[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 87 (Tuesday, June 2, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E821-E822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN SUPPORT OF ``LGBT PRIDE MONTH AND HOUSTON PRIDE WEEK''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 2, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate LGBT Pride Month 
and the remarkable progress that has been made in making our country 
more diverse and tolerant and embracing of differences in the 17 years 
since the cruel murder of Matthew Shepherd, a college student from 
Laramie, Wyoming.
  As a country, America has made and continues to make great progress 
in the area of social equality, as evidenced most dramatically by the 
seismic shift in public support for marriage equality over the past 
decade.
  Today, supporters of marriage equality dramatically outnumber 
opponents by 61%-35%; a near total reversal from 2004, when opponents 
outnumbered supporters 58-39 percent.
  Our country made progress in bringing our LGBT brothers and sisters, 
mother and fathers out of the shadows with the repeal of ``Don't Ask, 
Don't Tell,'' which I was proud to support.
  Our nation is now stronger and our people are safer thanks to the 
sacrifices made by these brave Americans, who no longer need to choose 
between service and silence.
  There have been other changes for the better.
  In April 2015, President Obama issued a landmark Executive Order 
prohibiting discrimination against LGBT persons in the workplace.
  This civil rights victory ensures the tax dollars used to pay 
government contractors support contractors that are committed to equal 
employment opportunity for all persons regardless of sexual 
orientation.
  This legislation marks a major shift from a time when the U.S. Civil 
Service Commission prohibited the hiring of LGBT persons to a time when 
the Secretary of Defense has selected an openly gay man as his chief of 
staff.
  Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 46th anniversary of the LGBT Civil 
Rights Movement, where activists such as Frank Kameny led the struggle 
for the voices of the LGBT community to be heard.
  Frank Kameny's courageous demonstrations inspired others to resist 
mistreatment and we witnessed in 1969 what happens when a community 
says enough is enough.
  Our country has made progress since the Stonewall uprising of 1969, 
and with the support of equal rights for all communities by leaders 
such as President Barack Obama, more and more voices are being heard.
  Mr. Speaker, although more remains to be done to realize the full 
promise of America that all are equally treated and protected by the 
law, it is undeniable that America is closer to realizing that promise 
than it was during the dark days of Stonewall.
  So there is much reason for joy and optimism when my home city of 
Houston celebrates Houston Pride Week later this month, from June 21-
28, 2015.
  According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the 16th largest LGBT community in 
the nation is located in the Houston metropolitan area, which I am 
privileged to represent.
  The Houston LGBT community is culturally diverse, economically 
dynamic, and artistically vibrant.
  Houston Pride Week has been an annual event for the last 36 years, 
since 1979, and promotes the individuality of Houston's ever-growing 
LGBT community.
  The Pride Festival and Parade are at the center of the Celebration 
and are annually attended by more than 400,000 people from Houston and 
around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, progress is made through the efforts of courageous 
leaders who actively engage their communities and face adversity to 
ensure that the rights of all are clearly recognized and protected.
  People like the legendary Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1947 
Journey of Reconciliation which inspired the Freedom Rides of the 1960s 
and helped Dr. King organize the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference and who was the driving force behind the historic 1963 March 
on Washington.
  Texas natives such as Sheryl Swoopes, a 3-time WNBA Most Valuable 
Player and champion for the Houston Comets, Houston Mayor Annise 
Parker.
  These leaders have set an example of what can happen when we lift the 
limits of inequality and support our fellow Americans in their pursuits 
of their inalienable rights.
  Other members of the LGBT community whose contributions have enriched 
American culture and made our country better include the great poet 
Langston Hughes; Mandy Carter, 2008 national co-chair of Obama Pride

[[Page E822]]

and lifelong activist; Billy Strayhorn, the musician and gifted 
composer whose 30-year collaboration with Duke Ellington gave the world 
some of the greatest jazz music ever; Tom Waddell, army medical doctor 
and Olympic athlete; and James Baldwin, one of the towering figures in 
the history of American literature.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to acknowledge the achievements of just a few 
of the countless number of Americans who overcame prejudice and 
discrimination to make America a more welcoming place for succeeding 
generations of LGBT community members.

                          ____________________