[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 25 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1117-H1123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fitzpatrick). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Veasey) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority 
leader.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include any extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, W. E. B. Du Bois is quoted as saying: ``The 
cost of liberty is the less than the price of repression.'' And the 
cost of liberty has come at a steep price for members of the Black 
community. But despite this immense challenge the Black community has 
faced, our resiliency is what we celebrate every month during Black 
History Month.
  Every February, we get together to talk about it, highlight it, and 
share with school children, friends, and family the accomplishments of 
the men and women who changed the course of American history. We thank 
these pioneers for expanding what we believed possible and use them as 
an inspiration for the fight that remains.
  There have been so many African-American pioneers in every field, 
including medicine. Dr. James McCune Smith was the first African 
American to earn a medical degree and practice medicine in the U.S.; 
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams owned the first Black-owned hospital and is 
credited with the first successful heart surgery performed by an 
African American; Dr. Charles Drew--many have heard of him--renowned 
for his research during World War II which allowed for us to better 
understand blood plasma and its storage for transfusions. More 
recently, Dr. Regina Benjamin became the first Black woman elected to 
the American Medical Association Board of Trustees and was appointed 
the 18th surgeon general by President Barack Obama in 2009.
  Each of these medical pioneers broke barriers for the betterment of 
the community, and each worked to use tools of their profession to 
improve the health of each patient they treat and also for future 
generations.
  The Secretary of Health and Human Services shared similar 
responsibilities, but on a much, much wider scale, Mr. Speaker. The 
agency, as you know, of HHS is tasked with enhancing and protecting the 
health of all American citizens. However, the recent appointment of Dr. 
Tom Price as HHS Secretary threatens to roll back the progress 
pioneered by Black medical professions and the progress made under 
President Barack Obama.
  Dr. Price, as many of you know and as has been documented and seen on 
television on the cable news shows, was very hostile, extremely 
hostile, and openly hostile to the Affordable Care Act during the time 
that he was in Congress, despite the law ultimately extending health 
insurance for close to 20 million Americans who didn't have it before. 
That is what is so amazing that a doctor would take that view.
  Because of the ACA, 2.3 million African Americans between the ages of 
18 and 64 gained coverage, and the uninsured rate, among African 
Americans, fell by nearly 7 percent. In the district that I represent, 
47,000 more residents now have coverage thanks to the ACA. And for the 
district that I represent, that is pretty significant.
  People hear a lot about the Texas miracle and about all the jobs and 
the economic growth in the State of Texas. Despite living in Dallas-
Fort Worth--one of the most vibrant economies in the entire world, 
quite frankly--it had the highest uninsured rate out of any 
congressional district in the country. It is a shame that, with that 
type of prosperity, we would have such a large group of people--over 1 
million people collectively when you include people outside of the 
district that I represent--in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex who don't 
have insurance. It is really a shame. We cannot let the progress forged 
by African-American trailblazers be undermined by a Secretary of Health 
and Human Services who does not see how expanding healthcare access can 
help better health outcomes for African Americans.
  Similarly, in an area of history where we saw historic tenures of 
both

[[Page H1118]]

Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch as Attorneys General, the recent 
confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General is very troubling and 
really a blatant reminder that we must remain vigilant for those who 
would like to turn back the clock on the civil rights progress that 
African Americans fought and died for, particularly when you start 
talking about voter fraud.
  It seems like right now what we are starting to see is the very 
beginning of people who are against the gains that have been made. They 
are trying to lay the groundwork so they can go in and do some really, 
really serious oppression. And that is absolutely scary just because 
that was a chapter in our country's history that we don't want to go 
back to.
  We want to know that the new Attorney General is going to be working 
for us and not trying to undermine us when it comes to people being 
able to exercise their suffrage. And in the Senate Chamber, a very 
esteemed colleague in Congress, Senator Warren, brought much attention 
to a letter that Coretta Scott King wrote opposing Senator Session's 
consideration for a Federal judgeship.
  This Chamber has yet to hear Mrs. King's words in a letter that she 
used to highlight the brutal harm Sessions could wreak on voting 
rights. And if you look at her letter, it simply states: ``Free 
exercise of voting rights is so fundamental to American democracy that 
we cannot tolerate any form of infringement of those rights. Of all the 
groups who have been disenfranchised in our nation's history, none has 
struggled longer or suffered more in the attempt to win the vote than 
black citizens. No group has had access to the ballot box denied so 
persistently and intently.''
  And Mrs. King continued: ``The actions taken by Mr. Sessions in 
regards to the 1984 voting fraud prosecutions represent just one more 
technique used to intimidate black voters and thus deny them this most 
precious franchise. The investigations into the absentee voting process 
were conducted only in the black belt counties where blacks had finally 
achieved political power in local government. Whites had been using the 
absentee process to their advantage for years, without incident. Then, 
when blacks, realizing its strength, began to use it with success, 
criminal investigations were begun.''

  Mrs. King went on to state: ``In fact, Mr. Sessions sought to punish 
older black civil rights activists, advisers and colleagues of my 
husband, who had been key figures in the civil rights movement in the 
1960's. These were persons who, realizing the potential of the absentee 
vote among blacks, had learned to use the process within the bounds of 
legality and had taught others to do the same.''
  And that is what I am talking about, Mr. Speaker, is that sort of 
attitude, that sort of hostility towards the African-American community 
when it comes to the right of suffrage, the right to vote that we hold 
so precious--that all of us are worried about.
  But Mrs. King went on to describe why she believes Jeff Sessions 
would do irreparable harm to her husband's civil rights legacy. ``The 
exercise of the franchise,'' she states, ``is an essential means by 
which our citizens ensure that those who are governing will be 
responsible. My husband called it the number one civil right. The 
denial of access to the ballot box ultimately results in the denial of 
other fundamental rights. For, it is only when the poor and 
disadvantaged are empowered that they are able to participate actively 
in the solutions to their own problems.
  ``We still have a long way to go before we can say that minorities no 
longer need be concerned about discrimination at the polls. Blacks, 
Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans are grossly 
underrepresented at every level of government in America. If we are 
going to make our timeless dream of justice through democracy a 
reality, we must take every step possible to ensure that the spirit and 
intent of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 15th Amendment to the 
Constitution is honored.''
  And with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield to a Member of this body that is 
no stranger when it comes to civil rights, knew Mrs. King, knew many of 
the key players and figures, and was a key player and figure himself, 
and that is the gentleman from South Carolina. I would like to 
recognize our assistant leader, Jim Clyburn, to come and talk on this 
topic of Black History Month and some of the things that are so 
important to our community this month and why we are going to continue 
to talk about these issues.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Thank you very much for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join my colleagues and people 
throughout the United States to celebrate Black History Month. It may 
come as a surprise to some that Black History Month is also celebrated 
in Canada and the United Kingdom, although they do so in the United 
Kingdom in the month of October.
  Thanks to the hard work and persistence of Carter G. Woodson and the 
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, known today as the 
Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the 
celebration of Black history was inaugurated in 1926. In response to 
Mr. Woodson's advocacy, it was to be for 1 week, the second week in 
February, in order to envelope the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, 
February 12, and Frederick Douglass, February 14.
  First proposed by students at Kent University in 1969 and 1970, the 
week was officially expanded to a month in 1976. Gerald Ford was 
President at the time. When the month was established, President Ford 
urged the country to ``honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of 
black Americans.'' There is a lot of talk about health care these days, 
and in no area has the contributions of African Americans been more 
neglected and dishonored as much as in the field of health care.
  How many people are aware of the contributions of Charles Drew who 
unlocked the secrets that led to the ability to perform blood 
transfusions; or Daniel Hale Williams who performed the first 
successful open-heart surgery; or Samuel Kountz who performed the first 
successful kidney transplant not done on identical twins? Because of 
these and many other slights in many other fields, Mr. Speaker, I have 
not always celebrated this occasion with pleasure.
  During those discussions back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I, 
and many others, felt that the appropriate action was not just to 
expand from 1 week to a month but to mandate the incorporation of 
African-Americans' contributions and achievements throughout the 
curricula of all of our schools year round.
  But, with each passing day, I grow more and more appreciative and 
respective of a lesson taught in 1 Corinthians 11:13, which I share 
with you in Jim Clyburn's version. ``When I was a child, young and 
inexperienced, I spoke with the reasoning and understanding of a child, 
but as I grew and matured, I put those childish thoughts, expressions, 
and ways behind me.''
  I have come to understand, Mr. Speaker, that Black History Month is 
not only about celebrating past achievements and contributions. It is 
also a time for reflection and introspection.

                              {time}  1945

  Aristotle once intoned: ``A life without contemplation is not worth 
living.''
  I have spent a lot of introspective moments over the last several 
weeks. Over the last several days, I have reflected on the comments 
made by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the annual meeting of the 
Medical Committee for Human Rights back in 1966, when he said: ``Of all 
the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking 
and inhumane.''
  That is what was on my mind when I addressed this House on the day 
that we passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On that 
occasion, I referred to the Affordable Care Act as the civil rights act 
of the 21st century.
  It may seem a bit odd to some to hear the Affordable Care Act 
referred to as a civil rights act, but that is exactly what it is. The 
Affordable Care Act outlawed discrimination against children with 
preexisting conditions, outlawed discrimination against people with 
disabilities, and outlawed discrimination against women just because 
they are women.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to believe that we have grown and matured beyond 
where we were when our country allowed insurance companies to 
discriminate against women with breast cancer

[[Page H1119]]

and men with prostate cancer. I would like to believe, Mr. Speaker, 
that we have put behind us the childish practice of kicking children 
off of their family insurance policies as soon as they turn 21, even if 
they are still in school or have not yet found employment. Mr. Speaker, 
what could be more childish and immature than allowing insurance 
companies to deny benefits to the sick and disabled in order to gain 
big bonuses and payouts for executives?
  These arguments are not new. In fact, they are reminiscent of an age-
old debate.
  Fifty years ago, during my years of student protest, there were those 
who urged us to slow down. You are pushing too hard, too fast, they 
would say. Some of those who wanted a slower approach claimed to be on 
our side, like those eight White ministers who implored Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., to slow down, arguing that Christianity took 2,000 
years to accomplish all it has. Those ministers believed that the 
escalation of marches and demonstrations to secure civil rights was 
unwise and untimely.
  In 1963, while sitting in the Birmingham city jail, Dr. King started 
penning a letter that, of course, he finished after leaving jail, but 
in that letter he dealt with the whole issue of time. In his letter, 
Dr. King said: ``Time itself is neutral; it can be used either 
destructively or constructively.''
  He continued: ``More and more I feel that the people of ill will have 
used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will 
have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful word and 
actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good 
people.''
  Dr. King continued: ``Human progress never rolls in on wheels of 
inevitably; it comes through the tireless efforts of men''--and, I 
might add, women--``willing to be coworkers with God, and without this 
hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social 
stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that time is 
always ripe to do right.''
  I believe these words ring true today, in our current situation. Our 
Nation has waited for nearly a century to find a way to bring all its 
citizens into the healthcare system. The time was ripe to do right for 
the American people.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank our assistant leader for his 
comments. He has such a plethora of information when it comes to the 
civil rights movement. He knew Reverend Abernathy and a lot of figures 
that aren't as well known, like A. G. Gaston and James Farmer from my 
family's hometown in Marshall, Texas. He is able to bring all of that 
in today and tie it into the relevance of what we are working on here 
in Congress.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a friend 
here on the House floor from Houston. She is a fellow Texan that also 
knows about Black history just because so much of great Black history 
in our country has been made in Harris County, in Houston, Texas. I 
thank her for participating on this very important Special Order hour.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me thank my friends and distinguished leaders of 
this Special Order, Congressman Veasey of Texas and Congresswoman 
Plaskett of the Virgin Islands.
  As I begin today, I want to pose a question that was posed by Eddie 
Chambers. Chambers is a professor of art and art history at the 
University of Texas in Austin.
  As I say that, let me respond to Congressman Veasey and indicate that 
we do have a lot of history in Harris County, but also in the State of 
Texas. Also, I had the privilege of working for the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference during the leadership of, then, Ralph David 
Abernathy and met Hosea Williams and many of the foot soldiers that 
worked with Dr. King. I can see the historic perspective that they were 
able to garner by their experience and association with this great 
modern-day profit, a man who understood that injustice anywhere is 
injustice everywhere.
  As I answer the question, I want to cite from Eddie Chambers' article 
that appeared in the Chronicle today. He said in one of his sentences: 
``Is there an important place for a celebration that might well appear 
in some respects as anachronistic?
  ``In a word,'' he said, ``yes.''
  He went on to say: ``As a professor whose classes invariably deal 
with aspects of African-American history and African Diaspora history, 
any moment of doubt I might have about the validity of Black History 
Month are dispelled once classes begin each semester. I am still 
shocked and saddened at the level of ignorance among students of 
important events and personalities that are part of African-American 
history, and consequently, American history. I don't, of course, blame 
my students, and this ignorance is by no means restricted to students 
of a particular ethnicity or cultural background.''
  In other words, he said: ``Widespread ignorance of Black American 
history leads to an insufficient grasp of American history.''
  So my few words tonight will explain or highlight the fact that this 
is a need for not only African-American History Month, which is 
February, but it needs to be taught throughout the year and integrated 
into the education of all students, no matter where they live; and it 
is shameful testimony that the books that children are learning from, 
the curriculum, is so missing, so lacking in the history that is 
American history--African-American history.
  My challenge tonight is for those of my colleagues who are listening, 
those educators in primary and secondary education, in colleges, Ivy 
League and otherwise, what is your answer to the question: Is it now 
still time to celebrate and commemorate Black History Month? What are 
you doing about it?
  I know that Texas is certainly full and rich with history, although 
our schoolbooks do not denote that. In fact, there was a vigorous fight 
with the Texas education board on their lack of responsibility in terms 
of insisting on textbooks that had an accurate recounting of Black 
history.
  Certainly, we know--I hope that we know--the names of Congresswoman 
Shirley Chisolm, the first woman African American to run for President; 
my colleague and former predecessor, the Honorable Barbara Jordan, who 
in the Judiciary Committee said, ``We, the people,'' and repeated a 
statement of the importance of the Constitution; activists like Harriet 
Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Sojourner Truth.
  Secretary Hillary Clinton and myself introduced legislation to put 
the first American bust, that of Sojourner Truth, in the United States 
Capitol, where she sits today. Who would have known her name, had it 
not been for the celebration through that legislation of over 2,500 
women who came to celebrate the placing of this bust?
  Astronaut Mae Jemison still remains the first African-American woman 
to go into space. We have mathematicians Catherine G. Johnson, Dorothy 
Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, who I believe are evidenced in the film 
``Hidden Figures.'' ``Fences'' is another great movie of great history. 
We have Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Gwendolyn Brooks. All of these 
are evidence of great people.
  Or the likes of Ruby Mosley, who started with the city of Houston but 
was an activist and is an activist in Acres Homes. Not one thing of 
good news happened in Acres Homes and around the city without Ruby 
Mosley's great leadership. She is still going.
  Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland, Craig Washington, and myself, who 
served in this seat in the 18th Congressional District, fought to make 
sure that seniors had housing, make sure their Social Security and city 
services were there, and standing up to fight for civil rights. There 
were so many like Ruby Mosley. All of them should be placed in 
literature to announce their greatness.
  And then, of course, let me say how proud I am to have a father by 
the name of Ezra C. Jackson, one of the first African-American 
cartoonists working in New York City in the media of comic books. He 
was a strange figure there. Tragically and unfortunately, as the White 
men begin to return after World War II, the African Americans who 
worked during that time, since he was the youngest of four sons--three 
went to World War II--were displaced. Racism. But yet I am so proud of 
him for being such an astute and brilliant artist. So much of his work 
still remains, shown in the Smithsonian in its early stages of putting 
together the

[[Page H1120]]

National Museum of African American History and Culture.
  Also, my father-in-law, Phillip Ferguson Lee, one of the Tuskegee 
Airmen. Clearly, it began as an experiment to determine whether colored 
soldiers were capable of operating expensive and complex combat 
aircraft but ended as an unqualified success, based on the experience 
of the Tuskegee Airmen, whose record included 261 aircraft destroyed, 
141 aircraft damaged, 15,553 combat sorties, and 1,578 missions over 
Italy and north Africa.
  This past weekend, we buried a church member of mine, Clyde 
Alexander, who was also a Tuskegee Airman. To both of those men, we pay 
tribute, and I ask the question: How many textbooks in America, in 
school districts, rural and urban, have the story about the Tuskegee 
Airmen?
  Is the question: Do we need to celebrate and commemorate Black 
history? If that is the question, then the answer is not only a 
resounding yes, but what are you doing in the academic institutions 
across America to ensure that we tell the story not of African American 
history or Black history, but of American history?
  Let me finish my remarks by adding a challenge evidenced in the Los 
Angeles Times.
  One of the things that comes out of the commemoration of African-
American history is a connection to the diaspora. The Congressional 
Black Caucus has been the singular connecting force to the diaspora, 
whether it is to the Caribbean; whether it is to the African Brazilians 
in Brazil who happen to be of Nigerian heritage; whether it is, as I 
indicated, in the Caribbean, where my parents and grandparents came 
from, from Jamaica; from Panama, where my grandfather worked on the 
Panama Canal. All of this is part of the portfolio of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, and I thank our chairman, Mr. Richmond.

                              {time}  2000

  We have been the strongest voices on these issues. Mickey Leland, who 
was my predecessor, died on the side of an Ethiopian mountain because 
he cared about the horrible and devastating drought that was killing 
those in the region and he continued to want to take them food and to 
hold dying babies in his hands.
  Now we have a new challenge, and that is of Somalia, a new hunger 
emergency. Millions are going to die if this President does not 
recognize that his responsibilities include not only being the 
Commander in Chief, but many times the chief humanitarian of the world.
  In the last drought, some 350,000 children died in this region 
because of starvation. Right now they are expecting that starvation is 
going to impact hundreds of thousands of women and children. This is a 
picture of a woman and her child walking by the dead goats that would 
be the source of their livelihood because there is no water.
  As I close my remarks, I call upon this Congress and I call upon this 
President to get the wheels back on the White House and begin to 
recognize that America has always been the comforter in receiving 
refugees, and it has always been a friend of the continent of Africa. 
There are Members of Congress who have gone to Africa in times of need, 
but we have also worked with the administration, from George Bush to 
Bill Clinton, to Barack Obama and many others, who recognized that we 
are connected to the continent of Africa by the very slaves who were 
brought here.
  Let us fight for Somalia to survive. I call upon my fellow colleagues 
to join me in legislation dealing with the starvation here, that we can 
raise up humanitarian dollars and efforts to save the lives of hundreds 
of thousands who are now on the brink of starving. That is what this 
month commemorates, not only the African American history, but the 
diaspora of which we are so connected.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for 
sharing that great information and talking about some of the highlights 
that Black Americans have made toward our story when it comes to 
African American History Month this February.
  I now yield to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands, Stacy 
Plaskett, who is here tonight to also talk about contributions from the 
part of the world that she represents. I thank her for her efforts here 
tonight and for being part of this Special Order hour.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Marc Veasey for 
assisting me and for being a leader in this Special Order hour for the 
Congressional Black Caucus. Of course, I thank the chair of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, our friend and colleague, the Honorable 
Cedric Richmond, for his continued leadership of both our caucus and on 
issues impacting Black America and minority communities across this 
Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, Black History Month is a time to reflect on notable 
African-American icons, their achievements as a people, and our 
continued struggle for a more perfect Union. Not only does it serve as 
a source of great pride and an anchor to the African descendants in the 
African-American community, but it is also a vehicle to educate the 
masses on the totality of the Black experience throughout the history 
of this Nation.
  As we gather this evening to celebrate the life, legacy, and 
achievement of African descendants, it is important to remember the 
journey told and employ the same resilient spirit in our continued push 
for fair and equal access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness.
  Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is a body of 49 members 
in both houses of Congress representing millions of African Americans 
and other minorities and majority people across this country. We are 
alarmed by the recent actions of this administration and the threat 
those actions pose to the hard-fought progress of African descendants 
and minorities in this country.
  The nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General for many 
minorities across this country was a direct affront to the legacy of 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, our colleague John 
Lewis, and the many others who sacrificed and dedicated their lives to 
the civil rights movement and the right to vote. The concerns expressed 
by the great Coretta Scott King 30 years ago about the dubious past of 
Mr. Sessions with respect to enforcing civil rights laws remain the 
same for many Americans today. Mr. Speaker, the American Dream was, in 
fact, made possible by the plight of African descendants, and we must 
remain vigilant and steadfast in the fight against racial, social, and 
economic injustice.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to raise another area of concern that African 
Americans have, and that is for health care. My district of the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, home to the first African-American female physician in 
Congress, my esteemed predecessor, Donna Christensen, like many 
underserved communities across the country, is adversely impacted by 
disparate health outcomes. Diabetes, hypertension, along with funding 
for disease such as sickle cell, may be adversely affected in this 
administration. Programs for nutrition and preventative health, like 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, and Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Programs, or SNAP, provide critical food to the 
neediest in all of our communities, especially mine, the Virgin 
Islands, and especially to our children.
  Repeal of the Affordable Care Act would create unhealthy African-
American communities. Since the Affordable Care Act was passed, nearly 
half of the African-American adults who didn't have health insurance 
now have health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, the number of 
working-age African-American adults who are uninsured has been cut from 
27 percent to 14 percent, the lowest rate ever. The number of African-
American children without insurance also decreased to the lowest rate 
ever, negative 5 percent. Repealing the Affordable Care Act would take 
away coverage for more than 3.3 million African Americans. In my 
district, we are looking for ways to expand coverage, not to remove or 
repeal it.

  Members of this caucus and members before us have offered policy 
solutions and continue to push policies and initiatives that would help 
African-American communities because we know the work that our 
communities have done, the work of our forefathers to ensure that we 
have a place at the table; individuals like Shirley Chisholm, as was

[[Page H1121]]

spoken about by my colleague Sheila Jackson Lee. People who have come 
to America to be part of the experience of the African diaspora are 
people from many parts of the Caribbean. Right now we have 
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, representing the Ninth District of New 
York, of Jamaican descent. Other notable Jamaicans who have served this 
country: General Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. Secretary of State; 
Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed to the Federal 
bench; our previous Attorney General, Eric Holder, whose family hails 
from Barbados; Cicely Tyson, the Academy Award-nominated actress whose 
family is from Nevis; Edward Blyden, from my own St. Thomas, who has 
been known as the father of pan-Africanism; Hubert Harrison, a 
prominent political activist, writer, and orator; and my own special 
hero, Ruby Rouss of the island of St. Croix, who was the first Black 
woman assigned as a permanent staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied 
Powers Europe. It is the work of these great African Americans and 
those who are not heralded and those that we don't know.
  Ms. Jackson Lee talked about her own family members. My own father, 
LeRoy Plaskett, and my mother, who came from the Virgin Islands and 
went to New York as older siblings to give back and to ensure that 
their younger siblings could have the things needed back home in the 
Virgin Islands. They have given a legacy for all of us, and we are so 
grateful for the work they have all done. I spoke of Congresswoman 
Yvette Clarke of New York.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to another distinguished member 
of the New York delegation, my colleague, the great Hakeem Jeffries, 
who has led this Special Order before and who I look to for guidance on 
how to continue the great work that he and Joyce Beatty did previously.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from 
the Virgin Islands for her very kind remarks and for yielding and for 
the tremendous job that she and my classmate, Marc Veasey, have done in 
leading this CBC Special Order hour over this 115th Congress during the 
last few weeks.
  We stand here today in the midst of Black History Month where many 
African Americans throughout the country are asking the question: What 
do we do now that the unthinkable has occurred?
  As a community, as a nation, we have gone from the Presidency--
distinguished and dynamic 8 years--of Barack Obama to the current 
situation where we have a swamp percolating at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 
under the leadership of Donald J. Trump.
  He began Black History Month by saying that he was convening folks 
for what he called his little Black history breakfast. Those of us who 
actually watched some of the coverage seemed perplexed by his reference 
to the great Frederick Douglass as if he was still alive. If anyone has 
any questions about the relevance of Black History Month, we can start 
by noting that perhaps it is important to make sure that the Nation's 
Commander in Chief understands the contributions that African Americans 
have made to the United States of America, going all the way back to 
the Boston Massacre, where one of its leaders, Crispus Attucks, was the 
first American killed at the onset of the American Revolution in 
connection with the Boston Massacre, challenging the unjust taxation 
policies of the British Empire.
  Now, the 45th President of the United States of America asked a 
question over the last several months: What exactly do Black folks have 
to lose?
  Many of us were perplexed by that question, given his history, and 
actually think that you have lost your mind if you come to the 
conclusion that the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has 
any interest in making a positive difference in the lives of people of 
color generally, African Americans specifically, perhaps because of his 
own history.
  We know that in the early 1970s The Trump Organization, of which he 
was president, was sued by the Justice Department for racial 
discrimination in the housing stock that they owned, where they were 
denying African Americans and people of Puerto Rican ancestry access to 
apartments, notwithstanding their economic qualifications to be renters 
or co-op owners.
  I would just note parenthetically that it was the Nixon Justice 
Department--not the Kennedy Justice Department or the Johnson Justice 
Department or the Carter Justice Department or the Clinton Justice 
Department or the Obama Justice Department--that concluded that Donald 
J. Trump and his organization was discriminating on the basis of race.
  Those of us from New York understand that the current occupant of the 
White House was the leader of the high-tech lynch mob designed to try 
to get the wrongfully convicted Central Park Five sentenced to death, 
taking out a full-page ad in some of the local periodicals in New York 
calling for that. It turns out that all five individuals were 
wrongfully convicted and spent years in jail for a crime they did not 
commit. Donald J. Trump has never apologized for that reckless and 
irresponsible action.
  Then, of course, for 5 years he perpetrated the racist lie that 
Barack Obama was not born in the United States of America, all designed 
to undermine the legitimacy of the 44th President of the United States 
of America, which is why here in Black History Month it is very 
interesting to me that some of my friends on the other side of the 
aisle question whether we, as members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, or others are being irresponsible in not giving the current 
President a chance.
  How dare you ask that question. From the beginning of the Presidency 
of Barack Obama, you declared war on him. You followed a philosophy 
that may be familiar to those of us who are familiar with the history 
of the Deep South: obstruction today, obstruction tomorrow, obstruction 
forever.

                              {time}  2015

  Mr. McConnell declared that his top priority was to make Barack Obama 
a one-term President. And yet, he questions whether Americans, who are 
part of the growing resistance movement, have failed to give Donald 
Trump a chance. Let's be clear. He has zero credibility on the issue of 
lecturing us about Presidential etiquette. We will decide what the 
rules of engagement are when it comes to this current President. Pipe 
down as it relates to talking to any of us about how to engage the 
White House because he has no credibility on the issue. His obstruction 
took place in the midst of two failed wars in the worst economy since 
the Great Depression.
  So we have got a lot of issues that we have got to sort out with this 
current President here in Black History Month, both for the African-
American community and for the broader community of Americans in blue 
States, in red States, in urban America, in rural America, in suburban 
America, in the north, the south, the east, and the west. And I look 
forward to working with my colleagues in the Congressional Black 
Caucus, and others, to tackle issues like criminal justice reform, to 
fix the Voting Rights Act that was damaged in such an irresponsible way 
by the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, and to work 
to build an economy that works for all Americans, not simply the 
millionaires and billionaires who dominate the Trump Cabinet.
  I thank my distinguished colleague from the Virgin Islands (Ms. 
Plaskett) for giving me the opportunity to share some thoughts today. I 
thank my colleague, Marc Veasey, for his continued leadership. And I 
look forward to hearing my distinguished colleague, Brenda Lawrence, 
from Motown.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Veasey.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Mrs. Lawrence), who is my classmate and one of my very good dear 
friends.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Marc 
Veasey from Texas, who has been an amazing advocate for voting rights 
and has been standing with the people in Texas across this country for 
American values with the refugee ban.
  And I can't say enough about my colleague, my freshman class member, 
Stacy Plaskett, from the beautiful Virgin Islands. Her commitment to 
being a voice for people who are often not heard has been one that has 
been valuable, not only to us here in Congress but for this country.

[[Page H1122]]

  Mr. Speaker, Black History Month is a time to celebrate our progress 
while recognizing the challenges that we still face today.
  The President, Donald Trump, posed the question to African Americans 
asking: What do you have to lose?
  Our Black history is outlined with the great progress and hard 
sacrifices endured by our forefathers. Under this administration and 
under these current circumstances that we are dealing with, yes, Mr. 
President, we have a lot to lose. We have a lot to lose for every point 
of progress that we have made in this country. And for every hard 
fought step forward, we have a lot to lose.
  Instead of draining the swamp, this administration is filling it with 
unqualified and dangerous megadonors. Our basic rights and privileges 
included in our Constitution are under the risk of being attacked under 
this administration. Old battles that we fought and celebrate the wins, 
such as equal rights and quality education and criminal justice, have 
now begun again anew.
  How are they under attack, you would ask? Well, let's go appointment 
by appointment.
  Under DeVos' leadership, our education system is under attack.
  African Americans have historically fought for equal access and 
opportunity in education.
  African Americans had to suffer through the Jim Crow era to fight a 
segregated education system. They were forced to learn under a system 
that was both separate and unequal.
  African Americans have faced and fought against injustice in the 
education system ever since our emancipation.
  And now, in 2017, our Secretary of Education is Betsy DeVos. And 
frankly, she is not qualified to be the Secretary of Education because 
she has zero experience in public education, and she is not the right 
person to lead our public schools. Being a millionaire does not mean 
you are qualified to direct good policy.
  We have real issues in Detroit. Under DeVos' direct involvement in 
Michigan public schools, we now have a challenge in our city of Detroit 
with school deserts. Some of you may not have heard about that. But a 
school desert is where a community does not have a local public school 
to attend. This means a family's only opportunity to educate their 
children would be to go to a for-profit charter school that is miles 
away, and there is no public transportation given for your child to get 
there, so you are in a school desert.
  Our Secretary of Education should be enforcing civil rights equality 
and making sure that every child is educated in America, and this 
includes children of color who can't advocate for themselves.
  Funneling taxpayer dollars to private religious schools is a step 
backwards. Resegregation masked under the guise of school of choice is 
a step backwards.
  So let's talk about Secretary Sessions.
  Our criminal justice system is under attack.
  Civil rights icons that we know and celebrate during Black History 
Month, like Martin Luther King and our amazing Congressman John Lewis, 
endured pain and suffering during a peaceful protest and support of 
voting rights in 1965.
  Disproportionate injustices against African Americans and minorities 
did not end with the civil rights movement.
  Today, we fight for equality under the law. This fight continues.
  Now, we have Senator Jeff Sessions charged with leading the Justice 
Department. His record speaks for itself. He was denied for a position 
as a Federal court judge speaks volumes.

  Clearly, there seems to be a certain amount of fear of the truth when 
it comes from the mouth of Coretta Scott King.
  We cannot go backwards. African Americans have worked hard to be a 
part of the fabric of this country through education, and health care 
is one of them.
  Let's talk about Charles Drew, who, with his research, developed a 
technique to have blood banks that we can use in transfusions; Daniel 
Williams, the first person to successfully complete open-heart surgery; 
and Dr. Patricia Bath, whose invention in cataract lenses transformed 
eye surgery, and she was the first African-American woman doctor to 
receive a patent for a medical invention.
  Now, our society's most vulnerable stand to lose something that we 
fought so hard for, and that is ensuring everyone receives health care 
in America, ACA. Women should not be charged more for insurance than a 
man. The sick shouldn't be denied insurance because of preexisting 
conditions. And Republicans instead want to repeal, take away, the ACA 
without any plan to replace it. We are going backwards.
  This month, we celebrate how far we have come. We celebrate the 
progress of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. We 
celebrate the heros and sheros who paved the way. We have come too far 
to go back now.
  That is why I am proud to be a member of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, along with others who have fought for Americans' equality and 
for the millions of Americans we represent. It is time for us to 
remember the great progress we have made as a nation. It is time to 
remember the past injustices so that we never repeat them. The 
sacrifices of those who came before us must never be forgotten. Their 
sacrifices must not be in vain.
  During this month of remembrance, let us all remember we are not 
going back. We, the African-American community, we Americans, we are 
moving forward.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Lawrence so much for that 
discussion and inspiration she has given us. We are not going to go 
back.
  We have heard from so many of our colleagues about the achievements 
of African Americans. But not just the achievements--the struggles, and 
the issues that we are facing today.
  Mr. Speaker, we heard from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who 
outlined not just the past struggles of African Americans and their 
achievements, but also about the rising concerns throughout the African 
diaspora when she talked about what is happening in Somalia and other 
places, and the fact that African Americans have a duty to support 
other diasporas and the work that they are doing and the struggles they 
have.
  We heard about the Affordable Care Act from our assistant leader, Mr. 
Clyburn, the civil rights movement, the work that was done, and the 
assault that is occurring now on some of those issues.
  So we, as the Congressional Black Caucus, have a duty to present 
those issues here before you all, our colleagues, here in Congress, Mr. 
Speaker, to put those issues on the Record so that we can expound on 
them.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to Mr. Veasey if there is anything else that he 
wanted to discuss or that he reflected on in hearing some of the words 
that our colleagues spoke about today.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from the 
Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) for offering that to me.
  There were several things that I heard that were deeply inspiring, 
yet deeply troubling at the same time. It is amazing how when you start 
talking about Black history, and you get ready to apply it to present 
day, you understand just how important it is that we do bridge those 
two things--the history, the future, and where we are at today.
  If you look at education, for instance, I know that Brenda Lawrence 
talked about the school desert phenomena and how there are some 
neighborhoods where there are no neighborhood schools. That is really 
sad. Because when you think about Brown v. Board of Education and some 
of the things that were brought out about people having to travel great 
distances just to be able to get an education, and now you start 
looking at today in modern-day America and there still are no 
neighborhood schools, there is still segregation in schools, and then 
you see a Secretary of Education who wants to try to implement plans 
that many say would resegregate the schools, would eliminate 
neighborhood schools, that is what brought us here. The neighborhood 
school is what brought us here. That is what allowed us to have so many 
great inventions when you start talking about the inventions in Black 
History Month, when you learn about medicine, when you start talking 
about science, almost all of those people mentioned, even during that 
time of some of the most awful segregation in our country.

[[Page H1123]]

  And I think about that in my own family. I have a high school 
invitation from the 1930s in a little town called Henderson in Rusk 
County. I think Louie Gohmert is the representative there. When you 
open up the high school invitation--it is from my grandmother's first 
cousin--and it says Henderson Negro High School, and the graduation 
will be held at the Henderson Negro High School auditorium.
  I like to bring that up because when people start asking: Well, why 
is there Black History Month--
  Ms. PLASKETT. So we don't forget.
  Mr. VEASEY. So we don't forget. But before there was a Black History 
Month, people started putting those things--Black, Negro, colored, 
whatever it may happen to be for that time period--in front of schools. 
They didn't put White in front of there. There was no Henderson White 
High School. It was the Negro High School.

                              {time}  2030

  I think the important thing in our trying to bridge all of that is we 
want to make sure that we don't go back. We don't want to take steps 
backwards when it comes particularly to education because all of those 
people, whether they went to the Henderson Negro High School, whether 
it be blood transfusions--whatever it may happen to be--they got there 
because of the investment that we made in this country in our public 
education system. The fact that someone in a position of importance 
would want to roll back those opportunities is absolutely scary.
  It is the same with health care, when you start talking about health 
care and so many people who don't have adequate health care. It is when 
we see the racial discrepancies and the life expectancy amongst African 
Americans. An African-American man, in particular, has the lowest life 
expectancy.
  And you want to remove people--20 million Americans--from having life 
insurance?
  Ms. PLASKETT. Sure.
  Mr. VEASEY. It is absolutely scary.
  I thank the gentlewoman for participating in this very timely 
conversation. We needed to have this conversation with the country.
  Ms. PLASKETT. We did. There are some additional conversations that we 
need to have, but I know that our time has drawn nigh.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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