[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1228-H1232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
          COMMEMORATING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 249) commemorating the 45th 
anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the role that it played in ensuring 
the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 249

       Whereas brave people in the United States, known and 
     unknown, of different races, ethnicities, and religions, 
     risked their lives to stand for political equality and 
     against racial discrimination in a quest culminating in the 
     passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
       Whereas numerous people in the United States paid the 
     ultimate price in pursuit of that quest, while demanding that 
     the Nation live up to the guarantees enshrined in the 14th 
     and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution;
       Whereas the historic struggle for equal voting rights led 
     nonviolent civil rights marchers to gather on the Edmund 
     Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965, a day that 
     would come to be known as ``Bloody Sunday'', where their 
     bravery was tested by a brutal response, which in turn sent a 
     clarion call to the Nation that the fulfillment of democratic 
     ideals could no longer be denied;
       Whereas, March 7, 2010, marks the 45th anniversary of 
     Bloody Sunday, the day on which some 600 civil rights 
     marchers were demonstrating for African-American voting 
     rights;
       Whereas Congressman John Lewis and the late Hosea Williams 
     led these marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 
     Alabama, where they were attacked with billy clubs and tear 
     gas by State and local lawmen;
       Whereas during the march on Bloody Sunday, Congressman 
     Lewis was beaten unconscious, leaving him with a concussion 
     and countless other injuries;
       Whereas footage of the events on Bloody Sunday was 
     broadcast on national television that night and burned its 
     way into the Nation's conscience;
       Whereas the courage, discipline, and sacrifice of these 
     marchers caused the Nation to respond quickly and positively;
       Whereas eight days after Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon B. 
     Johnson called for a comprehensive and effective voting 
     rights bill as a necessary response by Congress and the 
     President to the interference and violence, in violation of 
     the 14th and 15th Amendments, encountered by African-American 
     citizens when attempting to protect and exercise the right to 
     vote;
       Whereas a bipartisan Congress approved the Voting Rights 
     Act of 1965 and on August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. 
     Johnson signed this landmark legislation into law;
       Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 stands as a tribute 
     to the heroism of countless people in the United States and 
     serves as one of the Nation's most important civil rights 
     victories, enabling political empowerment and voter 
     enfranchisement for all people in the United States;
       Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 effectuates the 
     permanent guarantee of the 15th Amendment that ``the right of 
     citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or 
     abridged by the United States or by any State on account of 
     race, color, or previous condition of servitude'';
       Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has increased voter 
     registration among racial, ethnic, and language minorities, 
     as well as enhanced the ability of those citizens to 
     participate in the political process and elect 
     representatives of their choice to public office; and
       Whereas the citizens of the United States must not only 
     remember this historic event, but also commemorate its role 
     in the creation of a more just society and appreciate the 
     ways in which it has inspired other movements around the 
     world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) commemorates the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday;
       (2) observes and celebrates the 45th anniversary of the 
     enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
       (3) pledges to advance the legacy of the Voting Rights Act 
     of 1965 to ensure its continued effectiveness in protecting 
     the voting rights of all people in the United States; and
       (4) encourages all people in the United States to reflect 
     upon the sacrifices of the Bloody Sunday marchers and 
     acknowledge that their sacrifice made possible the passage of 
     the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to extend their remarks and include extraneous 
material on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COHEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, just this past Sunday, on March 7, we commemorated the 
45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, one of the most significant moments 
in the

[[Page H1229]]

civil rights movement. It was a day in which I was in Selma, Alabama, 
with John Lewis, one of the heroes of this United States of America, 
one of the great saints and heroes of this United States Congress. 
Other Congress people were there from both sides of the aisle.
  We first went to Brown Chapel in Selma for a prayer service, where 
Rev. C.T. Vivian led us with a wonderful sermon. It was a civil rights 
pilgrimage that the Faith and Politics Institute put on.
  The culmination of that, after going to Birmingham, where we went to 
the 16th Street Church and the Civil Rights Institute, and to 
Montgomery, where we saw the Rosa Parks Museum and went to Rev. Ralph 
Abernathy's church at the First Baptist Church and the Dexter Avenue 
Church, the church of Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as the Center for 
Poverty Law headed up by Morris Dees, culminated in Selma, and it was 
significant.
  John Lewis marched there 45 years earlier. Alabama State troopers and 
Alabama police, the government, stopped them with horses and sticks and 
gas and all other means of oppression to stop people who were marching 
simply to have the right to vote and participate in this country's 
great democracy.
  Voting is essential, and African Americans were denied voting. After 
the Civil War, they had the right to vote up until about the turn of 
century. But then Jim Crow laws came into place, and the effort to 
protest those, with John Lewis being a leader, culminated in Selma, 
where they were beaten.
  After that and the retreat to Brown Chapel, the government came to 
the aid of John Lewis and others and saw to it they could march, and 
Dr. King joined that march and Ralph David Abernathy joined that march. 
They marched down Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery, culminating just 
across from the capital, going straight to the capital. Just around the 
corner is the Dexter Avenue Church of Dr. Martin Luther King.
  Eventually, the Voting Rights Act was passed, which Lyndon Johnson, 
in a speech to this Congress right from that lectern, said was the most 
important legislation that that Congress had passed and one of the most 
important pieces of legislation ever passed by this House.
  It was fought by a lot of people, fought by a lot of people from the 
South. But that voting rights act was so important, and it started 
because a group of people said, We are not going to stand it anymore. 
We are going to stand up for our freedom. We are going to march and 
bring attention to this issue and participate in this democracy and 
start a change that is going to fulfill America's purpose and promise. 
That started in Selma. It started with John Lewis, and it culminated 
with that great march.
  So it is important that this Congress take time to recognize the 45th 
anniversary of Bloody Sunday that forced this Nation to live up to its 
ideals of justice, freedom, and equality in society, generally, and in 
the realm of voting rights, specifically.
  The pilgrimage was one of the best experiences I have had. I am from 
Memphis, Tennessee, where Dr. King was slain on April the 3rd. There 
were times when Mr. Lewis and other Members came up to me and asked me 
to go on the pilgrimage. I thought, I was from Memphis. I had spoken at 
Mason Temple. I had been to Mason Temple. I had been to the Civil 
Rights Museum. I had been to the Lorraine Hotel so many times, and I 
knew about civil rights history.
  But nobody really knows it until they go to the battleground, where 
this country's future and its promise was turned around and brought to 
bear because of a group of students and ministers, both black and 
white, who came together to march for civil rights and to make this 
country fulfill its destiny and its promise.
  Mr. Lewis is a man we are lucky to serve with, and I am lucky to 
serve with, and I appreciate him getting me to go, and for what I 
learned this weekend from being with him on the Edmund Pettus Bridge 
where the first march ended in violence, and later started on the long 
struggle to Montgomery and to freedom and to voting rights. Six hundred 
civil rights marchers stood strong in solidarity in the march to 
Montgomery 45 years ago.
  Our democracy reflects a government of the people and by the people, 
a principle that had been articulated by President Abraham Lincoln in 
1863. But until Bloody Sunday and Dr. King's participation and the 
successful march and the passage of the Voting Rights Act by Congress, 
it wouldn't have happened.
  It had not been a government of the people and by the people. It was 
a government of the white people. It was a government of the wealthy 
people, the propertied people. In Alabama, there were literacy tests 
and there were taxes, and these stopped people from having the right to 
vote. There were intentional impediments to letting people participate 
in a democracy that you wouldn't have thought would happen in a country 
with our great Constitution. But the words in our Constitution were 
simply words. They needed to have purpose and a spirit put behind them 
and a fulfillment, and that didn't happen until Montgomery and Alabama.
  Besides voting rights, that march led to other issues. There is 
economic justice as well as social justice, and we are working in those 
areas. Access to education, housing, health care, and more have not 
been available to all. Dr. King, in his famous speech in New York at 
the Riverside Church, talked about not only racism, but militarism and 
materialism.
  There are still problems in this world today and problems that affect 
this Congress, when too many times we do work on military solutions 
rather than peaceful solutions, and we worry about materialism rather 
than spiritual goods. We worry too much about people who have and not 
people who don't have enough. That is part of Dr. King's dream and part 
of the legacy that has not been fulfilled in this country, and this 
Congress needs to do more. That is why jobs bills are so important, to 
give people opportunities, and job training bills that we are working 
on.
  So it was fortunate that we had this opportunity to participate in 
the pilgrimage. This country needs to reflect back on what happened 45 
years ago, understand that the promise is not fulfilled, pay homage to 
those individuals that participated and made this country a better 
country, but know that the dream is not finished, the dream endures. We 
need to fulfill that destiny, and there are opportunities to do it here 
on this floor with jobs, with tax policy, and with other issues.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support House Concurrent Resolution 249. This 
resolution commemorates the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the 
role it played in ensuring the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 
1965.
  On Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, John Lewis, now Congressman John 
Lewis and Chairman John Lewis, and the late Hosea Williams, led a march 
in Selma, Alabama, to demand racial and political equality in the 
United States.
  They led 600 civil rights marchers east out of Selma, Alabama, toward 
the State's capital in Montgomery. They got as far as the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge six blocks away, where State and local lawmen attacked them with 
clubs and tear gas and forced them back into Selma. Congressman Lewis 
was beaten unconscious, leaving him with a concussion and many other 
injuries.
  The events on Bloody Sunday were televised nationally, and the Nation 
responded to these actions. As a result, within eight days, President 
Lyndon Johnson called for a comprehensive voting rights bill to protect 
African Americans and other citizens' right to vote, which is already 
guaranteed in the 15th Amendment.
  Bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress approved the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, and President Johnson signed this historic 
legislation into law on August 6, 1965, less than 5 months after Bloody 
Sunday.
  I totally support this resolution's observance and celebrate the 45th 
anniversary of the Bloody Sunday marchers, whose sacrifices made it 
possible for the Voting Rights Act to come into being. I urge my 
colleagues to join in supporting this resolution.
  I reserve balance of my time.

[[Page H1230]]

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the majority leader, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who joined us on this civil rights 
pilgrimage. I was so proud to be with him. He is one of the most 
constant attendees, and it reflects on his character that he goes and 
participates.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank my friend for yielding, and I thank the ranking 
Republican for his comments. I thank Mr. Cohen for his leadership on 
this issue.
  ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created 
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of 
Happiness.''
  So spoke our Founding Fathers. Our Founding Fathers spoke, however, 
without a clear understanding of the impact of their words. Even as 
great as our Founding Fathers were, they did not live out the promise 
of those words in this land. Some were slave owners. Clearly, the 
contradiction between our words and the actions of our day-to-day lives 
were a contradiction from our stated values to our practices.
  Martin Luther King, Jr., called America's attention to that paradox, 
to that contradiction, to that schizophrenic life that we had led. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., had a lieutenant who was a giant of a leader 
in his own right, and we are honored to serve with him; in my view, the 
most historic figure that serves among the 535 of us who have been 
given the privilege to represent our people and defend the Constitution 
and protect and preserve our democracy. John Lewis is a giant among us; 
a quiet, self-effacing, humble giant, but a giant nonetheless.
  Forty-five years ago, civil rights activists attempted to march from 
Selma to Montgomery to demand that their Governor honor their right to 
vote and their God-given equality. Remember Jefferson's words, that our 
rights are not given by the majority. They are not given by Congress. 
They are not even given by the Constitution. They are given to us by a 
power higher than us. That is the glory of America, that every 
individual is an important being, endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable rights.
  The world knows what happened to those marchers; how they were 
stopped by State troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, how 
they were savagely beaten with nightsticks, and how this 23-year-old 
giant, whose name was then not known, this young man from Troy, 
Alabama, John Lewis, who was helping to lead the march from the front 
with Hosea Williams, was beaten to the ground and took life-threatening 
injuries.
  Today, as a Member of Congress, John Lewis still bears those scars, 
but he does not bear resentment. What a lesson for all of us who suffer 
the verbal slings and arrows almost daily in this public profession 
which we pursue.
  But John Lewis took more than rhetorical slings and arrows. He was 
beaten, subjected to hate, spit upon, subjected to prejudice and 
division and segregation and rejection. But still, Christ-like, John 
Lewis, following Gandhi's example, turned the other cheek and said, I 
seek justice, and I will continue to seek justice for myself and for 
others, no matter the opposition.

                              {time}  1100

  I will not do so violently. I will not do so by assaulting those who 
assault me. But I will appeal to the conscience of the Nation. I will 
appeal to the promise in our declaration, in our Constitution, and in 
the principles for which this Nation stands. And it was a powerful 
appeal.
  This weekend, I and others--Mr. Cao was with us--were privileged to 
walk with that giant of a man, John Lewis, across that bridge. It is a 
bridge across a river, but it is also a bridge to brotherhood; a bridge 
to a realization of America's promise; a bridge to a better America; a 
bridge to a better country; a bridge, as my friend and brother John 
Lewis would say, to the beloved community; a bridge, then, over 
troubled waters, who have to some degree been stilled, but not 
silenced.
  There is still prejudice in this land. There is still division in 
this land. There is still not the reconciliation that America still 
strives for. And that is why I return almost every year with my friend 
John Lewis to walk over that bridge, to remind myself--and I have taken 
my granddaughter to remind her as well--that although the mission of 
Martin Luther King, Jr., was extraordinarily successful, and the 
mission of John Lewis, which continues to this day, has been 
successful, it is not over. The mission and the commitment must 
continue. That is what we must remember on this anniversary of March 7, 
1965, when a group of our fellow citizens peacefully walked to register 
to vote. Is there any more sacred right in a democracy than that--the 
ability to express your opinion, unbowed by government or unbowed or 
dissuaded by threats? That was John Lewis's mission then. He was so 
successful. But the mission is not over. And as we vote on this 
resolution, we ought to all commit ourselves to walking with the wind 
of justice, of which John Lewis spoke, of which he has written. But, 
much more importantly, the life that he has led teaches us the power of 
conscience, the power of peacefully standing up for the rights of which 
Jefferson spoke: the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness.
  God has blessed America through the life of John Lewis and so many 
others whose courage and convictions have made us better. Support this 
resolution. But, more than that, live out its promise for all of our 
citizens.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Louisiana (Mr. Cao).
  Mr. CAO. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of House Concurrent 
Resolution 249 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and 
the role that it played in ensuring the passage of the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965.
  Today, we remember a momentous occasion in our history. On March 7, 
1965, 600 marchers, led by my esteemed colleague from Georgia, 
Congressman John Lewis, were savagely attacked by State and local 
police as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge into Selma, 
Alabama. These brave marchers used the power of nonviolence to demand 
that most basic of democratic rights of a citizen: the right to vote. 
In return, the marchers were met with billy clubs and tear gas. But the 
marchers confronted terror with courage. Their dignity in the face of 
brutality moved this House to pass the Voting Rights Act, which 
reaffirmed this Nation's commitment that every citizen has the right to 
participate fully in the political life of the Nation.
  This past weekend, my family and I traveled to Selma to honor the 
45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Kate, my wife, our two daughters, 
Betsy and Sophia, and I marched from Brown Chapel to the top of Edmund 
Pettus Bridge. Along the way, not only did we learn of the significance 
of the march, but also the love and admiration that the people still 
have for the historical marchers. Among those was John Lewis. I 
commented then and firmly believe today that I owe so much of my 
personal and political success to the struggles of the African American 
community. Because of their perseverance and sacrifice, doors have been 
opened permanently to every minority community in America.
  Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to have been a part of this momentous 
commemoration, to work with dedicated public servants like my good 
friend from Georgia, and I ask my colleagues to support this important 
resolution.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman who responded to Martin Luther King when he first met him as 
a young man in Alabama, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I want to thank my friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Memphis, Tennessee, Mr. Cohen, for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, 45 years ago, on March 7, 1965, Hosea Williams and I led 
600 peaceful, nonviolent protestors attempting to march from Selma, 
Alabama, to the State capitol in Montgomery to dramatize to the world 
that people of color wanted to register to vote. We left Brown Chapel 
AME Church that afternoon on a sacred mission, prepared to defy the 
dictates of man to demonstrate the truth of a higher law. Ordinary 
citizens with extraordinary vision walked shoulder-to-shoulder, two-by-
two, in a silent, peaceful protest against injustice in the American 
South.
  We were met on the Edmund Pettus Bridge crossing the Alabama River by

[[Page H1231]]

a sea of blue--Alabama State troopers. Some were mounted on horseback, 
but all of them were armed with guns, tear gas, billy clubs, and beyond 
them were deputized citizens who were waving any weapons they could 
find on that day. Some even had bullwhips.
  Then we heard, ``I am Major John Cloud. This is an unlawful march. 
You cannot continue. You have 3 minutes to go home or return to your 
church.'' We were preparing to kneel and pray when the Major said, 
``Troopers advance.'' And these troopers came toward us, beating us, 
spraying tear gas, chasing us. I was hit on the head by a State trooper 
with a nightstick and I fell unconscious on the bridge. On that day, 
Mr. Speaker, I thought I was going to die. I thought I saw death. The 
most brutal confrontation of the modern-day civil rights movement 
became known as Bloody Sunday. It produced a sense of righteous 
indignation in this country and around the world that led this Congress 
to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  Eight days after Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon Johnson addressed a 
joint session of the Congress and made what I believe is the greatest 
and most meaningful statement of speech any President has ever made on 
the importance of voting rights in America. He began by saying, ``I 
speak tonight for the dignity of man and for the destiny of 
democracy.'' President Johnson went on to say, ``At times, history and 
fate meet at a single time, in a single place, to shape a turning point 
in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and 
Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was last week in 
Selma, Alabama.''
  In this speech, President Johnson condemned the violence in Selma, 
and called on the Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act. He closed 
his speech by echoing the words of the civil rights movement, and he 
said over and over again, ``And we shall overcome. And we shall 
overcome.'' I was sitting next to Martin Luther King, Jr., in the home 
of a local family in Selma, watching President Johnson on television as 
he said, ``And we shall overcome.'' And tears came down Dr. King's 
face. He started crying. And we all cried a little to hear the 
President say, ``And we shall overcome.'' And Dr. King said, John, we 
will make it from Selma to Montgomery, and the Voting Rights Act will 
be passed. Congress did pass the Voting Rights Act, and on August 6, 
1965, it was signed into law by the President.
  Mr. Speaker, this past weekend we have heard from the majority leader 
and my colleagues, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Cao, that we went back to Selma, 
along with Mike Pence and Senator Brownback and several others with the 
Faith and Politics Institute on the journey. During this journey, we 
brought our fellow Members of Congress on this unbelievable trip of the 
historic Civil Rights Act, not just in Selma, but Montgomery and 
Birmingham. We ended our time together in Selma by crossing one more 
time on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, crossing that bridge.
  I know at times here in this body we talk, we debate, maybe sometimes 
in not such a nonviolent way, but on this bridge we didn't see 
ourselves as Democrats or as Republicans or adversaries. We saw 
ourselves as Americans on a journey to discover not just our history 
but to help create a more perfect union to help move us closer to a 
truly beloved community, truly closer to a multiracial democracy. We 
all come away from this journey with a deeper appreciation of our 
democracy and the power of people to make a difference in our society.
  Mr. Speaker, with this resolution we honor the sacrifice and courage 
of those brave and courageous souls who used the power of peace, the 
power of love, the power of nonviolence to redeem the soul of our 
democracy; to remind ourselves that freedom is really not free; and 
that we must continue to struggle every day.
  On this 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, we must use this occasion 
to renew our pledge to protect the right to vote for every American 
citizen. We have come a distance. We've made a lot of progress. But 
there's still a distance to travel.

                              {time}  1115

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I think it's well said, as our majority leader pointed out, that in 
the Declaration of Independence, the basis for who we are, states 
``that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their 
Creator with certain inalienable Rights.'' In other words, we get our 
rights from the Almighty. We don't get our rights from government or 
from others or from the king. We get our rights because we get them 
from the Almighty. And as it states in the Declaration of Independence, 
that governments are instituted to secure those rights. And first it 
was the 15th Amendment, and yet there needed to be more legislation. 
Because of the events that occurred on Bloody Sunday, ironically a 
President from the South signed the Civil Rights Act of 1965, President 
Lyndon Baines Johnson from Texas. This was a bipartisan piece of 
legislation in that in this House of Representatives, the majority of 
the Democrats, 217, and the majority of the Republicans, 111, voted for 
this legislation with about 20 percent or less in both parties voting 
against it. Bipartisan legislation passed with a vast majority of both 
the Republicans and the Democrats, a sign that bipartisanship on 
important pieces of legislation is necessary, and it is effective.
  So I totally support this resolution. I commend those folks 45 years 
ago when you and I, Mr. Speaker, were just in--I guess you'd be in 
elementary school. I was in junior high. And this event occurred, those 
noble 600 that walked through the streets of Alabama, and thus, the 
Civil Rights Act, as we have today.
  So I yield back the balance of my time, totally supporting this 
resolution.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank each of the 
speakers, particularly Mr. Lewis, whom we are privileged to serve with 
and I was privileged to go to Montgomery with; and Leader Hoyer, who 
made such eloquent remarks; and the other gentlemen and ladies who were 
on the trip, Mr. Barrow, Dr. McDermott, Mr. Filner, Ms. Kirkpatrick, 
and others.
  I want to remind, Mr. Speaker, this House that this is an important 
event to remember. And there are people that go to Montgomery and go to 
Selma and go to Birmingham to reflect on their history. And in Brown's 
Chapel, there was a full church in Selma on Sunday, including Ms. Ruby 
Wharton, a distinguished attorney in my city and the mayor's wife of my 
city, AC Wharton. She goes every year. Also there was John Nixon, 
district court judge in Middle Tennessee and then a Sixth Circuit Court 
judge. He goes every year because he was with the Civil Rights Division 
in 1965 when the march that succeeded with Dr. King took place. There 
are people that go back every year to renew their thoughts and their 
experiences because we shall overcome someday, and I submit that day 
hasn't occurred yet, Mr. Speaker.
  The 110th Congress passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and 
Jim Crow. And in that resolution, passed by voice vote by everybody up 
here, we said that we're going to rectify the lingering effects of 
slavery and Jim Crow. And lingering effects include seeing that life, 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness are truly part of the American 
Dream. And you can't have life without health care, and many of the 
people without health care don't have it because they've been denied 
the opportunities to participate in the economic dream of America, to 
have jobs that give them insurance and to afford that opportunity. 
That's part of what Bloody Sunday was about.
  To pass this resolution is so important, but to pass it and not to 
carry out what will happen someday and overcoming the obstacles that 
have been placed before so many because of the horrific institution of 
slavery and those laws that were subsequent to it throughout this 
country of Jim Crow that denied people's rights is wrong. So we must 
commit ourselves to someday, and that day is now--the fierce urgency of 
now that Dr. King talked to us about--and fulfill that life, which 
includes health care, and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which 
gives people a job and an opportunity to participate. So I would ask 
all of the Members to vote ``aye,'' to pass this resolution today and 
move passage.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
strong support of

[[Page H1232]]

H. Con. Res. 249 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday 
and the role that it played in ensuring the passage of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965.
  As we commemorate this day, I am reminded of the pain and hardships 
that the African-American community faced prior to the enactment of the 
Voting Rights Act. The use of intimidation, literacy tests, and poll 
taxes throughout the South ensured the disenfranchisement of most 
blacks, and while we have a difficult time fathoming these realities 
today, these practices were very common in the period before this 
historic legislation became law.
  It is often regarded that the marches from Selma to Montgomery in 
1965 were key in bringing about the Voting Rights Act, and perhaps the 
first march, which took place on March 7, 1965, or Bloody Sunday, was 
the most important of these. On that day, roughly 600 people led by 
Hosea Williams and John Lewis were beaten and bombarded with tear gas 
at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the Alabama River. From this, two 
subsequent marches took place that culminated with the gathering of 
roughly 25,000 people on March 25, 1965 on the steps of the Alabama 
capitol. A few short months later, on August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights 
Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson to outlaw 
discriminatory voting practices.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to mention briefly how privileged I am 
to work with an American Hero and civil rights leader, Congressman John 
Lewis. His dedication to civil rights is unfaltering, and I am so 
fortunate to consider him a dear friend.
  Mr. Speaker, Bloody Sunday and the march on Selma will continue to be 
infamous subjects in American history, and it is important for us to 
reflect on these events with solemn hearts. However, we have never been 
a nation to forget the future either, and as we continue to look 
towards tomorrow, we must not disregard our hope for that which is to 
come. For this reason, I ask my fellow colleagues to join me in 
commemorating the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday so that we can 
honor the civil rights leaders of yesterday and encourage the 
generation of tomorrow to continue to work towards a more democratic 
America.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
strong support for H. Con. Res. 249 which honors the 45th anniversary 
of Bloody Sunday and acknowledges the role that it played in ensuring 
the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I would also like to 
commend Representative Lewis, the sponsor of this resolution, for his 
continued commitment to preserving the importance of Bloody Sunday and 
to also acknowledge the unwavering courage of Congressman John Lewis, 
and all of those men and women who suffered the brutality of Alabama 
State Police on that Sunday on March 7, 1965. Much blood was shed when 
all white troopers and sheriff's deputies used tear gas, nightsticks 
and whips to break up the march. I urge my colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is pertinent today as it continues to 
provide much needed protection for minorities in my District and 
Americans across the country. Because of Bloody Sunday and the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, all of my constituents in the Fourth District of 
Georgia have the opportunity to exercise their rights under the 
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, 
it was because of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that all Americans were 
extended the right to vote guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
  Mr. Speaker, in the century following reconstruction, African 
Americans faced tremendous obstacles to voting. Despite the Fourteenth 
and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which had 
enfranchised black men and women, southern voter registration boards 
used poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic impediments to 
deny African Americans their legal rights. Southern blacks also risked 
harassment, intimidation, and physical violence when they tried to 
register or vote. As a result, African Americans had little if any 
political power. Sunday, March 7, 1965 was certainly a milestone for 
the United States. I am proud to say we have come a long way from that 
time. It is an honor to be an African American representative from 
Georgia and to be a legacy of the day on which 600 civil rights 
marchers were demonstrating for African-American voting rights. It is 
through the work of leaders like Representative Lewis and the late 
Hosea Williams--who was a DeKalb County Commissioner, reverend, 
political activist, and science teacher from Georgia--that helped to 
codify civil rights in both the law and the heart of America that I am 
able to have the privilege of representing the great State of Georgia 
in the House of Representatives today.

  Mr. Speaker, as the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday has come to 
pass, let us not forget the work of the 600 men and woman who marched 
across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and what they did 
for America and the world and let us recognize the importance of this 
anniversary.
  I applaud Congressman Lewis for his leadership in bringing this 
important legislation to the floor. Furthermore, I commend him for 
leading those brave marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 
Alabama to stand up for political equality and fight against racial 
discrimination. This resolution recognizes the heroism of these freedom 
fighters with respect to the events that occurred on Bloody Sunday and 
their commitment to ensuring equal voting rights for all Americans.
  I strongly support H. Con. Res. 249.
  Mr. COHEN. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 249.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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