[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 157 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2499]]
        RECOGNIZING THE 140TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 13TH AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 7, 2005

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
for his leadership, for his support in recognizing this important date 
in our Nation's history, and also for ensuring that this resolution 
comes to the floor in a bipartisanship way, and for your support and 
for really reminding the entire country now of this important date.
  Let me also take a moment to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers), our minority leader, who worked very hard with the gentleman 
from Wisconsin to bring this resolution today.
  The gentleman continues to lead Congress in the civil rights 
tradition that actually began 140 years ago. From renewing the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, to protecting the victims of Hurricane Katrina, he 
is a tireless advocate for civil rights and civil liberties for all 
Americans.
  Let me also take a moment to thank our staff on both sides for their 
diligence and very competent work in bringing this resolution, 
especially Kanya Bennett, Perry Applebaum, David Lachmann of the House 
Judiciary Committee and Jamila Thompson of my staff, who have worked 
together for over a year now on this very, very important effort.
  Let me also express my appreciation to the 13th Amendment Foundation, 
located actually in my district. They have worked diligently to honor 
and to recognize this momentous occasion. And as the gentleman from 
Wisconsin said, it is very important that our young people, especially, 
are reminded of the importance of this 13th amendment and read and 
understand why what happened 140 years ago is very, very important to 
today in 2005.
  I hope that everyone will support this effort to honor the 140th 
anniversary of the ratification of the 13th amendment.
  On December 6, 1865, slavery ended and the deep roots of the modem 
civil rights movement were planted. The 13th amendment was a response 
to the Dred Scott decision of 1856, a ruling that actually declared 
that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in our country. If 
the Dred Scott ruling were still in effect today, Mr. Speaker, I would 
not be standing here, quite frankly, as a Member of Congress, nor would 
the 43 great Congressional Black Caucus Members.
  As someone of African descent, whether free or enslaved, I would be 
considered only three-fifths of a person. I would never qualify as a 
citizen of this country. As the descendant of people who survived the 
Middle Passage, who survived the cruelty of slavery, who survived 
reconstruction, who survived Jim Crow, I know that my life, like the 
lives of millions of African Americans, our lives have been 
inextricably linked to the 13th amendment.
  As we return from celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery 
Bus Boycott which launched the modern civil rights movements, we really 
are obliged to remember this 140-year history.
  In the 1860s, Representative James Ashley of Ohio, Representative 
James Wilson of Iowa, and Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, all 
Republicans, led the congressional fight to abolish slavery.
  This debate is a very important debate. And again, let me just talk 
about the vote. It was a vote of 119-56 right here on this floor. Our 
predecessors voted to add the following words to our Constitution:

       Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 
     except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have 
     been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or 
     any place subject to their jurisdiction.
       Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this 
     article by appropriate legislation.

  Although the abolition of slavery did not necessarily mean equality 
for all Americans, the process actually began. According to historical 
accounts, on the day of the House vote on January 31, 1865, the 
gallery, which had just been opened, mind you, to African Americans, 
the gallery erupted into cheers and Representatives on the House floor 
were visibly moved, crying and hugging each other. Twelve months later, 
the requisite three-fourths of the States in the Union ratified the 
13th amendment and more than 100 years later another 8 States followed 
suit.
  Although not necessary, President Lincoln signed the 13th amendment 
to show a united front to abolish slavery in the United States. A 
treacherous and divisive burden was finally removed and our Nation was 
allowed to unite and truly begin to commit to the pursuit of life, 
liberty, and happiness for all. In fact, the 13th amendment was the 
foundation for future equal rights and legislative actions, like the 
14th amendment, which ensured Federal and State rights to all 
individuals; the 15th amendment, which granted African American men the 
right to vote; and the 19th amendment, which expanded suffrage to all 
women, also the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
  Protecting civil and human rights is not something that really should 
be taken lightly, quite frankly. It requires constant vigilance and 
review. As we honor this great act of our predecessors, we pay tribute 
to the visionaries who sacrificed and fought for our civil rights and 
liberty.

  In 140 years, our country has fought and continues to fight to be a 
united country seeking liberty and justice for all. But it has been a 
long, hard journey; and countless individuals dedicated and continue to 
dedicate their entire lives towards this end. We must all pay tribute 
to the abolitionist movement leaders like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner 
Truth, Harriet Tubman, William Lloyd Garrison, Nat Turner, and John 
Brown.
  And we have all reaped the benefits of the bravery and sacrifices of 
civil rights trail blazers like Dred Scott, Homer Plessy, Linda Brown, 
Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  There are many more individuals whose names will never ever be 
mentioned in the history books; but they worked hard, they fought, they 
sacrificed for the freedom that we all appreciate today. Collectively, 
we must pay homage to their legacy.
  It is important that we not only honor this great day in history but 
make sure that our children and our grandchildren understand its 
importance, not just to African Americans, but to all Americans and to 
the world.
  This year, with all overwhelming bipartisan support, Congress passed 
resolutions that recognized the hemispheric survivors of the 
transatlantic slave trade and great historical trailblazers like the 
great Honorable Shirley Chisholm and Judge Constance Baker Motley.
  These resolutions actually show how far we have come since the 19th 
century, but we also have a long, long way to go. One hundred forty 
years after slavery was abolished, African Americans and other 
minorities continue to experience social and economic injustices, as 
the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster magnified.
  Within our own borders and throughout the world, human trafficking is 
rampant. It is a modern version, quite frankly, of slavery; and it must 
be abolished. And, of course, we witness every day discrimination 
against those who have no voice. Our work in Congress should be 
straightforward. It is our duty to reaffirm this tradition of justice, 
equality, and liberty for all.
  We have an obligation to ensure that everyone has equal access to 
health care, education, livable wages, housing, and of course economic 
opportunities. Clearly, we still have much work to do. We have much 
work to do to ensure that discrimination is eliminated, and I mean 
totally eliminated, and that all people are considered equal in the 
eyes of our laws.
  The movement that began with the ratification of the 13th amendment 
must continue. This has not ended. We owe it not only to those who 
suffered and who sacrificed in the past, but more importantly we owe it 
to future generations. The 13th amendment liberated African Americans 
from the yoke of slavery. It liberated America, and we must not forget 
that.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution. I want to 
thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) again for 
ensuring this resolution is bipartisan.

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