina Allen for 
making their dream, a true monument to Sojourner Truth, a reality.
  Sojourner Truth had an extraordinary life. She was born Isabella 
Baumfree in 1797, served as a slave under several different masters, 
and was eventually freed in 1828 when New York state outlawed slavery. 
Truth continued to live in New York and became strongly involved in 
religion. In 1843, in an act of religious faith, she changed her name 
to Sojourner Truth and dedicated her life to traveling and lecturing. 
She began her migration West in 1850, where she shared the stage with 
other abolitionist leaders such as Frederick Douglass.
  In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered her famous ``Ain't I a Woman?'' 
speech at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio. In the speech, Truth 
attacked both racism and sexism. Truth made her case for equality in 
plain-spoken English when she said, ``Then that little man in black 
there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, cause Christ 
wasn't a woman? Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ 
come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.''
  By the mid-1850s, Truth had settled in Battle Creek, MI. She 
continued to travel and speak out for equality. During the Civil War, 
Truth traveled throughout Michigan, gathering food and clothing for 
Negro volunteer regiments. Truth's travels during the war eventually 
led her to a meeting with President Abraham Lincoln in 1864, at which 
she presented her ideas on assisting freed slaves. Truth remained in 
Washington, D.C. for several years, helping slaves who had fled from 
the South and appearing at women's suffrage gatherings. Due to bad 
health, Sojourner Truth returned to Battle Creek in 1875, and remained 
there until her death in 1883. Sojourner Truth spoke from her heart 
about the most troubling issues of her time. A testament to Truth's 
convictions is that her words continue to speak to us today.
  On May 4, 1999 legislation was enacted which authorized the President 
of the United States to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Rosa 
Parks. The Congressional Gold Medal was presented to Rosa Parks on June 
15, 1999 during an elaborate ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. I 
was pleased to cosponsor this fitting tribute to Rosa Parks, the gentle 
warrior who decided that she would no longer tolerate the humiliation 
and demoralization of racial segregation on a bus. Her personal bravery 
and self-sacrifice are remembered with reverence and respect by us all.
  Forty five years ago in Montgomery, AL the modern civil rights 
movement began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and move to 
the back of the bus. The strength and spirit of this courageous woman 
captured the consciousness of not only the American people but the 
entire world.
  My home state of Michigan proudly claims Rosa Parks as one of our 
own. Prompted by unceasing threats on their lives and persistent 
harassment, Rosa Parks' and her husband moved to Detroit in 1957 where 
Parks' brother resided.
  Rosa Parks' arrest in Alabama for violating the city's segregation 
laws was the catalyst for the Montgomery bus boycott. Her stand on that 
December day in 1955 was not an isolated incident but part of a 
lifetime of struggle for equality and justice. For instance, twelve 
years earlier, in 1943, Rosa Parks had been arrested for violating 
another one of the city's bus related segregation laws, which required 
African Americans to pay their fares at the front of the bus then get 
off of the bus and re-board from the rear of the bus.

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The driver of that bus was the same driver with whom Rosa Parks would 
have her confrontation 12 years later.
  The rest is history, the boycott which Rosa Parks began was the 
beginning of an American revolution that elevated the status of African 
Americans nationwide and introduced to the world a young leader who 
would one day have a national holiday declared in his honor, the 
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
  We have come a long way toward achieving justice and equality for 
all. But we still have work to do. In the names of Rosa Parks, 
Sojourner Truth, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and 
many others, let us rededicate ourselves to continuing the struggle on 
Civil Rights and to human rights.

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