[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H944-H947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ORIGINAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH RESOLUTION OF 2016

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al 
Green) for 30 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on the topic of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?

[[Page H945]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, tonight we will take up H. Res. 
597, the Original Black History Month Resolution of 2016.
  This resolution is one that has been endorsed by and cosponsored by 
24 Members of the House. I want to thank each of them for their support 
of this resolution. It was introduced on February 2, 2016. I also want 
to thank the leadership for allowing us to have this time tonight to 
talk about Black history.
  More specifically, tonight we are going to talk about Black history 
as it relates to hallowed grounds, the sites of African American 
memories. But before going there, I think it appropriate to note that 
the House of Representatives has passed Black history resolutions since 
2007.
  In 2007, the 110th Congress, we had a resolution that passed. It 
passed by voice vote. In 2008, the resolution passed 367-0. In 2009, it 
passed 420-0. In 2010, 402-0. Since 2010, of course, we have not taken 
votes on any resolutions, generally speaking.
  I am honored to speak at this time of hallowed grounds, sites of 
African American memories. I am honored to do so because there are many 
persons who have made great sacrifices so that many of us would have 
the opportunities that we have. Many persons have suffered great pain 
so that some individuals can have great gains.
  Tonight we will discuss some of the pain because pain is associated 
with hallowed grounds.
  There are some things that we should never forget. We should never 
and cannot forget--nor should we--Pearl Harbor. This is a place where 
we have hallowed grounds. I have been to Pearl Harbor, and I know of 
the memorial that is there.
  We should not forget 9/11 and the World Trade Center. Hallowed 
grounds exist on the site where the World Trade Center was taken down.
  Because atrocities can sometimes create these hallowed grounds, we 
will sometimes find that things that we have to say are not always 
appealing, but the truth is that we cannot sanitize history.
  Efforts to sanitize history will only create what we call his story, 
someone else's version, but it is not the true history.
  Tonight we will not sanitize, but we will, in fact, be truthful about 
some of those hallowed grounds. Some of them have atrocious events 
associated with them.
  Let us start with hallowed grounds, places, sites, if you will, of 
Black history and some of the memories--not all good--associated with 
the African American lives that have been lost in this country, 
unfortunately.

                              {time}  1930

  Let us start with Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, established in 1794. This is a place that is, without 
question, of hallowed ground, because this place is the home of one of 
the Underground Railroads to freedom.
  It was the Union Station, if you will, of the Underground Railroad to 
freedom, where slaves would be stationed and they could receive 
sanctuary as they were moving from this country to Canada and moving to 
freedom.
  This church was founded by the Honorable Richard Allen, who was a 
former slave himself, and became the founder of the AME Church. In 
fact, he was the first bishop of the church.
  This site, if you will, had many people who were, but for the people 
who were there to give them aid and comfort, who were lost and were 
people who were trying to find their way on freedom's road, the 
Underground Railroad, if you will, to freedom, the Underground 
Railroad.
  Well, I am going to quote now Harriet Tubman, because Harriet Tubman 
reminded us of something that is important as it relates to African 
American history and some of the incidents that we will talk about.
  Harriet Tubman reminded us that she freed 1,000 slaves, but she went 
on to say: ``I could have freed another thousand if they had only known 
that they were slaves.'' If they had only known that they were slaves, 
they, too, could have been freed.
  The point that she was making is--and was--that people who are held 
in servitude can become so conditioned to their servitude that they 
don't really understand the condition that they are actually existing 
under and, as a result, they accept it.
  Harriet Tubman did not. Those who were part of the Underground 
Railroad to freedom did not accept servitude, and they wanted to have 
freedom; and this place, this church, Mother Bethel, was a place of 
freedom and a sanctuary for those who were seeking new opportunities 
and a better life in a better place.
  Another site, another place for us to remember the hallowed grounds 
that led to freedom, Seneca Village in New York City. The time of its 
existence was from 1825 to 1857. It was the site of a free middle class 
community. It was a small village, founded by Black people in 1825. And 
it is interesting to note that 10 percent of the African American 
voters who lived in New York lived in Seneca Village--10 percent.
  There were other persons living there as well. The Irish were there. 
The Germans were there. These were immigrants as well.
  The unfortunate circumstance about this hallowed ground, however, is 
that it was razed. Seneca Village was razed so that Central Park could 
rise. And the unfortunate circumstance further is that the stain of 
invidious eminent domain is Central Park's shame. It is so unfortunate 
that people were forced to leave their homes so that Central Park could 
have a home.
  Another site that we will mention tonight is Freedmen's Town, the 
historic district in Houston, Texas. Freedmen's Town was one of the 
first and the largest of the post-Civil War Black urban communities in 
the United States. It was settled by emancipated slaves in 1866. 
Although African Americans lived in Houston before and during the Civil 
War, Freedmen's Town represents the first community of free Black 
Houstonians in the city. It was, however, more than just a community. 
It was, indeed, a town. It had the infrastructure. It had the streets 
that were made of brick. It had lawyers and doctors. It had persons who 
were teachers, professionals, artisans, tradesmen.
  I had the privilege of going into Freedmen's Town not so long ago to 
the home of one of the prominent lawyers who lived there at that time.
  Preserving Freedmen's Town has become quite a challenge, but there 
are people in the community and Fourth Ward who are committed to its 
preservation. I will mention one such person. This would be Ms. Gladys 
House, who has worked tirelessly to maintain the character and 
infrastructure in Freedmen's Town.
  Another site would be Greenwood, the Greenwood community, also known 
as Black Wall Street. This was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the site of a 
race riot in 1921. This riot lasted from May 31 to June 1, when the 
unthinkable--the unthinkable--occurred. The unthinkable occurred 
because of an allegation of a Black male assaulting a White female. A 
sexual assault was alleged. I don't know that it was ever proven. I 
haven't been able to find anyplace in the readings and the research 
that I have done to substantiate the fact that it was proven. But it 
was alleged, an attempted sexual assault, if you will.
  This attack on this community of African Americans led to 10,000 
people being left homeless--10,000--35 or more city blocks were 
destroyed by fire, and estimates range from 39 to 300 people having 
been killed by various sources. We have found this to be the 
information that we can share. The residents rebuilt the community 
within 5 years. However, the community later declined because of 
desegregation in the mid-20th century.
  This incident, however, is something that we can never forget, just 
as we can't forget Pearl Harbor, just as we can't forget 9/11. The 
incident was something that took place and had the blessings of the 
constabulary. The police actually helped set fire to the property of 
the people who lived there. Later, a police chief apologized, and this 
was done in September of 2013. An apology was given for the attack that 
took place many years before, between May 31 and June 1 of 1921.
  Hallowed ground.
  We should remember the Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market in Money, 
Mississippi, because on August 28, 1955, Emmett Till was murdered in 
Money, Mississippi. He was murdered because of an allegation of his 
having accosted a White female.

[[Page H946]]

  In these times, we don't like to discuss it. I know that it makes 
some uncomfortable. But during these times, it was dangerous for Black 
men to speak in an unkind way to a White female. In fact, it was unkind 
for them to look at White females in a certain way. As a result, many 
Black men lost their lives because of allegations that were never 
proven with reference to flirting or attempted rape, in many cases.
  Well, as the case was with Emmett Till, he was a 14-year-old child 
from Chicago. He did not know the ways of the South. His mother had 
given him warnings before he left, but her admonitions were not enough. 
At some point, he went into this store, and the owner's wife alleges 
that he made a pass at her, if you will. Some said he whistled; others 
said he winked. There are many accounts, but it was never proven that 
he did anything.
  After learning of this alleged incident, the owner of the store, with 
a friend, literally went into the home of Emmett Till, went into his 
home and took him from his home. They took him away and they beat him. 
They took him to a river, the Tallahatchie River, and after actually 
bludgeoning his eyes out, they threw him in the river, and his body was 
later discovered. His mother was so shocked, and the country was so 
shocked by what happened, that it instigated a movement in the country. 
Much of the movement led to the civil rights movement.
  But the one thing that happened that his mother did that made a 
difference for many of us who are alive today was she allowed him to 
have an open casket so that the world could see the horrors of 
invidious segregation.

  In 1955, what happened, his death, led to the passage of the Emmett 
Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. His death in 1955 led to 
the passage of this act in 2007. It was introduced by Congressman John 
Lewis, and it authorizes $13.5 million annually, over a 10-year period, 
for Federal investigations of civil rights violations resulting in 
death prior to 1970.
  However, it is interesting to note, and I hope that all within the 
sound of my voice will hear this, the bill has never been funded. The 
bill has never been funded.
  The next site that we shall visit will be the National City Lines, 
and we will talk about bus No. 2857 in Montgomery, Alabama. The time of 
the Montgomery Bus Boycott was 1955 through 1956. It lasted 381 days. 
This bus boycott took place because of invidious discrimination alleged 
and occurring--excuse me, because it actually happened--against Ms. 
Rosa Parks.
  Ms. Parks was a passenger on the bus and was required to give up her 
seat, which she refused to do not because she was tired of working, but 
because she was tired of invidious discrimination, if you will. She was 
tired of having to surrender her seat to persons simply because of her 
hue, the hue of her skin, so she refused to get up from her seat, and 
her actions started a boycott that lasted 381 days.
  But there was also a lawsuit that was filed, Browder v. Gayle, and 
that lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court. The boycott and the 
lawsuit complemented each other.
  Many times you need the protest movement to let those who are in 
power know that you are not satisfied with your circumstances, and they 
protested for the 381 days. The Supreme Court ruled, and they ruled 
that this type of segregation was unconstitutional. As a result, Dr. 
King became very prominent in the country. Ms. Rosa Parks, of course, 
did, as well as Reverend Abernathy.
  Another site, the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and 
January 10, 1957, was the date the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference was born at this church. This church was a church home of 
many of the civil rights leaders that participated in many of the 
boycotts that took place. It was after the successful Montgomery Bus 
Boycott that Dr. King invited other leaders to associate themselves 
with him and the civil rights movement at this church. The church 
became a national historic site in 1980.
  Another site that we should remember in memorializing and making note 
of historic places that are a part of hallowed grounds for African 
Americans would be Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, 
Arkansas.
  September 1957, this was the date that a desegregation effort took 
place, and there was much resistance to this desegregation. This 
occurred 3 years after the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. There 
were nine young children who tried to attend this all-White Little Rock 
Central High School, and these nine young children were accosted; they 
were threatened.
  The violence that you could see on the faces of the persons who did 
not want innocent children in their school is something that you will 
remember. If ever you have an opportunity to review some of the old 
news reels, you can see the anger that I speak of. President Eisenhower 
ended up having to use Federal troops to desegregate this school. The 
event was heavily televised, and the news stories are available for 
those who would like to see.
  Another site would be the Woolworth's Store, the five-and-dime, in 
Greensboro, North Carolina. This was the place where four young Black 
males decided that they were going to have a sit-in.
  Sit-in simply means that they were going to either be served, or they 
would sit there until they were served or removed.
  These students showed the kind of resistance that inspired others 
around the country to take up the same cause, to decide that they too 
would engage in sit-ins. While this was not the first sit-in, it is one 
of the most famous, if not the most famous sit-in, and the Woolworth's 
Store was finally desegregated in 1965.
  Hallowed grounds.
  Another site to remember is the Birmingham jail in Birmingham, 
Alabama. April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote his ``Letter from 
Birmingham Jail,'' one of the most celebrated pieces of literary 
history. This letter has been studied by historians and is considered 
one of his most important works.
  He, in this letter, defines the nonviolent civil rights movement. It 
was this letter that was published in the Liberation Magazine in June 
of 1963 that led many people to understand the horrors of the civil 
rights movement, the horrors that civil rights workers suffered during 
the civil rights movement, and some of the suffering that people were 
enduring who were living under segregation.

                              {time}  1945

  Another site to remember would be the Lincoln Memorial on the 
National Mall in Washington, D.C. August 28 of 1963 is when Dr. King 
gave his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech.
  This march was one of the most successful in the country's history. 
200,000 to 300,000 people attended. This march helped to popularize the 
movement and support necessary for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  Another site to remember as we review hallowed grounds, sites of 
African American memories, would be the 16th Street Baptist Church. On 
September 15 of 1963, a dastardly terrorist act occurred right here in 
the United States of America in Birmingham, Alabama.
  Terrorists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing 4 young 
girls, and 22 others were wounded. The church was repaired and reopened 
on June 7 of 1964. In 1980, it was added to the National Registry as a 
historical place.
  Another site of hallowed grounds is the Edmond Pettus Bridge. Much is 
always talked about when we talk about hallowed grounds with respect to 
the Edmund Pettus Bridge because, on March 7, 1965, about 600 peaceful 
protesters were attacked and assaulted by the constabulary.
  They were beaten back to the place where they started their march. 
The Honorable John Lewis was a member of this group of persons, 
peaceful protesters, who wanted to march from Selma to Montgomery. This 
violence against the marchers was televised.
  One of the things that we have noticed as we reviewed these sites and 
these incidents, these atrocities, is that television helped to change 
the American psyche because people had an opportunity by way of 
television to see what others were actually experiencing, very much 
akin to what we are seeing now with cell phones and some of the things 
that are happening to persons at the hands of the constabulary.
  Much of what people would say others did not believe. But when you 
have

[[Page H947]]

the actual pictures to see the representation by way of pictures, it 
can make a difference in the psyche of people.
  As a result of this march, many having suffered, we found that the 
civil rights law of 1965 was passed. This was done because people 
suffered and because the Edmund Pettus Bridge became a place for us to 
memorialize as hallowed grounds.
  Moving forward, the civil rights acts, many of them--the history of 
those who were able to accomplish things by way of the courts is all 
predicated upon a lot of suffering that took place in this country. Too 
many people suffered so that I could have the opportunity to be here 
tonight to talk about these hallowed grounds.
  I feel that it is my duty to do this. I know that talking about these 
things can create a good deal of discomfort for people. We ought to 
feel a certain amount of discomfort because what happened was, without 
question, something that this country should never want to see happen 
again and should never have happened ever to anyone.
  But we must remember our history just as we are going to remember 
Pearl Harbor, just as we are going to remember 9/11, and just as we are 
going to remember World Wars I and II.
  We have to remember the history in this country, the atrocities that 
occurred against African Americans as they were trying their very best 
to live peaceful lives. Hallowed grounds, the sites of African American 
memories.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for the time tonight to bring up 
these hallowed grounds and to talk about Black History Month, 
especially as it relates to some of the things that happened in this 
country.
  But I also want to say this, Mr. Speaker. Notwithstanding all of the 
things that I have said and all of the memories that I have recounted, 
it is important for us to note that the country has truly come a long 
way.
  I still contend that, notwithstanding all of the atrocities, this is 
a great place for Americans of all hues to find their way in the world.
  This is a special country. I love my country, but I don't forget the 
things that happened in my country to cause us to memorialize certain 
places as hallowed ground.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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