[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 19 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E138-E139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMEMORATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 3, 2017

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this February we recognize and 
celebrate the 40th 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 the 44th President of the United States, 
Barack Obama; 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; activists, intellectuals, 
authors, and artists like 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.
  A few years ago 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.
  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; mathematicians 
like Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson; authors 
Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks; all of whom have 
each in their own way, whether through courageous activism, cultural or 
intellectual 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 whose 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 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. John Brand
  8. Ms. Ruby Moseley
  9. Ms. Dorothy Hubbard
  10. Ms. Doris Hubbard
  11. Ms. Willie Bell Boone
  12. Ms. Holly HogoBrooks
  13. Mr. Deloyd Parker
  14. 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 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.

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