[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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