[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H7237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            OPPOSE CONFEDERATE FLAG ON TEXAS LICENSE PLATES

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, one day before the Nation 
gathers to commemorate Veterans Day, a day that brings all of us 
together, it saddens me to come to the floor of the House and announce 
under the leadership of Governor Perry, on November 10 in Texas, the 
Department of Motor Vehicles board will be voting to authorize a State-
issued Confederate license plate.
  Now, I realize that our work here in the Congress is about passing 
the jobs bill, which we are advocating to do. But I think it is a 
disgrace on the history of this Nation that a State-elected agriculture 
commissioner by the name of Patterson continues to push forward this 
untimely and ill-fated action.
  The Confederate flag does not protect or honor Confederate soldiers. 
You can do that in museums. The symbol of a Confederate flag is that of 
a Klansman of the late 1880s and early 1900s; the brutality of slavery; 
the oppression of slavery; the Jim Crowism of the 1940s and 1950s. It's 
an ugly reminder of the past of our history. It is time to take America 
forward and Texas forward.
  I will be in Austin on November 10 opposing that action. I ask all 
good-faith, well-intended Texans that want to take Texas forward to 
come and oppose any vote that would issue a Confederate flag. And I 
make a clarion call to all Americans who would like to drive to Texas, 
come to Austin and stand up against this dastardly deed. Stand up 
against promoting slavery and oppression. Come to Texas and tell 
Governor Perry and Commissioner Patterson enough is enough. Take the 
Nation forward. Don't take it backwards.

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