[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 29 (Monday, February 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S2592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today in honor of Black History 
Month. On February 1, 1960, four brave freshmen from North Carolina A&T 
conducted the first major sit-i9n protest of the civil rights movement. 
The ``Greensboro Four,'' as they came to be known, acted on the 
American principle that all people are created equal. Although the 
United States was founded on that premise, it is too often denied.
  We know that when one person breaks a barrier to equality, the 
potential opportunities for all Americans are redefined. That is why 
every February, we teach our students about pioneers like Ralph J. 
Bunche, the first African American to win a Nobel Peace Prize, and 
Jackie Robinson, the first African American in the major leagues. We 
must also remember, however, that individual success does not assure 
universal progress.
  My State is proud that the University of Washington accepted its 
first Black student in 1874. This was an important step towards equal 
access to education. At the time, the Puget Sound Dispatch declared, 
``Every child of African descent born in this country has the same 
right of access to our public schools as the children of the most 
privileged of Caucasian blood. No teacher or school officer has any 
more legal right to exclude one than the other.'' However, it took 70 
more years for the Supreme Court to endorse this standard. Now we face 
racial inequities in education and the resegregation of our schools. In 
fact, this year a study found that public schools have been undergoing 
a ``process of continuous resegregation'' since the early 1990s. We 
must ensure that our legal ideal of equality is a reality for every 
American.
  Hiram Revels, the son of former slaves, became the first African-
American Senator in 1870. He overcame many obstacles and forever 
changed this institution. Because of leaders such as Senator Revels, 
this is the most diverse Senate in the history of the United States. 
And yet at the same time, there is not a single African-American 
Senator serving in this body.
  The American people want leaders who represent their values, ideas, 
and life experiences. For this reason, I am optimistic that as our 
country moves forward, we will continue to select leaders who value 
diversity and the representation of all people. It is the right way to 
protect our founding principle of equality, and the best way to ensure 
our prosperity. As Dr. Martin Luther King explained in his letter from 
Birmingham jail, we are bound by a ``single garment of destiny where 
whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.'' Our world is 
even more intertwined today. Like the great Americans before us, from 
Thomas Jefferson to the ``Greensboro Four,'' this month we reaffirm our 
commitment to the fundamental premise that all people are created 
equal, and must be treated equally.

                          ____________________