[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H804-H808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank the gentleman very much for the yielded 
time, and I thank the floor staff and the representatives of the 
Democratic cloakroom, Republican cloakroom for their courtesies.
  I want to join my good friend who was on the floor earlier this 
evening. I was detained in a diplomatic meeting. I could not join my 
good friend, Congressman Al Green, as he began to commemorate and 
salute Black History Month.

                              {time}  1845

  This is story of a proud people, of Americans who participated in 
every historic event since the founding of this country and whose 
ancestors proudly wore the uniform on many occasions, including the 
uniform in the Civil War and wars beyond.
  Tonight, I come to salute both national heroes and local heroes from 
Houston, Texas, and--in particular--the 18th Congressional District.
  This, in fact, is the 39th commemoration of Black History Month, and 
we celebrate the contributions of African Americans who have 
contributed to the history and the greatness of our Nation.
  We pay tribute to trailblazers, pioneers, and leaders, like many of 
us know, such as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Supreme Court 
Justice Thurgood Marshall; United States Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce; a 
U.S. Congresswoman from my congressional district, the Honorable 
Barbara Jordan, who most recently sat amongst us, retiring from the 
United States Congress in 1978-79; U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland, who 
lost his life trying to provide food to hungry people in Ethiopia; 
astronauts like Dr. Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr., and Mae C. Jemison; 
Frederick Douglass; Booker T. Washington; James Baldwin; Harriet 
Tubman; Rosa Parks; Maya Angelou, who taught me at Yale University; 
Toni Morrison, a premier writer; along with another outstanding writer 
as well, Gwendolyn Brooks--just to name a few of the countless well-
known and unsung heroes whose contributions have helped our Nation 
become a more perfect union.

[[Page H805]]

  The history of the United States has been marked by the great 
contributions of African American activists, leaders, writers, and 
artists. As a Member of Congress, I stand on those shoulders.
  Their struggles and triumphs made it possible for me to stand here 
today and continue to fight for their values and really the values 
embedded in what America is all about: the values of equality and 
justice, progress for all, regardless of race, religion, gender, or 
sexual orientation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have two very special giants. They are my mother and 
father. Mrs. Ivalita ``Ivy'' Jackson, a vocational nurse, and Mr. Ezra 
C. Jackson, one of the first African Americans who was welcomed for a 
short period of time into the growing comic book publishing business 
during World War II.
  That was the entertainment. Many Americans found stories of joy, 
drama, various superheroes, monsters, and a number of other things in 
the comic book business.
  In New York City, a young man by the name of Ezra Jackson was given 
the door as the youngest son of my grandmother, Olive Jackson, who had 
sent three sons off to World War II. My uncles each fought. The 
youngest son was to stay with his widow mother. In doing so, he found 
in himself a talent.
  Even today, I am very proud to say that his works have been shown in 
the Smithsonian. He is just an individual, one might say average man--
an African American man--who suffered the indignities of discrimination 
and later found no place in that industry as he was being replaced by 
White citizens.
  I know that their strength--a mother in her tenacity and longstanding 
work at Booth Memorial Hospital--was the foundation for myself and my 
brother Michael Jackson and now with many who have come behind. They 
were beloved parents, and they taught me the value of education, hard 
work, discipline, perseverance, and caring for others.
  I know this is not family night, but I cite my husband, Dr. Elwyn 
Lee. He became the first tenured African American professor at the 
University of Houston School of Law.
  There are many today that make their pathway standing on the 
shoulders of others. The most wonderful tribute that I like is to our 
military veterans who, as I indicated when I started, have fought in 
every war since the Revolutionary War--how amazing.
  These people came first in the bottom of a belly of a slave boat as 
slaves. They can count their history to every single war, fighting on 
behalf of the sanctity and the security of our Nation.
  I remember joining Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Charles 
Rangel, a Korean war veteran, as we were invited to pay tribute to the 
Tuskegee Airmen and the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the famed 
``Triple Nickels.''
  I was honored to be able to be at that ceremony sponsored by the U.S. 
Army commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
  Everything that we have gained has been because our soldiers, 
regardless of their race, religion, or background, were able to put on 
the uniform. I am very grateful to say that so many of those who put on 
the uniform, even when they were treated in an unfair manner in this 
country, proudly put on that uniform and fought for the Nation.
  I am reminded of all of them, Mr. Speaker, because they live amongst 
us in our communities, and as we have seen in the honoring of the 
Devils yesterday, we see that they are so proud to wear their uniform. 
They have fought so hard.
  Let me salute all of our veterans and soldiers, and let me be 
reminded of those from the African American community who went to 
serve, even as the laws of this Nation did not treat them fairly.
  I am well aware of the Tuskegee Airmen because my father-in-law was a 
Tuskegee Airman, along with his wife, who was one of the supporters. 
Phillip Ferguson Lee and Ethiopia Lee, now 94 years old, received a 
Congressional Gold Medal.
  Of course, we know the story of the Tuskegee Airmen achieving one of 
the lowest loss records of all the escort fighter groups and being in 
constant demand for their services by the Allied bomber units, a record 
unmatched by any other fighter group.
  You know something, Mr. Speaker? These brave men and women, no 
matter--as I indicated--what race, it is so interesting. They do not 
tell their story often. That is why I am so glad that the United States 
Congress over these last years has begun to honor all of these groups 
so that their story can be told and forever embedded in the history of 
this Nation.

  I want to go on to say that the impressive feats of the Tuskegee 
Airmen were outstanding and astounding. I believe that their efforts 
and much of the success of African American soldiers in World War II 
caused, in 1948, to persuade President Harry Truman to issue his famous 
Executive Order--which I am so glad he issued--No. 9981, which directed 
equality of treatment and opportunity in all of the United States Armed 
Forces and led to the end of racial segregation in the United States 
military forces.
  One person to tell that story in the eloquent way that it has been 
told is General Colin Powell--or the famous Davis generals, ``Chappie'' 
Davis was who was one and well known--but Colin Powell tells that 
story.
  Clearly, these individuals bravely fought for their country, but they 
show that they had the right stuff. They are American history, and they 
certainly are a testament to Black history.
  Clearly, what began as an experiment to determine whether ``colored'' 
soldiers were capable of operating expensive and complex aircraft ended 
as an unqualified success, based on the experience of the Tuskegee 
Airmen, whose record included 261 enemy aircraft destroyed, 148 
aircraft of the enemy damaged, 15,553 combat sorties, and 1,578 
missions over Italy and north Africa.
  They also destroyed or damaged over 950 units of ground 
transportation and escorted more than 200 bombing missions. They proved 
that ``the antidote to racism is excellence in performance,'' as 
retired Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Carter once remarked.
  I take joy in this presentation and sharing this with my colleagues. 
It is Black History Month, but sometimes, we need to remember to say 
thank you to all Americans who have gone on before us. This month, we 
happen to be focusing on African Americans.
  Who can forget United States Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and the 
strong voice that she was for the vulnerable? A lady from Brooklyn, her 
first appointment in this Congress was to the Agriculture Committee. 
No, she didn't run away from it. She ran toward it. Her famous 
statement is: ``A tree grows in Brooklyn.'' She ran for President. She 
made history there.
  There are others like Harriet Tubman--we call her General Moses--who 
led slaves to freedom up and down the east coast. She had a sharp 
tongue and told anybody that was lagging behind: You aren't going to 
stay behind because, if you did and got caught, all my others who are 
trying to escape would be captured.
  Certainly, Rosa Parks, who was a proud American, had the great 
fortitude--although a small woman who did tailoring work--to indicate 
in a way that subjected herself to being put in prison, put in jail, is 
that: I, too, am an American.
  I am so glad that Mae Jemison lives in my community. I obviously 
represent the city that loves NASA and loves human space exploration. 
Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to go into space, now has 
dedicated herself to exposing young people to math, science, 
engineering, technology, and creating more astronauts for the restored 
and reinvigorated human space exploration. That is a good thing. That 
is a very good thing.
  I believe we can look to work together in the 50th year of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965. I am a member of the United States Congress and the 
Judiciary Committee, led by a man who made history himself at that 
time, John Conyers, who has served in many capacities but has been a 
chair of the Judiciary Committee, being the first African American to 
ever chair that committee, but also a man that at every cornerstone of 
justice has a fight, whether it is sentencing, whether it is prison 
reform, whether it is dealing with the issues of copyright, whether it 
is the social justice issues.
  Let me say he was the first employer of Rosa Parks outside of her 
town of

[[Page H806]]

Alabama where she made her historic stand in Montgomery, Alabama. She 
worked for Congressman John Conyers.
  I mentioned this is the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights 
Act. We all know the story. I knew the story beforehand. I worked for 
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Right after the death of 
Dr. Martin Luther King, I knew the names of Hosea Williams and James 
Orange and Ambassador Andrew Young as those who worked closely with Dr. 
King. Certainly, Reverend Jesse Jackson had moved up to Operation PUSH.
  I say that to say that we know the story that it was the throngs of 
unnamed persons who pursued a simple right: the right to vote. I 
believe their heroic efforts have made it part of America's history.
  I always believed one vote, one person is not for me. It is not for 
whether you are White or Hispanic or Asian or African American. It is 
for America. I truly believe that they made the first step to tell 
America that a vote should be unfettered for every citizen.
  You should not be blocked from voting--and I hope, Mr. Speaker, we 
will get to that point--not selfishly for one group versus another, but 
I hope we will get to that point for all of America.
  I think in this month of Black history commemoration, I need to give 
a challenge. That challenge needs to be that we need to pass the Voting 
Rights Act reauthorization as was crafted in the last Congress and 
supported by bipartisan Members.
  I had the privilege to be one of the original cosponsors. Former 
Congressman Spencer Bachus was on that bill with me. We had seen each 
other and marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He was, of course, a 
Representative from Alabama. There was no forcing, no pushing.
  It was just quiet thought that this was the right thing to do by a 
number of Republican Members who supported that legislation in the last 
Congress, including one of the esteemed former chairmen of the 
Judiciary Committee, Mr. Sensenbrenner.

                              {time}  1900

  But it was all about thinking that it is important not to block 
anyone from voting. I still think that that is the right thing. I think 
the premise is right. I think it is premised on the Constitution.
  There is no statement about voting in the Constitution, but there are 
statements of philosophy and rights and liberties, all driven by 
someone's right to vote for a government that will promote religious 
freedom, freedom of access, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, 
the right to a trial by jury, due process.
  Certainly, we know the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were all 
geared toward the idea of freedom. And you can only secure freedom, 
one, by your wonderful men and women who are willing to stand in 
uniform and fight for us, many who have gone through the ages and shed 
their blood.
  But the other is an active and involved and participatory civic 
society, and the actions of a civic society are their voice and their 
votes.
  I plead with my colleagues, let us make the vote and the voice real 
by supporting the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, written to 
respond to the United States Supreme Court.
  I may have disagreed with the Supreme Court's position on section 5, 
but, Mr. Speaker, I have a basic internal mechanism that says you 
adhere to the law. You follow the law. You follow the dictates of the 
courts as they reach their final answer in the highest Court of the 
land.
  So we went to working on a structure that, in fact, was not pointed 
but broad, meaning that you would not point out certain States, you 
would just say that you couldn't violate a person's right to vote.
  And the good news is, you had the ability to work yourself out of the 
coverage of that act. That is a good thing--work yourself out.
  Then, if a State--though I don't think it might happen with the 
diverse States that we have--wants to work its way in, we find a way to 
correct their laws that might be blocking someone's right to vote. I am 
going to have the confidence that we are going to take that up and make 
a difference in the lives of all Americans.
  Let me move on to say that I hope my challenge will be accepted, and 
I hope that we will take the words of Dr. King. I enjoy reading his 
writings. He was more than, if you will, the civil rights leader. He 
was a man who thoughtfully crafted words and messages to inspire and 
give us a road map.
  He had these famous words, ``Why We Can't Wait,'' which were found in 
the 1960s. What a provocative statement. Is he trying to provoke people 
to violence? Absolutely not.
  He was a committed, dedicated servant and disciple of Gandhi's 
nonviolence, and his own internal mechanism of nonviolence. It was in 
his DNA. He would not provoke any form of violence.
  We should know that because, as the story looks back and things 
happened, if you were part of the SCLC, they were driven, they trained 
all of their foot soldiers in an absolute commitment to nonviolence. 
And if you showed any sign that you could not adhere, you would not be 
part of their efforts.
  Dr. King had some famous words that I like. I know and like many of 
his words, but this one: ``Everybody can be great or anybody can serve. 
You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.''
  Let me also say, Mr. Speaker, it is important when you come up and 
talk about great people, that you don't forget home. And I just want to 
acknowledge some of the great leaders in my community. I can't call all 
their names, but I do want to acknowledge Reverend F.N. Williams, Sr., 
one of the founding pastors of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. 
His father was almost the founding father of Acres Homes, one of the 
great leaders in the 1920s and 30s, and he has carried on his civil 
rights legacy.
  Dr. S.J. Gilbert, Sr., who led the Mount Sinai Baptist Church.
  Reverend Crawford W. Kimble, who was the pastor of Barbara Jordan, an 
erudite man that wrote beautiful words of leadership and challenge.
  The late Reverend E. Stanley Branch, in essence, a Republican, who 
was a leader who brought all people together.
  Reverend Dr. William A. Lawson, the founder of the Wheeler Avenue 
Baptist Church, who walked with Dr. King and is the go-to person on 
issues of, again, marching and fighting nonviolently for justice.
  Reverend Johnny Robeson, who was a great leader of the Baptist 
Ministers Association. And I remember him distinctly not indicating 
what politics or party it was, but is it right, is it just?
  Commissioner El Franco Lee is the first African American Commissioner 
on the Harris County Commissioners.
  Mr. John Bland, one of the Texas Southern University students who 
marched to desegregate the various lunch counters.
  Ms. Ruby Mosley, up in age, who is a fighter for senior citizens and 
is a mother of Acres Homes.
  Ms. Dorothy Hubbard, the late Dorothy Hubbard, who, in fact, worked 
in my office and instructed me about how you serve and help people.
  Ms. Doris Hubbard, one of the first young persons to be active in the 
Texas Democratic Party and who has been a champion for equality and 
justice.
  Willie Bell Boone, another one who minces no words about fighting to 
make sure that everyone's voice is heard.
  Holly HogoBrooks, who, again, is a great leader as it relates to the 
civil rights movement and the marching on the counters.
  Mr. Deloyd Parker founded this great organization called Shape, that 
has lifted the boats of inner city children, one by one. And out of 
that Shape Community Center have come doctors and lawyers, have come 
scientists and businesspersons. But they all have a heart for service.
  ``Doll'' Carter, Ms. Lenora Carter, with her husband, was the founder 
of the Forward Times, I believe, the oldest newspaper.

  So you can see that Black history is a storytelling history.
  And so, as I close my remarks, I have to take a moment of personal 
privilege to be able to talk about something that I have enjoyed.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, around this time of year, in Houston, we have 
something called the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It is eons and

[[Page H807]]

decades of years old. It goes back to our traditions as cowboys and 
cowgirls, and we are not going to let it go.
  So every year--we are coming up on it--it is probably going to go 
for, we say, almost two months that we are legitimately in our cowboy, 
cowgirl attire.
  I was privileged to be honored by the Houston Livestock Show and 
Rodeo Black Heritage Committee, which I helped found 20-some years ago 
because I knew that the Black cowboys and others wanted to be so much a 
part of it.
  I want to pay tribute to Verna Lee ``Boots'' Booker, who was the 
first cowgirl, if you will, to be in the Houston rodeo. And I received 
that award. What a privilege to acknowledge that we are everywhere. She 
was a competitor, and I believe it was in the barrel competition. But 
what an exciting night to recall her history.
  So we are going to be rodeoing over the next couple of weeks, and I 
want to pay tribute to all of the trail riders, and particularly, those 
of African American heritage. They have carried on this tradition.
  I want to make mention, I know there are many others, but allow me to 
make mention of the Prairie View Trail Ride Association, which makes 
its annual trek to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Hempstead. 
They rendezvous with a dozen other caravans at Memorial Park and they 
join the rodeo.
  Mr. Speaker, they stay out on the trail. This is real. They don't get 
into a hotel and then get on their horses. They ride that trail for 2 
and 3 and 4 weeks, and then come down to the rodeo on the day of the 
big rodeo parade.
  The Prairie View Trail Ride was founded in 1957 by James Francies, 
Jr., Dr. Alfred N. Poindexter, and Myrtis Dightman. I know there are 
others, but these are those who started.
  Their mission was to promote agricultural interest in young Americans 
and to perpetuate those principles and methods which have come to be 
regarded as the ideals and traditions of the Western World as well as 
the Negro Western Heritage.
  I am glad that they wanted to perpetuate this great tradition and, 
particularly, among African Americans.
  A good many of the first Black cowboys were born into slavery but 
later found a better life on the open range.
  I know many of us have heard of the Buffalo Soldiers. The Indians 
called African American soldiers that because of the woolliness of 
their hair. They were on horses, and they were fighting as well for the 
viewpoint of that time.
  Some Black cowboys took up careers as rodeo performers, or were hired 
as Federal peace officers in Indian territory.
  Our history weaves in and out, and it is a colorful history, and it 
mentions a number of people. I will mention Daniel W. ``80 John'' 
Wallace, who started riding the cattle trails in his adolescence and 
ultimately worked for cattlemen Winfield Scott and Gus O'Keefe. He put 
his accumulated savings toward the purchase of a ranch near Loraine, 
where he acquired more than 1,200 acres--that is a big deal--and 500 to 
600 cattle.
  We have been ranching for a long time, and Texas has a great 
tradition.
  I want to talk about my friend, Mollie Stevenson, a fourth-generation 
owner of the Taylor-Stevenson ranch. I would take my children out 
there. She would have little horses and ponies for them to run and 
ride. She founded the American Cowboy Museum to honor Black, Indian, 
and Mexican American cowboys, to be able to embrace everyone.
  Weekend rodeos featuring Black cowboys began in the late 1940s and 
continued to be popular. The contests of the Negro Cowboys Rodeo 
Association is evident that we have a strong history.
  So I think it is important tonight that we salute the long history 
that we have had in many different areas and be able to say, as I 
close, again, that there is work yet to be done in the pouring forward 
of our history, whether it is to reflect on the cowboys who, at times, 
were poorly fed, underpaid, overworked, deprived of sleep, prone to 
boredom and loneliness, but they kept on going; or it is to fix the 
criminal justice system of the 21st century, to be able to recognize 
that for all the cowboys and the historic persons whose names I have 
called, Dr. King and his wife, who stood alongside him, Coretta Scott 
King, that we fix together the criminal justice system, and that we 
work to find ways to work with law enforcement; but we answer the 
questions of those grieving mothers, Trayvon Martin's mother, Eric 
Garner's mother, Sean Bell, Michael Brown, Tamir, and all of them, and 
we find ways to ensure the wives and family members of law enforcement, 
that, yes, your husband or wife, as a law enforcement officer, will 
come home.
  Over the years, I have worked with the Federal law enforcement as a 
member of the House Judiciary Committee. We have always found ways to 
make their life easier in terms of the quality of life and work and 
expanded cops on the beat programs, and so now we can come together on 
training and the grand jury system and prison reform, which are not 
prone to any one group in America. It is an American issue.
  I truly believe that the history of all people, the history of 
Americans, no matter what their background, is one of clinging to 
democracy and the principles of the Bill of Rights, that we all have a 
decent opportunity to be respected by our law enforcement processes. 
Whether it is our courts or whether it is our process of trying cases, 
we all are to be respected.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, let me say that I end on the very note that 
this is a great country, and the history of African Americans has 
contributed to its greatness. Let us use the richness of their history 
to cast forward a new lot that will change America for the best as we 
move forward for justice, equality and freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, this February we recognize and celebrate the 39th 
commemoration of Black History Month.
  This month we celebrate the contributions of African Americans to the 
history of our great nation, and pay tribute to trailblazers, pioneers, 
heroes, and leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Supreme 
Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce, U.S. 
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland, 
Astronauts Dr. Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. and Mae C. Jemison, Frederick 
Douglass, Booker T. Washington, James Baldwin, Harriet Tubman, Rosa 
Parks, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks just to name a 
few of the countless number of well-known and unsung heroes whose 
contributions have helped our nation become a more perfect union.
  The history of the United States has been marked by the great 
contributions of African American activists, leaders, writers, and 
artists.
  As a member of Congress, I know that I stand on the shoulders of 
giants whose struggles and triumphs made it possible for me to stand 
here today and continue the fight for equality, justice, and progress 
for all, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
  The greatest of these giants to me are Mrs. Ivalita ``Ivy'' Jackson, 
a vocational nurse, and Mr. Ezra A. Jackson, one of the first African-
Americans to succeed in the comic book publishing business.
  They were my beloved parents and they taught me the value of 
education, hard work, discipline, perseverance, and caring for others.
  And I am continually inspired by Dr. Elwyn Lee, my husband and the 
first tenured African American law professor at the University of 
Houston.
  Mr. Speaker, I particularly wish to acknowledge the contributions of 
African American veterans in defending from foreign aggressors and who 
by their courageous examples helped transform our nation from a 
segregated society to a nation committed to the never ending challenge 
of perfecting our union.
  Last year about this time, I was honored to join my colleagues, 
Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Charles Rangel, a Korean War 
veteran, in paying tribute to surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen 
and the 555th Parachute Infantry, the famed ``Triple Nickels'' at a 
moving ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Army commemorating the 50th 
Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
  The success of the Tuskegee Airmen in escorting bombers during World 
War II achieving one of the lowest loss records of all the escort 
fighter groups, and being in constant demand for their services by the 
allied bomber units--is a record unmatched by any other fighter group.
  So impressive and astounding were the feats of the Tuskegee Airmen 
that in 1948, it helped persuade President Harry Truman to issue his 
famous Executive Order No. 9981, which directed equality of treatment 
and opportunity in all of the United States Armed Forces and led to the 
end of racial segregation in the U.S. military forces.

[[Page H808]]

  It is a source of enormous and enduring pride that my father-in-law, 
Phillip Ferguson Lee, was one of the Tuskegee Airmen.
  Clearly, what began as an experiment to determine whether ``colored'' 
soldiers' were capable of operating expensive and complex combat 
aircraft ended as an unqualified success based on the experience of the 
Tuskegee Airmen, whose record included 261 aircraft destroyed, 148 
aircraft damaged, 15,553 combat sorties and 1,578 missions over Italy 
and North Africa.
  They also destroyed or damaged over 950 units of ground 
transportation and escorted more than 200 bombing missions. They proved 
that ``the antidote to racism is excellence in performance,'' as 
retired Lt. Col. Herbert Carter once remarked.
  Mr. Speaker, Black History Month is also a time to remember many 
pioneering women like U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; activists 
Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks; astronaut Mae C. Jemison; authors Maya 
Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks; all of whom have each in 
their own way, whether through courageous activism, cultural 
contributions, or artistic creativity, forged social and political 
change, and forever changed our great Nation for the better.
  It is also fitting, Mr. Speaker, that in addition to those national 
leaders who contributions have made our nation better, we honor also 
those who have and are making a difference in their local communities.
  In my home city of Houston, there are numerous great men and women. 
They are great because they have heeded the counsel of Dr. King who 
said: ``Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You only a 
need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.''
  By that measure, I wish to pay tribute to some of the great men and 
women of Houston:
  1. Rev. F.N. Williams, Sr.
  2. Rev. Dr. S.J. Gilbert, Sr.
  3. Rev. Crawford W. Kimble
  4. Rev. Eldridge Stanley Branch
  5. Rev. William A. Lawson
  6. Rev. Johnnie Jeffery ``J.J.'' Robeson
  7. Mr. El Franco Lee
  8. Mr. John Bland
  9. Ms. Ruby Moseley
  10. Ms. Dorothy Hubbard
  11. Ms. Doris Hubbard
  12. Ms. Willie Bell Boone
  13. Ms. Holly HogoBrooks
  14. Mr. Deloyd Parker
  15. Ms. Lenora ``Doll'' Carter
  As we celebrate Black History Month, let us pay tribute to those who 
have come before us, and pay forward to future generations by 
addressing what is the number one issue for African American families, 
and all American families today: preserving the American promise of 
economic opportunity for all.
  Our immediate focus must be job creation, and enacting legislation 
that will foster and lay the foundation for today's and tomorrow's 
generation of groundbreaking activists, leaders, scientists, writers 
and artists to continue contributing to the greatness of America.
  We must work to get Americans back to work. We must continue to 
preserve the American Dream for all.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here in celebration of the heroic 
and historic acts of African Americans and their indispensable 
contributions to this great Nation.
  It is through our work in creating possibilities for today and future 
generations that we best honor the accomplishments and legacy of our 
predecessors.


                  Prairie View Trail Ride Association

  The Prairie View Trail Ride Association makes an annual trek to the 
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Hempstead.
  They then rendezvous with a dozen other caravans at Memorial Park 
where they will join the rodeo parade in downtown Houston.
  The Prairie View Trail Ride Association was founded in 1957 by James 
Francies Jr., Dr. Alfred N. Poindexter and Myrtis Dightman Sr.
  This group's mission statement says: ``The purpose of the Prairie 
View Trail is to promote agricultural interest in young Americans and 
to perpetuate those principals and methods which have come to be 
regarded as the ideals and traditions of the Western World as well as 
the Negro Western Heritage.
  PVTR serves as a booster for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and 
supports Prairie View A&M University in their educational programs.''


                         Black Cowboys of Texas

  Black cowboys have been part of Texas history since the early 
nineteenth century, when they first worked on ranches throughout the 
state.
  A good many of the first black cowboys were born into slavery but 
later found a better life on the open range, where they experienced 
less open discrimination than in the city.
  After the Civil War many were employed as horsebreakers and for other 
tasks, but few of them became ranch foremen or managers.
  Some black cowboys took up careers as rodeo performers or were hired 
as federal peace officers in Indian Territory.
  Others ultimately owned their own farms and ranches, while a few who 
followed the lure of the Wild West became gunfighters and outlaws.
  Significant numbers of African Americans went on the great cattle 
drives originating in the Southwest in the late 1800s. Black cowboys 
predominated in ranching sections of the Coastal Plain between the 
Sabine and Guadalupe rivers.
  A number of them achieved enviable reputations. Bose Ikard, a top 
hand and drover for rancher Charles Goodnight, also served him as his 
chief detective and banker.
  Daniel W. (80 John) Wallace started riding the cattle trails in his 
adolescence and ultimately worked for cattlemen Winfield Scott and Gus 
O'Keefe. He put his accumulated savings toward the purchase of a ranch 
near Loraine, where he acquired more than 1,200 acres and 500 to 600 
cattle.
  He was a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers 
Association for more than thirty years. William Pickett made his name 
as one of the most outstanding Wild West rodeo performers in the 
country and is credited with originating the modern event known as 
bulldogging. He was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 
1971.
  Black cowboys have continued to work in the ranching industry 
throughout the twentieth century, and African Americans who inherited 
family-owned ranches have attempted to bring public recognition to the 
contributions of their ancestors.
  Mollie Stevenson, a fourth-generation owner of the Taylor-Stevenson 
Ranch near Houston, founded the American Cowboy Museum to honor black, 
Indian, and Mexican-American cowboys. Weekend rodeos featuring black 
cowboys began in the late 19405 and continue to be popular.
  These contests owe their existence to the Negro Cowboys Rodeo 
Association, formed in 1947 by a group of East Texas black businessmen-
ranchers and cowboys.
  In the early days of Texas, the work of the cowhand was essential to 
the newly arrived settlers building a life on the frontier.
  The story of the Anglo cowboys who worked the ranches of Texas is 
well known, but much more remains to be discovered about the African 
American cowhands who worked side-by-side with the vaqueros and Anglo 
cowboys.
  The cowboy learned his craft from the vaqueros of New Spain an Texas 
when it was the northern territory of Mexico, as well as from the stock 
raisers of the South.
  Such a life was hardly glamorous. Poorly fed, underpaid, overworked, 
deprived of by snakes or tripped by prairie dog holes.
  Work centered on the fall and spring roundups, when scattered cattle 
were sleep, and prone to boredom and loneliness, cowboys choked in the 
dust, were cold at night, and suffered broken bones in falls and spills 
from horses spooked collected and driven to a place for branding, 
sorting for market, castrating, and in later years, dipping in vats to 
prevent tick fever.
  African American cowboys, however, also had to survive 
discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice.
  The lives of these cowhands tell a story of skill and grit, as they 
did what was necessary to gain the trust and respect of those who 
controlled their destiny.
  That meant being the best at roping, bronc busting, taming mustangs, 
calling the brands, controlling the remuda, or topping off horses.
  From scattered courthouse records, writings, and interviews with a 
few of the African American cowhands who were part of the history of 
Texas, Sara R. Massey and a host of writers have retrieved the stories 
of a more diverse cattle industry than has been previously recorded.
  Twenty-five writers here recount tales of African Americans such as 
Peter Martin, who hauled freight and assisted insurgents in a rebellion 
against the Mexican government while building a herd of cattle that 
allowed him to own (through a proxy) rental houses in town.
  Bose Ikard, a friend of Charles Goodnight, went on Goodnight's first 
cattle drive, opening the Goodnight-Loving Trail. Johanna July, a Black 
Seminole woman, had her own method of taming horses in the Rio Grande 
for the soldiers at Fort Duncan.
  These cowhands, along with others across the state, had an important 
role that has been too long omitted from most history books.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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