[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 23 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1884-S1886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Mr. REID. Mr. President, in 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson
designated the second week of February as ``Negro History Week,'' an
opportunity for America to recognize the achievements and contributions
made by African Americans.
As a result of promoting our Nation's history of diversity, and
advancing tolerance and civil rights, this week was extended into a
month in 1976.
Today, Black History Month serves as more than just a reminder of
African American culture. It serves as a reminder of how far America
has come in the areas of tolerance, civil rights, and diversity and far
we have yet to go.
Black History Month conjures up familiar heroes for all of us: Rosa
Parks and her legendary defiance; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his
historic leadership; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and his
equitable judgment.
There are also inventors and physicians who may be less familiar to
some of us: Granville Woods, who was granted more than 60 patents for
inventions including steam-driven engines and a telephone transmitter;
and Dr. Charles Drew, a medical professor at Howard University who,
among other things, developed a way to extend the storage life of blood
from two days to 1 week.
Interestingly, Elijah McCoy, the developer of the locomotive
lubricator, is responsible for one of the most familiar expressions in
the English language. Mr. McCoy, in an attempt to promote his product,
coined a catchy slogan to remind railroad engineers that his original
invention was the best: ``The Real McCoy.''
These are just some of our national heroes and heroines who achieved
social, political, economic, and scientific goals. By reaching their
own goals, they also contributed their strength and innovation to the
collective American thought.
While the southern United States is the birthplace of many
significant achievements in African American history, there are also
accomplishments of note in western States, including my native Nevada.
Among the African American men and women who hailed from or made
significant contributions to Nevada, there are a few pioneers I want to
introduce to you.
At a time when black people were not invited to participate in the
political process or the business world, there was a group of ranchers
in Nevada who thought differently.
Ben Palmer, who was noted as ``one of the heaviest taxpayers in
Douglas County,'' was a hugely successful rancher and businessman.
This may seem commonplace today. But at the time when he was
prospering, blacks couldn't even vote, serve on a jury, testify against
whites, send their children to public school, or marry whites.
Mr. Palmer lived in Carson Valley, NE, which is not only one of the
most beautiful parts of the State, but also served as an early route
for the migration to California.
It didn't take long for him and his sister to deduce that, by
establishing
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ranches, they could turn a profit by providing care for weary travelers
and their livestock.
Since there was no Federal authority over much of the land at that
time, ranchers used to just claim a spot of land and water rights; then
they would start to sell grazing rights to emigrants and cut grass to
provide feed during the winter.
By the 1870's, Palmer had established himself as a prosperous
cattleman. It was reported in the Carson Valley News that he had driven
1,500 head of cattle from Seattle to Carson Valley to replenish his
herd. He also introduced fine horses into the Valley, pioneering
locally with the Bonner breed.
Despite the legal restrictions facing African Americans during this
time, Palmer was so highly regarded that he was invited to register to
vote in the Mottsville precinct before the 15th Amendment to the
Constitution was passed.
It is recorded that in 1876 and 1878, he was selected to be a member
of a Douglas County grand jury, and was named to the panel of trial
jurors for that year's term of the District Court.
When the residents of Carson Valley launched a short-lived political
organization, the National Greenback and Workingmen's Party, a county
central committee was selected and Ben Palmer was one of the committee
members representing the Mottsville precinct.
He couldn't read or write, but that didn't stop him; he wasn't
supposed to vote or serve on a jury, but he did anyway; the color of
his skin was supposed to prevent him from participating in the
political process, but he pressed ahead.
It is no wonder that his obituary in the Record-Courier said that,
``He met success in every meaning of the word and leaves one of the
finest farms in Carson Valley as a monument. He bore a man's part in
the battle of life, bore it bravely, gently and without ostentation. He
believed in the right and practiced the right always.''
Treasure Hill and Virginia City are two other areas of Nevada where
African Americans overcame restrictions to find success.
The mining prospects in Nevada and other parts of the West attracted
people from all races and walks of life in search of gold.
Black people came to Nevada in hopes of securing mining jobs and
finding prosperity for themselves. Unfortunately, most mines would not
hire blacks, as some whites quipped that they would be too ignorant to
tell one rock from another.
This discriminatory perspective may explain why there were only six
black people recorded as official miners in Nevada in 1870. Another
reason for their widespread absence from the mining industry may be
their exclusion from unions.
Despite these obstacles, African Americans had considerable success
mining in Treasure Hill in eastern Nevada from 1868 to 1870, noted as
``probably the shortest, most intense mining rush in the history of the
West.''
In April 1869, a group of black miners, headed by William Hall and
J.C. Mortimer, announced their discovery of a rich mining ledge in
Treasure Hill and vowed that they would ``supply (their) colored
brethren of the low countries with mines as good as any a white man
dare own.''
Messrs. Hall and Mortimer incorporated the Elevator Mining Company of
Treasure Hill, White Pine, and planned to issue 6,000 shares of stock
at $100 each.
Treasure Hill was an economic advance for blacks and the area was
home to several wealthy families: Samuel Wilcox, Daniel W. Cherry, John
Maxwell, Sanford Venery, and Joseph Anderson.
After fires and poor prospects drove many residents out, Treasure
Hill was left with only one black resident and only eight black
residents in White Pine County.
Another mining district, the Comstock Mining District, was founded in
1859 and was once considered to be one of the richest gold and silver
discoveries in history.
Blacks who had come to Virginia City in hopes of securing jobs in the
industry would face discrimination; however, when their mettle was
tested, most were resolute to become business owners. Although there is
no documentation of a particular neighborhood or area where they lived,
there is a scant record of the number of businesses they owned and
operated.
One of the most successful businesses in Virginia City was the Boston
Saloon. In 1864, William A.G. Brown founded the Boston Saloon only a
year after arriving from Massachusetts and initially working as a
bootblack and street polisher.
The Boston Saloon catered to the Comstock black population and served
as a place to socialize and exchange information about business
opportunities.
Archeologists and historians discovered the site of the Boston Saloon
in 1997 and quickly determined that uncovering the history behind the
specific characteristics of the saloon and its patrons would help
reveal an important chapter of African American history in the early
west.
Ranchers, frontiersmen, miners, business owners--all success stories
during a time when success was discouraged or denied by ignorance and
discrimination.
These are just a handful of the African Americans who made important
contributions toward the early establishment of Nevada and the early
West. Countless others have gone unnoticed or uncelebrated.
I commend Dr. Elmer Rusco of Reno for his tireless leadership in
attempting to chronicle the contributions of African Americans in
Nevada. It is due to his scholarship that much of Nevada's black
history is preserved and presented.
I am honored to share these nuggets of Nevada history on behalf of
the African Americans who helped establish the great Silver State, and
in honor of Black History Month.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, for the past month, we have been
celebrating Black History Month.
I believe that Black History Month is not only a time to recognize
the contributions and achievements of African Americans to this Nation,
but it is also a time to acknowledge both progress African Americans
have made and the continued racial disparities in this Nation.
We usually celebrate African-American athletes, musicians, and
actors. While their successes have been significant, I feel it is
important that we acknowledge some of the great thinkers, inventors,
and discoverers who were African American.
Some of the great pioneers include Dr. Charles Drew, who discovered
the process for storing blood plasma; Garrett Morgan, who was the first
to patent the traffic light and the gas mask; Granville T. Woods, who
invented a train-to-station communication system; Astronaut Mae
Jamison, the first African-American woman to enter space; Dr. Benjamin
Carson, who successfully separated Siamese twins joined at the head;
and Otis Boykin who invented the electronic control devise for guided
missiles, IBM computers, and the pacemaker.
These great innovators and pioneers not only blazed the trail for
other young African Americans to follow, but they also inspired and
contributed to American development and progress. Therefore, these
pioneers were not only great African Americans, they were
quintessentially American.
During this time when our Nation's military is engaged in conflicts
throughout the world, I would like to acknowledge the contributions
that African Americans have made to every war in American history.
Today, African Americans serve a vital part of the troops deployed
throughout the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq. Almost 22 percent
of the members of our enlisted armed services are African-American.
Despite all of these important accomplishments, African Americans
have yet to enjoy true racial equality in this Nation. And, in the
absence of real equality, African Americans are being denied the
essence of what it means to be a first-class American.
Statistics are the clearest barometer for determining and measuring
the quality of life in American society and far too many of them reveal
that African Americans continue to lag behind whites in important ways.
In January 2004, the national unemployment rate was 5.6
percent overall but just 4.9 percent for white Americans
while it was 10.5 percent--more than twice as high--for
African Americans.
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The national poverty rate rose, for the second straight
year, to 12.1 percent in 2002, from 11.7 percent the year
before. In 2002, the national poverty rate for African
Americans was 22.7 percent.
In 1999, median income for African Americans was $31,778,
compared to $51,244, for the median income of white families.
According to one report, in 1995, average white households
had $18,000 in financial wealth, while African-American
households possessed a total of only $200.
These statistics show the depth of racial inequality in America. In
addition to economic disparities, the incarceration rate of African
Americans, especially African-American males, is deeply disturbing.
Today, black men make up 41 percent of the inmates in
Federal, State, and local prisons, but black men are only 4
percent of all students in American institutions of higher
education, according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher
Education, autumn 2003.
According to a recent study, while African Americans are 13
percent of the population of my home State of New Jersey,
they represent a staggering 63 percent of New Jersey's 27,891
State prisoners in 2002.
About 10 percent of all black men between 25 and 29 were
incarcerated in 2002, compared with 1.2 percent of white men
and 2.4 percent of Hispanic men
Not only are African Americans imprisoned in disproportionately high
numbers, they are disproportionately the victims of crimes, as well. In
New Jersey, out of 341 total homicides by guns in 2002, 138 of those
victims were African American. In 2000, more than 6,200 African
Americans were killed by guns. In the 15 to 24 age group, firearm
homicides were responsible for more than 86 percent of homicides
suffered by African Americans. In the next age group up, 25 to 34,
firearm homicides were more than 81 percent of homicides. In both cases
firearm homicides were the number one cause of death for African
Americans. The homicide victim rate for African Americans, 20.5 per
100,000 persons, is over six times that of whites, 3.3 per 100,000
persons.
I highlight these statistics about our Nation and my home State
because the problems confronting the African-American community are in
New Jersey, and they are in every State. We all bear responsibility to
acknowledge them, to confront them, to help remedy them.
There are no easy answers to the problems African Americans face, but
as Theodore Roosevelt put it a century ago, ``This country will not be
a really good place for any of us to live in if it is not a really good
place for all of us to live in.'' So while we take this opportunity to
celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of African Americans through
the ages, we should also rededicate ourselves to making America a
really good place for all of us to live in.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, every February nationwide we celebrate the
diverse and monumental contributions African Americans have made not
only for the advancement of African Americans but for all people of our
Nation.
This celebratory month was made possible by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an
African-American studies scholar, who proposed such a recognition as a
way of preserving African-American history. In keeping with the spirit
and vision of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, I would like to pay tribute to one
courageous woman, Sojourner Truth, who lived and died in Battle Creek,
MI, and who played a significant role in addressing injustice and
inequality in America. Sojourner Truth was a leader in the abolitionist
movement and a powerful voice in the women's suffrage movement, playing
a pivotal role in ensuring the right of all women to vote. Sojourner
Truth changed the course of history.
Sojourner Truth was unable to read or write, but she mesmerized
others by her speeches addressing the inhumanity and immorality of
slavery. In 1851, Sojourner delivered her famous ``Ain't I a Woman?''
speech at the Women's Convention in Akron, OH. She spoke from her heart
about the most troubling issues of her time. Her words on that day in
Ohio are a testament to Sojourner Truth's convictions and are a part of
the great legacy she left for us all.
I am proud and the people of my State are proud to claim this
legendary leader as our own. In September 1999, we honored Sojourner
Truth with the dedication of the Sojourner Truth Memorial Monument,
which was unveiled in Battle Creek, MI.
Sojourner Truth was a political and social activist who personally
conversed with President Abraham Lincoln on behalf of freed, unemployed
slaves, and campaigned for Ulysses S. Grant in the Presidential
election in 1868. Sojourner was a woman of great passion and
determination who was spiritually motivated to preach and teach in ways
that have had a profound and lasting imprint on American history.
Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 in Ulster County,
NY, and served as a slave under several different masters. She bore
four children who survived infancy, and all except one daughter were
sold into slavery. Baumfree became a freed slave in 1828 when New York
State outlawed slavery. She remained in New York and instituted
successful legal proceedings to secure the return of her son, Peter,
who had been illegally sold to a slave-owner from Alabama.
In 1843, Baumfree 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 October 1856, Truth came to Battle Creek, MI,
with Quaker leader Henry Willis to speak at a Friends of Human Progress
meeting. She eventually bought a house and settled in the area. Her
antislavery, women's rights, and temperance arguments brought Battle
Creek both regional and national recognition. Sojourner Truth died at
her home in Battle Creek, November 26, 1883, having lived quite an
extraordinary life.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Sojourner Truth ``Ain't
I a Woman'' speech be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Ain't I a Woman?
(By Sojourner Truth)
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be
something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of
the South and the women at the North, all talking about
rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But
what's all this here talking about?
That man over there says women need to be helped into
carriages, and lifted over ditches and to have the best place
everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud
puddles, or gets me any best place!
And Ain't I a Woman?
Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted,
and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!
And Ain't I a Woman?
I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could
get it--and bear the lash as well!
And Ain't I a Woman?
I have borne five children and seen most all sold off to
slavery, and when I cried out with a mother's grief, none but
Jesus heard me.
And Ain't I a Woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this
they call it? (member of the audience whispers `intellect')
That's it, honey.
What's that got to do with women's right or negroes'
rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and your holds a
quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half
measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't
have as much rights as men, cause Christ wasn't a women?
Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come
from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn
the world upside down all alone, these women together ought
to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!
And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't
got nothing more to say.
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