[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 168 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8228-H8232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly) is 
recognized for half the remaining time, until 10 p.m., as the designee 
of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to 
lead tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour. For 60 
minutes, we have the opportunity to speak directly to the American 
people.
  Before we get to business, I do want to take a moment to express my 
condolences and the prayers of the Congressional Black Caucus and this 
Congress to our allies in France after Friday night's attacks in Paris.
  Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. No act of terror 
can shake the resolve of the French people to live free, and nothing 
will impede France's ability to live prosperously. I want the people of 
France to know that the American people and this Congress stand in 
solidarity with the people of France tonight. I say this with full 
faith and confidence that no act of terror will deter France or the 
United States from embracing the principles of liberty, equality, and 
brotherhood.
  Our hearts also go out to those who recently lost loved ones and 
friends in Beirut and Nigeria.
  Mr. Speaker, in this hour, the Congressional Black Caucus will have a 
conversation with America about the issue of race relations in this 
country. This isn't a new topic of discussion. To be honest, I really 
wish there were no need and no appetite remaining in America so as to 
have to address this topic.
  It is amazing that the same nation that saw pilgrims journey to our 
shores on the Mayflower and that the same nation that saw Founding 
Father Ben Franklin make groundbreaking discoveries in electric science 
is the same nation that was able to land a man on the Moon and harness 
the electromagnetic spectrum for our mobile devices. We still wrestle 
with the same problem that confronted Ben Franklin and the Founding 
Fathers so long ago: the issue of race relations in America.
  As President Obama so eloquently remarked, the answer to the slavery 
question was already embedded within our Constitution--a Constitution 
that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law, 
a Constitution that promised its people liberty and justice and a union 
that could be and should be perfected over time.
  Yet these words were not enough to deliver slaves from bondage or to 
provide men and women of every color and creed with their full rights 
and obligations as citizens of the United States.
  It is this inherited sin that has guided a national history of 
challenging race relations in America, from slavery to the Three-Fifths 
Compromise, to a nation divided and broken over the issue of slavery, 
to poll taxes and literacy tests, to separate but equal, to Japanese 
internment, to anti-Semitism, to the Tuskegee experiment, to Brown v. 
The Board of Education, to the loving Confederate flags at State 
houses, to the Confederate statues in this Capitol, and to parishioners 
executed during a Charleston Bible study, executed in the hopes that it 
would spark a race war. It is the sad truth that, while race relations 
do not define us as a nation, ignoring and perverting these relations 
has left a painful blemish on our national record.

  Mr. Speaker, many times this year the Congressional Black Caucus has 
come before you in this hour to discuss the issue of Black voter 
suppression in America, the mass incarceration of African American 
males in America, the issue of Black Lives Matter, community fears over 
unfair and unequal treatment at the hands of bad apple law enforcement 
officers, and the economic concerns of communities of color.
  These concerns aren't made up. The impact and evidence of these 
concerns can be found everywhere for proof. Look at Amendments 13 
through 15. Look at the issue of African Americans having higher rates 
of mortality than any other racial ethnic group for 8 of the top 10 
causes of death. Look at the Black Lives Matter protests that we have 
had across the country. These concerns are our reality, and we must 
know these things to be true. We know more must be done to strengthen 
our national record on race.
  Tonight I want to use my time to discuss race relations in America, 
but I want to do so in a way that looks forward and not behind. I want 
to have a conversation about strengthening our national foundation and 
about healing the racial wounds of our past. In this conversation about 
race relations in America, I will highlight areas of need and 
opportunity that should be examined. Tonight's conversation should be a 
strong step toward progress.
  It is my true honor and pleasure to coanchor this hour with my 
distinguished colleague from New Jersey, a man who has committed his 
time in Congress to strengthening communities and bridging cultures.
  I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey, the Honorable Donald Payne, 
Jr., my colleague.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois. It has 
been as a labor of love that we have represented the Congressional 
Black Caucus in these Special Order hours this year.
  Our year is coming to a close. As we look back at the issues that we 
have discussed over the course of this year, it has been an honor and a 
privilege to work alongside my colleague, R. Kelly.
  As for tonight's issue, we have seen in recent weeks a number of 
racially charged incidents that have set off protests on college 
campuses across the country. From the University of Missouri to Yale, 
students have protested the inadequate responses of their school 
administrations to racism and harassment against minority students. We 
have seen the failure of many college administrations to properly 
address overt racism against minority students on campus.
  Adding to the anxiety felt by these students have been threats of 
violence against African American students and faculty. In many 
instances, there is a disconnect between students of color and the 
university leaders.
  In many of these instances, administrators have openly acknowledged 
that their responses to minority students have come too late and that 
their behavior has failed to take into consideration the concerns of 
students and the injustices against those students.
  This is an extension of the debate over interactions--often deadly--
between law enforcement and African

[[Page H8229]]

Americans. Many African Americans feel marginalized and unsafe in going 
about their normal day.
  This year an overarching theme of our Special Order hours has been 
equality and justice. We have discussed how, despite the strides our 
Nation has made on the journey to a more just society, minorities are 
still the subject of racism and racial discrimination and face 
persistent inequities across the board, from health to income, to 
criminal justice.
  Through our conversations and through the ongoing national debate 
about racial equality, we are highlighting how occurrences like those 
at the University of Missouri are not isolated incidents of racism; 
they are part of a larger system of discrimination.
  There is a history of racial discrimination, inequality, and bias 
that still affects African American communities across this Nation. We 
need to recognize this.
  There also needs to be a recognition of the pain and anxiety and 
fears that it creates in some of these young Americans. As we are 
seeing right now, many minority students feel that they do not have a 
home on campus. Many minority students are concerned about their safety 
at school.
  Following reports of threats on social media, students at the 
University of Missouri were afraid to attend classes. All students 
deserve a safe environment in which to live and learn. We can't 
discount the fears of these students; yet, that is exactly what we see 
happening. It is why so many students across the country are coalescing 
in support of racial justice.
  How can we move forward from here?
  Our national conversation about racial justice needs to remain 
ongoing. As a Nation, we must continue to confront incidents of racism 
and harassment and bring light to the complacency that too often 
enables these occurrences in the first place. It has to be more than 
just a conversation. We have to use the voices of our students and of 
our communities to drive concrete action on their behalf.
  Schools need to ensure the diversity not only of their student 
bodies, but also of their faculties and staffs to increase racial 
understanding and bring a broader perspective to their institutions.
  Schools also need to make sure that marginalized students have access 
to services that enable them to share their experiences and to seek 
assistance to meet their needs. School administrators need to be held 
accountable for their failure to make their campuses inclusive and safe 
for all students.
  There needs to be an urgency of their handling of racial incidents, 
and any hate crimes or civil rights violations need to be investigated 
internally and by law enforcement, as appropriate.
  We must never waver in our efforts to address racial disparities and 
to eliminate racism in our country. The Congressional Black Caucus is 
committed to addressing racial disparities by developing initiatives 
and by working with grassroots and national organizations, such as 
Black Lives Matter, the NAACP, and the Urban League, to ensure that 
they know that they have someone in their corner and that there is an 
effort to work together.

                              {time}  2045

  The Congressional Black Caucus is also holding a number of forums to 
bring African American community resources into the areas of business 
development, small-business assistance, financial empowerment, 
inequality, and education.
  As a caucus, we will continue to lend our support to those fighting 
for justice, equality, and opportunity for all.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back to my colleague, Robin Kelly.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. I thank Representative Payne for those words.
  One thing that you talked about with the University of Missouri, I 
thought it was great that when they did protests and sit-ins, that 
there were White students, football players, and coaches that also sat 
with them and gave them support. They were one. So even though bad 
things had happened, it was good to see that there were all kinds of 
students and their coaches empathetic with what was going on.
  I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PAYNE. Absolutely. To that point, this is the United States of 
America, and we have to come together as a Nation to eradicate this ill 
that has plagued this Nation since its inception. So we need people 
that understand and like-minded people to also join in. This is not a 
one-sided discussion. This is a discussion that we need to be having 
that encapsulates the entire Nation.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. In my diversity training that I have done for 
many years now, we have always talked about groups need allies. Allies 
give you support and encouragement and the strength to go on.
  At this time, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barbara 
Lee).
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kelly and Congressman 
Payne for organizing this Special Order and for your continued 
leadership on so many vital issues and for staying the course and 
holding down the fort for the Congressional Black Caucus. It is so 
important that our message of unity and our message--which really 
describes what many of the issues are that all of our communities are 
faced with--that that message goes out. Both of you have really been 
tremendous in this effort.
  So I rise this evening to join this critical conversation on race 
relations in America and to challenge our colleagues to work with the 
Congressional Black Caucus to realize progress for racial justice and 
equality.
  I join Congresswoman Kelly and Congressman Payne in sending my 
condolences to the families and the victims of the horrific terrorist 
attacks in Paris, Lebanon, Nigeria, and also in Egypt. Know that we 
join in this quest for global peace and security throughout the world.
  Now, tonight's Special Order is an important part of our work to 
address the discrimination and racism that still plagues our Nation, 
specifically as it relates to African Americans, but we know that it 
impacts all communities of color. It is manifested in many ways, and it 
affects our entire country. As Congressman Payne said so eloquently, we 
are the United States. So when one is affected, all are affected.
  All across the country at universities like Mizzou and Yale; in 
places like Baltimore and Ferguson; and in high schools like Spring 
Valley High in Columbia, South Carolina, we are witnessing the painful 
impact of institutional racism in our communities.
  Very recently, we saw this in my home district at Berkley High 
School. In one of the most progressive and enlightened cities in the 
country, Black students were subjected to threatening messages on 
campus. But I am so proud of the students at Berkley. They walked off--
it was not only Black students; it was all students--and marched out 
peacefully through the city to protest these terrible, despicable 
messages.
  This is unacceptable. All students have a right to learn free from 
violence and from threats. As long as Black students and any student of 
color feels unsafe in their classrooms, our work for justice remains 
incomplete.
  This crisis isn't limited to our schools. Tragically, people of color 
face institutional racism from the moment they are born. According to a 
report released earlier this year by the Joint Economic Committee and 
the Congressional Black Caucus, more than one in three Black children 
are born into poverty.
  This cycle of poverty and inequality continues in our school system 
where Black students account for 42 percent of preschool student 
expulsions. Mind you, now, that is preschool. That is students from 
about 2 years old to 4 years old. Black students account for 42 percent 
of preschool student expulsions, despite accounting for only 18 percent 
of enrollment. I can't figure out how any student aged 2 to 4 is 
expelled from school. That is outrageous. Yet 42 percent of preschool 
student expulsions are African American babies. These kids don't even 
get a start, let alone a head start.
  Outside of the classroom, African Americans are overpoliced, 
overcriminalized, and underemployed. A report published by the New York 
Times in April found that there are an estimated 1.5 million Black men 
between the ages of 24 to 54 who are missing from civic life, just 
missing it. These missing men, who account for

[[Page H8230]]

one in every six Black men, have been victims of mass incarceration or 
premature death. And this crisis of inequality extends to the 
structures of the community and have persisted from generations.
  Over the past four decades, the average unemployment rate for Blacks 
has been double the rate for White Americans. For many Black families, 
it feels like this is a permanent recession.
  Mr. Speaker, this must be our call to action. That is why I am so 
proud of our young people throughout the country and students who are 
standing up to racism and injustice in their communities. It is time 
for Congress to listen to the young people, saying that Black Lives 
Matter and Black students matter.
  Earlier this month, I held a forum on racial justice in my district 
to address these issues. More than 300 East Bay residents from all 
backgrounds attended and raised their voices for justice. This was the 
second forum that I have held throughout the last 3 months. Now, I have 
been able to reach over 1,000 East Bay residents.

  So, tonight, in this dialogue, which Congressman Payne and 
Congresswoman Kelly have talked about, this dialogue leads to action. 
Hopefully, our colleagues would think about hosting these types of 
forums and listen to what people are saying, listen to what the impact 
of some of our policies are on their daily lives. We must be part of 
the conversation and the solution, but we must listen. We must hear the 
pain and the suffering that people are experiencing as a result of 
discrimination and racial injustice.
  Now, the Congress must act to start addressing the systemic racism 
that degrades our institutions and threatens our communities. It is 
past time for us to get serious about us addressing the lack of 
opportunity for Black and minority families in this country. Right now, 
today, in this Chamber, there is legislation that can start moving the 
needle forward.
  We need to empower our communities to build greater trust between law 
enforcement and communities of color, and we need to address chronic 
recidivism, which would be a huge step toward returning some of our 
missing men to their families and communities. To do this, Congress 
should pass the Safe Justice Act, sponsored by Congressman 
Sensenbrenner and Congressman Scott. Congress should also pass the Stop 
Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, H.R. 1232, to stop the militarization 
of our Nation's police forces. We also should pass the Police 
Accountability Act, H.R. 1102, and the Grand Jury Reform Act, H.R. 429, 
so we can ensure that deadly force cases are heard by a judge and that 
there is more accountability for police officers.
  As we reform our broken criminal justice system and work to help 
repair those families hurt by mass incarceration, we will be 
strengthening America. We will have people who really can make a 
contribution, not only to their families and their communities, but to 
the entire country.
  The Federal Government shouldn't continue to put up barriers to work 
for those trying to rebuild their lives after making a mistake and 
should ban the box totally by Federal contractors and by Federal 
agencies. We also need to repeal the lifetime ban on Pell grants for 
those formerly incarcerated as it relates to drug felonies, the 
ineligibility for public assistance and food stamps.
  We need to remove these barriers so that people of color, primarily 
African American men and Latino men, can get back into society, get a 
job, and take care of their families. Once again, this is an example of 
public policy that racism wreaks its ugly head in our own institutions 
and policies.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, we must address the poverty that plagues 
communities of color all across the country. We have the Whip's Task 
Force on Poverty, Income Inequality, and Opportunity, which I am proud 
to chair with our whip, Mr. Hoyer. We are working with more than 100 of 
our colleagues now to advance policies that give all families, 
including African American families living below the poverty line both 
in urban communities and in rural communities, a fair shot.
  This effort includes our Half in Ten Act, H.R. 258, which calls for a 
national strategy to cut poverty in half in the next decade. That is 
more than 22 million Americans lifted out of poverty into the middle 
class in just the next 10 years by being strategic and coordinating our 
existing programs.
  Our Pathway Out of Poverty Act, H.R. 2721, would create good-paying 
jobs. It would lift families out of poverty into the middle class while 
strengthening our safety net for those who are still struggling. 
Ultimately, the only way to end institutional racism is to give African 
Americans and people of color a seat at the table, and we need to pass 
legislation and policies that begin to remove these barriers.
  My mentor, the Honorable Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, used to say: 
``If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding 
chair.'' That is what our young people are doing around the country.
  So I want to thank all of the people across our country who are 
bringing in folding chairs and ensuring that these important 
conversations happen. We hear you. We support you, and we will keep 
fighting for you for ensuring liberty and justice for all, which means 
just that. It means for all. In doing so, we will make the United 
States a stronger country.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kelly and Congressman Payne for 
organizing this very important Special Order. I know that out of this 
discussion, we are laying out what can be done, and it doesn't take 
another generation to end racial injustice in our country.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Representative Lee, I like your analogy about 
``if you are not at the table, bring your folding chair.'' I would like 
to say: ``If you are not at the table, your issues would be on the 
menu.'' But I like the folding chair analogy also.
  I think a good point that you bring up that people don't realize, 
when we talk about African American men in jail, incarcerated, people 
might think, well, if they are doing something wrong, they should be in 
jail.
  To use Ferguson as an example, while comprising two-thirds of 
Ferguson's population, African Americans represent 85 percent of 
vehicles stopped, 90 percent of citations, and 93 percent of arrests 
made by the Ferguson Police Department. But while African American 
drivers are twice as likely as White drivers to be searched on a 
vehicle stop, contraband was found on Black drivers 26 percent less 
frequently than White drivers.
  So these discrepancies, coupled with incidents of overly aggressive 
police tactics and a police force that is racially and ethnically 
underrepresented of the large Ferguson community, instill the culture 
of distrust and anonymity. So you can see why these things happen.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from California.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kelly for raising that 
issue because I think this is a clear example of what we talk about 
when we talk about racial injustice. It is very clear that many of our 
policies--Federal, local, and State policies--the impact and the result 
end up being a result that has racial components, and that is what our 
young people are talking about when they are talking about systemic and 
institutional racism.

  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California as 
well for always making very clear and thoughtful comments and for being 
a leader in this House for many years and taking bold steps in your 
beliefs and your principles. Sometimes when it looked grim, that you 
might be stepping out, history has been kind to you and shown that you 
were right. So I appreciate your leadership in this United States House 
of Representatives.
  One of the issues that we also find around racism is mass 
incarceration, which is a topic that has come to the forefront. The 
President is taking bold steps in that direction to try to have a 
discussion and correct those issues. There is no reason why the United 
States of America, which comprises 5 percent of the world's population, 
has 25 percent of the incarcerated population in the world. That number 
is mind-boggling.
  We are talking about these schools that are having racial issues and 
they are not being addressed.

                              {time}  2100

  There is no mistake that when you look at the issue even around 
cocaine

[[Page H8231]]

and the disparity in the length of time that you receive for having 
crack cocaine, which has predominantly been in African American 
communities, as opposed to powdered cocaine, which has predominantly 
been in the major population's community, but the sentences for crack 
cocaine are so much stiffer and longer that you can see a racial 
component in even those sentences given out by the justice system.
  We are dealing with a systemic institutional issue, and sometimes I 
even think that it has been so ingrained and embedded in the larger 
population that it is not even realized that there are issues. This is 
the way of life. This is the way things are. This is how it has been. 
We have to break that cycle. It is just unconscionable that these young 
people who have done what we have asked them to do--do well in school, 
move on to college, and get an education so you can be a productive 
citizen in this country--have to worry about these types of issues as 
they are trying to get their education.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank the gentleman for his kind 
remarks, but also for really digging deeper into this subject and 
really raising, in many ways, the unconscious biases that are reflected 
oftentimes in the policies and in the laws of the land.
  One example that Chairman Butterfield and myself, co-chair for the 
Congressional Black Caucus, and Reverend Jackson have really been true 
leaders in, and that is the effort with the tech industry in terms of 
the diversity of the tech industry.
  We have learned and the data shows that many companies next door to 
me in the Silicon Valley, 2 to 5 percent may be African Americans and 
Latinos--maybe. To their credit, they are trying to figure out how to 
address this; but one of the areas that some of the companies are 
exploring now is looking at unconscious bias and how that is reflected 
in the hiring policies of their managers as it relates to the 
discrimination actually that takes place against people of color, 
especially African Americans.
  It is embedded in this whole system here in our country, both in the 
private and in the public sector, and we have to really begin to talk 
about it to raise the level of awareness so people understand we are 
not talking about individuals and we are not going after people. We are 
talking about biases that are embedded in our programs and policies and 
in the law of the land.
  Mr. PAYNE. Absolutely.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. I also think something that contributes to 
that, your ZIP Code shouldn't dictate the quality of your education, 
like it shouldn't dictate the quality of your health care. In too many 
places in this country, your ZIP Code does dictate the quality of your 
education and the schools that have every sport, every technology, and 
those kinds of things, and schools that barely have books.
  They are not going to be at the same level when they graduate from 
high school, if they even make it through high school; and that is part 
of it, too, just the STEM, as we talk about, or STEAM, just the type of 
education that students are getting because of the way in some cases 
the schools are funded or the concentration of poverty in the school 
system, in some school systems.
  Mr. PAYNE. We are talking about the school systems. We are talking 
about Silicon Valley. I am doing a lot of work now with the insurance 
companies and finding out that based on your economic background and 
where you live and what your ZIP Code is will constitute what your 
rates on car insurance are. There is a built-in formula to that as 
well. It is just amazing how systemic and institutionalized these 
issues are.
  Even a young man like me, who was raised by my father not to get in 
trouble and do the right thing, I was still a young man, and sometimes 
I didn't do the right things. One time I was in downtown Newark, New 
Jersey, and I made a U-turn on one of the major thoroughfares in the 
city. A policeman pulls up on his motorcycle.
  Just my luck, I would make the U-turn and there would be a policeman 
coming, but that is the story of my life.
  This police officer approached me, very angry, very mean, yelling at 
me. It was my cousin's car, so I wasn't exactly sure where the 
credentials were in the car. I was about 20 years old at the time. The 
police officer finally says to me: Boy, if you don't find those 
documents--and he didn't use ``boy.'' He used a word that we can't use 
on the floor of this House of Representatives. But he said: If you 
don't find those documents, I will throw you so far under the jail that 
they will never find you.
  That was very frightening because he looked like he meant it.
  I was able to produce my license, and at the time my father was a 
councilman in the city of Newark. It was amazing the change in his 
attitude. He became very concerned about my welfare and my well-being 
all of a sudden. He says: Well, don't you know that that is dangerous, 
and you shouldn't do that? You know, you could hurt yourself or hurt 
someone else. All of a sudden, I became someone because of what my last 
name is.
  I am concerned about all the young men that can't produce something 
like that at that point in time. There are more of those stories, of 
the ones unable to produce than the ones that can produce. What does 
that say for young men in this country? There are many stories like 
that coming up that I could stand here and tell for several hours of 
experiences that I have had with the institutional racism in this 
country.
  Ms. LEE. Congressman Payne, you are talking about racial profiling 
and driving while Black, which so many of us experience throughout the 
country. I am glad we are having this discussion and you raised it 
because you come from a middle class family. You come from a great 
family.
  Mr. PAYNE. Thank you.
  Ms. LEE. Your father was a giant and raised you and your family to be 
law-abiding citizens, and still this happened to you.
  Also, with regard to redlining, this is another level that we have to 
look at as it relates to racism. When you look at how financial 
institutions targeted African American and minority communities with 
subprime loans, our communities lost all of our wealth as a result of 
that, and now have to start all over in terms of wealth accumulation. 
So you just go one aspect after another of what America has done in 
terms of the past that has not been corrected yet, and we have to 
really do that.
  Congresswoman Kelly, I just want to mention the phenomenal job you 
are doing as the chair of our Health Braintrust. We had a meeting this 
weekend in South Carolina with our great leader, Mr. Clyburn. We talked 
about health disparities in communities of color. You are talking about 
ZIP Codes. I know in my district--I mentioned this at the forum--there 
is a gap. Depending on where you live, depending on the ZIP Code, life 
expectancy where Black people live can be 10 to 15 years shorter.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Right. In the leading causes of death, African 
Americans are number one in eight of them.
  Ms. LEE. The mortality rate, that is right.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. We don't want to be number one in 8 out of 10.
  Ms. LEE. That is right. That is right. The importance of the work you 
are doing in closing healthcare disparities, which sometimes people 
don't understand, there are racial and ethnic disparities that, again, 
are reflected in our historical policies that have really severely 
impacted communities of color and African Americans.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Representatives, we have about 5 more minutes. 
I don't know if you have anything to add.
  Mr. PAYNE. I just want to thank you for working with us through this 
year in bringing these topics to the floor. We want the viewing public 
to understand that we have raised these issues because they are issues 
that plague our country. We are looking for African Americans and 
Latinos to have the same opportunities as everyone else. It is not 
about special treatment or anything. It is about equal treatment. 
Everyone should rise based on their ability. Just having an equal 
opportunity is key.
  Ms. LEE. I will just close by saying, we pledge allegiance to the 
flag, and we say, ``and liberty and justice for all,'' and that is what 
we mean.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Representative Lee and 
Representative Payne.
  Mr. Speaker, as we reflect on this evening's topic, the issue of race 
relations in America, we want to talk

[[Page H8232]]

about, just in closing, what can we do. We must do more, we must care 
more, and we must understand more about the diverse cultures that make 
up this Nation.
  A long time ago, as director of community affairs for the Village of 
Matteson, it has been 19 years now I have worked with a team hosting 
diversity dinners in our area to grow friendships and nurture relations 
among residents of the south suburbs of Chicago.
  Tonight as we discuss race relations in America, I want to reflect on 
what I see as the way to bridge the differences we experience in 
understanding in different communities.
  Earlier this year, I along with colleagues, Democrat and Republican, 
hosted the Second Annual Congressional Diversity Dinner. Forty Members 
of Congress--Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic from both parties, 
including both Republican and Democratic leadership--showed up and 
enjoyed a meal with their colleagues. During the dinner, we weren't 
Democrats or Republicans. We were colleagues with some great stories to 
share.
  At this year's dinner, I saw a microcosm of our Nation, a crowd made 
up of Members from coast to coast with truly diverse backgrounds coming 
together to enjoy each other's company. If we can put aside our racial 
and partisan blinders to break bread together, I am confident we can 
find ways to work together. That is what America wants and needs, and 
that type of leadership is the kind of leadership we deserve.
  Today we have the opportunity to celebrate diversity and show that 
America is only strengthened when we embrace the fact that we are a 
beautiful, I will say, pot of stew. There is much that communities can 
do to stanch out the rhetoric that divides us and find creative ways to 
bring people together. It was a small action, but that was what the 
diversity dinner sought to do.
  Now it is time for us to come together to address the reforms needed 
to rebuild trust between communities. Let's show the American people 
that we are a diverse people, we are proud of it, and we celebrate it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this has been a 
challenging year for race relations in the United States. Between the 
recent events at college campuses across the country and several 
incidents involving law enforcement, it is clear that strong racial 
tensions still exist within our communities.
  Renewed efforts to disenfranchise select groups of voters by gutting 
the Voting Rights Act or segregating neighborhoods in violation of the 
Fair Housing Act have contributed to the divisive elements of our 
society. These efforts run counter to everything that we as a nation 
have tried to eliminate in bringing diverse individuals together under 
common values--and there is still much work to be done.
  The fight for racial equality and inclusion has been a constant 
struggle for individuals of color throughout our long history. Despite 
important victories during the Civil Rights era, a new struggle has 
emerged in our time to tackle more subtle and implicit racial biases 
that exist within our society.
  Recognizing these challenges and maintaining open and civil dialogue 
is the only way that we can seek to end these senseless divisions once 
and for all. While it is also important to learn from the lessons of 
our past, how we decide to move forward will truly come to define the 
future of our nation.
  As we look to overcome our differences, we must reflect on our values 
and determine what kind of future we would like to see for our 
children. Do we want to leave behind a divided nation where individuals 
quarrel over race or socioeconomic status? Or do we want to live in a 
nation united under equal opportunity and justice for each and every 
American? I, for one, choose to support an equal and just America.
  Mr. Speaker, there will continue to be challenges ahead. However, the 
lessons that we carry with us into the future will help guide our 
decisions to build for a stronger and more prosperous America. I urge 
my colleagues to speak out against this blatant discrimination so that 
we can heal our country and move forward as a nation.

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