[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 27, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE COLOR LINE REVISITED: IS RACISM DEAD?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for removing the 
objection, and we certainly do apologize for the misunderstanding.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak this 
evening on this year's theme for Black History Month, ``The Color Line 
Revisited: Is Racism Dead?''
  While we all wish that we could proclaim the end of racism, we know 
that we are not there yet. We continue to hear disturbing stories about 
racial profiling in my State of New Jersey, where it has been admitted 
by the New Jersey State Police that they were not only doing it, but 
trained in how to perfect it by disguising numbers and falsifying 
reports.
  We hear the question is racism dead, but we hear about the unequal 
opportunities in our school system, where the dropout rate continues to 
soar, where the great author Jonathan Kozol wrote a book, ``Savage 
Inequalities; Children in America's Schools,'' where he highlighted how 
race and economics have a great deal to do. In the mis-education of 
people, we ask, Is racism dead?
  We take a look at the whole question of home ownership and 
employment, where we find that only 45 percent of African Americans own 
homes in the United States, where 75 percent of other Americans, white 
Americans, have been able to achieve that level. We find that it is 
difficult in many instances to get the finances to do that.
  We have the question of health care, where African Americans' life 
expectancy continues to drop about a month or so each year, where the 
white population's life expectancy increases about 2 months per year, 
therefore making a disparity in a widening gap in life expectancy in 
our great Nation.
  However, we in the Congressional Black Caucus have worked hard to 
overcome these obstacles. Despite setbacks along the way, we are making 
sound progress. We continue working on innovative initiatives at all 
fronts as we meet weekly to promote our agenda, and we have seen much 
success and progress as we continue to move forward.
  Black History Month offers us an opportunity to honor many African 
American heroes who have been largely left out of the history books.
  When I was growing up, I loved history; and I learned about the 
midnight ride of Paul Revere who came and warned the colonists that the 
Redcoats were coming. However, I never was taught about the first man 
who gave his life for our Nation's independence, who was an African 
American, Crispus Attucks, who was killed during the Boston Massacre 
incident the night of March 5, 1770. Today, there is a monument to 
Crispus Attucks in Boston inscribed with the words of John Adams: ``On 
that night the foundation of American independence was laid.''
  As a student I was taught about Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders 
and the crucial battle at San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American 
War. However, I did not discover in school, but later, about the story 
of the Buffalo Soldiers, who had a very low desertion rate, who had a 
low alcoholism rate, which were prevalent in the cavalries at that 
time; and the fact it was the Buffalo Soldiers who prevented the 
annihilation of Teddy Roosevelt at the battle of San Juan Hill. That 
was kept out of the history that I learned. The Indians gave the 
Buffalo Soldiers that name because the buffalo to them were a symbol of 
courage.
  Finally when we were taught about Admiral Peary and told of his skill 
and courage in reaching the North Pole, I was so proud of that great 
explorer. However, it was only in recent years that we did learn that 
much of the credit should have gone to Matthew Henson, an African 
American who was on the expedition. Admiral Peary became sick, became 
snow blind, his feet were injured, and he had to slow down and stop. 
But Matt Henson went forward, provided a camp, and waited for Admiral 
Peary to come there. At that spot, it was the North Pole, and it was 
Matt Henson that got there first. However, when Admiral Peary returned 
home, he was given awards by the White House and the Congress. Mr. 
Henson was not invited to participate.
  So as I conclude, I think we should resolve to teach our children the 
lessons of history every day, so that they may take pride in their rich 
heritage. We are all proud to be Americans today, more than ever 
before; and we are especially proud of our African Americans who have 
contributed to the growth and development of this great Nation.

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