[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 143 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING CONSTITUTION DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 23, 2011

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because of my full commitment 
and support of the values of equality, respect, and freedom fortified 
within the creation of the Constitution of the United States of 
America.
  Today is a day set aside to recognize the importance the Constitution 
has provided throughout its evolution to the continued principles of 
democracy our Founding Fathers championed.
  I would like to highlight both the 13th and 15th Amendments for the 
equality each ensures to American minorities.
  The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and started a revolution of 
social progress for blacks subject to slavery, and also for women and 
laborers.
  The 15th Amendment ensures the right to vote to all citizens, 
regardless of one's race, color, or previous condition of servitude. I 
personally respect the struggle that ensued after this Amendment was 
ratified. It took until the 1965 Voting Right Act until this right was 
protected with vigorous enforcement--a vote I remember voting for 
passage as a newly elected Representative of the United States 
Congress.
  These two Amendments perhaps best show the injustices that can be 
righted by Congress and the Nation when we recognize that we are a 
united people of equal bearing who are each entitled to equality under 
the Constitution and the help of our brethren.

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