[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 109 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4475-H4476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A MESSAGE 68 YEARS IN THE MAKING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I love my country. No one says 
the Pledge of Allegiance with greater enthusiasm than I. No one sings 
``God Bless America'' with more love for country than I.

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. Speaker, I consider it a preeminent privilege to stand in the 
well

[[Page H4476]]

of the Congress of the United States of America to address some of the 
great issues of our time.
  Mr. Speaker, the message that I deliver today has been 68 years in 
the making. The message that I deliver today had its genesis with my 
mother, who cautioned me that I must behave a certain way in the 
presence of the constabulary, the police; a mother who was concerned 
for her son, who always made it very clear to me that I had to say yes, 
sir and no, sir, and that I had to always accept whatever the police 
said to me.
  This message is 68-plus years in the making, Mr. Speaker. The message 
is, in part, based upon what my uncle, who was a deputy sheriff, shared 
with me about my behavior in the presence of the police; that I must 
always, always yield to the police; submit to the police; never 
challenge the police. Sixty-eight years in the making, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy after what has happened over the last 
2 days to Black men in the United States of America. My heart is heavy. 
I had the unfortunate circumstance of seeing what happened to that man 
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on the ground with his hands flailing, blood 
flowing from his chest.
  I heard the young lady this morning pleading to God: Jesus, God, 
don't let him be dead. Maybe not her exact words, but very much what 
she said: Don't let him be dead; don't let this happen.
  Mr. Speaker, we have to do something about the killing of Black men 
at the hands of the constabulary in this country. If you don't want to 
investigate the police, if you don't want to investigate the system, 
the culture that causes it, investigate Black men. Find out why they 
want to run out in front of bullets.
  Let's find out why they are the ones who are consistently, and with 
some degree of systemic order, forcing themselves upon the police such 
that they find themselves dead. Investigate us.
  I am a Black man in the United States of America. I have lived what I 
am saying. Sixty-eight years in the making, that is how long this 
speech has been made. I don't need a written piece of paper. I know 
what is going on. I was a judge for 26 years. I saw it. I can give 
firsthand testimony about what is going on. It is time for us to 
investigate what is happening to Black men in this country.
  Black lives do matter. These people are trying to tell us something, 
these young people. We must listen to them. Let us not ignore what is 
going on. The camera's eye doesn't lie. If you look at these videos and 
you use your common sense, you know that there is something going on, 
and we need to investigate it.
  And it is pervasive, it is not just one-off circumstances that we are 
having to contend with. These things are happening across the length 
and breadth of this country. Every venue has some account that can be 
called to our attention. It is time for us to do something.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on you. Mr. Speaker, you are the Speaker of the 
whole House. Mr. Speaker, I call on you to assemble the House so that 
we can address the issue of Black men dying at the hands of police in 
this country. And we ought to investigate it to the extent that we come 
to conclusions about the people that are involved in these tragedies. 
We should not have to have another mother to have her child in the car, 
4 years of age, when her boyfriend is killed.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the time, and I thank God for giving me 
68 years to develop this message. And I pray, Mr. Speaker, that you 
will do something about what is happening to Black men in this country.

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