[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 99 (Monday, June 12, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4838-H4845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mast). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms.
Plaskett) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority
leader.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today
to coanchor this CBC Special Order hour.
I would like to acknowledge the great work and the leadership of our
chair, Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, and, of course, my coanchor, Marc
Veasey of Texas, as we lead the discussion for the next 60 minutes.
In these next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the
American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional
Black Caucus, Congress, and the constituents that we represent.
In this hour, we would like to discuss racism and discrimination in
America and, specifically, hate crimes and the radicalization and the
domestic terrorism that they present to the American people.
The conclusion of Dylann Roof's trial a few month's ago is the latest
reminder that homegrown terrorism has become part of the fabric of life
in America. This problem shows no signs of fading yet reveals a threat
that is both rare and more complex than simple explanation suggests.
Solving the issue of domestic terrorism through hate crimes involves
understanding the true nature of the problem--violent domestic
extremism--so that effective steps can be taken to protect the Nation
from it.
It is legitimate to ask whether homegrown terrorists are being
radicalized. We talk about jihadi narratives and Islamic extremism, the
Islamic State group recruiting online; but there are other groups in
this Nation which are radicalizing our youth, radicalizing young people
to be a threat against other Americans. This is a subject and a
discussion that has rarely been discussed and which we believe is very
important.
Since 2001, almost 40 percent of the nearly 150 terrorism fatalities
in the United States were related to domestic motivations, not jihadi
narratives. It is my hope that in the discussion we will have this hour
we are able to discuss in depth the effect that these hate crimes and
this domestic violence has on the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter that was written June
7, 2017, by the Congressional Black Caucus to the Honorable Jeff
Sessions, Attorney General; Andrew McCabe, Acting Director of the FBI;
and John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security, in which we express our
concern over the alarming number of hate crimes reported across the
country, particularly in the wake of the election of President Donald
J. Trump.
Congressional
Black Caucus,
Washington, DC, June 7, 2017.
Hon. Jeff Sessions,
Attorney General, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
Andrew McCabe,
Acting Director, Federal Bureau of Investigations,
Washington, DC.
Hon. John Kelly,
Secretary of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland
Security, Washington, DC.
Dear Attorney General Sessions and Acting Director McCabe:
I write today to express my concern over the alarming number
of hate crimes reported across the country, particularly in
the wake of the election of President Donald J. Trump. In
addition to speaking out against this rising tide of hate,
violence, and intolerance, it is critical that your agencies
proactively investigate each and every incident of a
potential hate crime and aggressively prosecute these cases
to the fullest extent of the law.
During the presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald
Trump employed starkly divisive rhetoric to connect with a
segment of his base that relished in cultural grievance and
hatred. His tone and the arguments that he made were
incredibly offensive to minority communities, and his
campaign rallies were forums for some of the ugliest public
displays of race-based violence and animus in modern
political times. Numerous Black Americans were assaulted at
his rallies and scenes of deep racial resentment against
Blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, and Muslims were frequently
paraded and celebrated.
Since the election, it seems hate-filled individuals have
been emboldened to terrorize minority communities. In just
the first 34 days after the election, the Southern Poverty
Law Center counted a total of 1,094 bias incidents around the
nation. Disturbingly, the Center also calculated that 37
percent of these cases directly referenced either President-
elect Trump, his campaign slogans, or his infamous remarks
about sexual assault. This data is just from the immediate
aftermath of the election. The numbers have increased since
then, with national news providing coverage. These are not
isolated incidents, but rather a frightening trend forming
before our eyes.
In fact, this is occurring in Congress' own back yard, like
the horrific hate crime that took place just a few miles away
at the University of Maryland when Richard Collins III, a
promising young man, was stabbed to death on the eve of his
graduation from Bowie State University by an admitted white
supremacist. There have also been several reports of nooses
hung throughout the District of Columbia, including in the
African American Museum of History and Culture and on
American University's campus. To add insult to injury, a
Mississippi lawmaker recently called for Louisiana
politicians to be ``lynched'' for supporting the removal of
racist confederate monuments from New Orleans.
Surely there is no greater cause of a government than to
protect the lives of its citizens, particularly those
uniquely vulnerable to hate, intolerance, and violence. The
federal hate crimes statutes were designed with that mission
in mind and serve as a critically important tool in
combatting the most insidious elements of our society. That
is why I implore you to dedicate additional resources within
your respective agencies to address the increasing frequency
of these deplorable acts. you should and must investigate
each and every potential hate crime and prosecute offenders
to the fullest extent allowed under the law. You should also
ensure that community leaders, including state and local law
enforcement, understand the federal resources available to
investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
Your leadership is required to not only bring justice to
the victims of hate crimes, but also to send a clear message
that these acts of domestic terrorism will never be tolerated
in this country.
Sincerely,
Cedric Richmond,
Chair, Congressional Black Caucus.
Ms. PLASKETT. In addition to speaking out against the rising tide of
hate, violence, and intolerance in this country, it is critical that
those agencies--the FBI, the Department of Justice, as well as Homeland
Security--speak out and proactively investigate each and every incident
of potential hate crime and aggressively prosecute these cases to the
fullest extent of the law.
Since the election, it seems that hate-filled individuals have been
emboldened to terrorize minority communities. In just the first 34 days
after the election, the Southern Poverty Law Center counted a total of
1,094 bias incidents around the Nation. Disturbingly, the center also
calculated that 37 percent of these cases directly referenced either
President-elect Trump at the time, his campaign slogans, or infamous
remarks about sexual assault. This data is just from the immediate
aftermath of the election. The numbers have increased since then.
It is the responsibility of this Congress as well as those agencies
to stem this flow of violence that is occurring in this Nation. We know
that our President would not tolerate these sorts of matters, and we
are hopeful that he, the Justice Department, the FBI, and Homeland
Security will do whatever is necessary to protect American lives from
hate crimes that are occurring, domestic terrorism, and the
radicalization of our young people to exert hate against other
Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey), my
coanchor, to speak on this issue. Then we will have an opportunity to
hear from other members of the Congressional Black Caucus about this.
Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Plaskett for starting off this
Special Order hour on racism and discrimination in the age of Trump.
[[Page H4839]]
I really think that this is important and timely that we talk about
this because, as you mentioned, these incidents are on the rise and we
need to start to discuss them. We need to have open and honest, frank
discussions about them, to be quite forward, because, if we don't, then
we are never going to be able to move past this or be able to have a
better America in regards to racism, hate, and discrimination if we
don't begin to have that open dialogue.
Not only does the country need to have an open dialogue, but I think
that, as Members of Congress, we need to be the leaders in this area,
and we should be the ones who are kicking off the dialogue and starting
this.
Make no mistake about it, I know a lot of people will tell you that
racism is dead, that discrimination is a thing of the past, that it was
something that happened to people that are baby boomers and older and
that the effects of discrimination are no longer with us, but we know
that is not true.
We know that, again, as Ms. Plaskett just mentioned a second ago,
since 2016, there has been a disturbing number of incidents that have
occurred, a disturbing number of things that have been said, things
that have been tweeted, the rise of the alt-right, and so many other
things that we should be concerned about.
The Southern Poverty Law Center supports this very claim. This
organization has collected over 1,300 reported bias incidents between
the day after the election and February 7.
Let me point out, because I know that, sadly, there are some people
that will cast doubt towards the Southern Poverty Law Center, but the
Southern Poverty Law Center has done a tremendous job over the last
couple of decades or so of not only helping identify people that commit
acts, but groups like the KKK, neo-Nazi groups, and others.
Quite frankly, I don't know why anyone would want to try to undermine
or put down an organization that wants to put down groups like that,
like the KKK, skinheads, and Nazis. It makes no sense. I hate when I
hear people say bad things about the Southern Poverty Law Center
because of the time, money, and effort that they put into fighting
groups like I just mentioned.
Let me be clear, because oftentimes when we talk about race, it turns
into a very divisive topic, and we don't need for this to be a divisive
topic. We need to sit down, come together, and talk because we need to
create an opportunity here in America where we can change people's
attitudes and make sure that our Nation's history is not repeated.
{time} 1930
I also think that, as parents, we have to openly talk about race,
bigotry, and hate with our children. One of the things that disturbs me
as a parent and, quite frankly, just as a proud American is I will hear
people say: Well, I don't say racist things in my house, so my kids
would never hear that. If kids are saying racist things, then it must
be because they are hearing it at home.
But I have to tell you, as a parent of an 11-year-old, I know that
there are influences outside of my home. I know that there is a lot of
peer pressure on kids. I know there are a lot of things on social
media, and kids want to fit in. Kids want to be cool. So you can never
utter one bad thing about a different nationality or race or someone of
a different sexual orientation than yours in your house, and your kid
could still end up being caught up in something bad like bigotry or
racism just because of inappropriate influences at school.
That is why it is important, in my opinion, that, as parents, we talk
about this with our children, as uncomfortable as it may make us, but
we need to have the discussion. We need to know and our children need
to know that it is important to us that we recognize other people's
culture; that we recognize other people's faith and sexual orientation
and religion so that, as they are forming and they are growing, they
understand that this is a nation that is a great nation that is open to
everybody, regardless of race, ethnic, or gender background.
I know that for some people, having to talk about racism, it can be
very uncomfortable because it makes people guilty. A lot of times when
it comes up or you are talking about this, you just--you hear people
trying to come up with different examples to sort of assuage any sort
of guilt that they may have. It makes them very uncomfortable.
But, again, we have to tackle this head-on. We have to come together
to confront these issues of social injustice because it really is time
that our Nation heals. It is time that our Nation heals and it is time
that we break the chains of our plagued history.
I know that we have other Members here on the House floor that want
to talk, and I have some things that I am going to mention a little bit
later, just some of the unfortunate incidents that have happened with
the President, with the Commander in Chief, the history that he has
with racism that I would, quite frankly, like to see him address.
Whether it is HUD discrimination, Central Park joggers, after they were
exonerated by DNA, I think that his comments were: ``Well, they still
did something bad,'' so on and so on. Just some of the issues at the
casino that he owned in New Jersey, we need to talk about those.
Quite frankly, he can be a leader--he can actually be a leader in
discussing these incidents that happened under his control and under
his command, whether it was at his private corporation or whether it
was commenting on the Central Park joggers, about how it was a learning
experience for him, how he is never going to let it happen again, and
how he is never going to let those words utter out of his mouth.
But before I go into that, I am going to turn it back over to the
Representative Plaskett from the Virgin Islands. I, again, thank her
very much for kicking this off.
Ms. PLASKETT. Congressman Veasey, I think it is important, one of the
things you talked about is what is going on in our homes and the fact
that our children can be radicalized outside of the home. This is an
opportunity for us as Americans to see the victimization even of those
children who become a part of the alt-right, who become a part of neo-
Nazi groups; that they are, in fact, being radicalized by these very
disturbing groups, and that we, as leaders in America, have a
responsibility.
That is why I am asking unanimous consent to have the letter that was
written by Chairman Cedric Richmond put into the Record--the letter of
June 7 that went to the FBI, to Homeland Security, as well as to the
Justice Department to ask them to investigate and take proactive
stances; not just to protect those individuals who are victimized when
violence occurs, but to protect those young people and others who may
be untowardly influenced by social media to become part of these
groups.
I think that is a great point that you bring up, as well as our
President becoming someone who can lead the charge against this. We see
the rise of this activity during his campaign and after his election.
Well, then our President needs to be the one to be Presidential and to
stem this influence and this rise of hate crimes that are taking place.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I am asking that our colleague, Donald
Payne, from the great State of New Jersey, who has done an amazing
amount of work in his own community in the area of Newark in trying to
stem violence and criminal justice, the reform work that he is doing,
to speak on this matter this evening. I thank him so much for the time
that he is giving us. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Payne).
Mr. PAYNE. Well, first, I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin
Islands, Congresswoman Plaskett, and the gentleman from Texas, Marc
Veasey, for hosting tonight's Special Order hour on such an important
topic: racism and discrimination.
Before I begin, I want to take a moment to mark the 1-year
anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting and to remember the 49
lives that were cut short in the deadliest mass shooting in our
Nation's history.
As we grieve for the victims and their families, we must continue to
stand in solidarity with the survivors and with the LGBTQ community
against hate, intolerance, for love, in support of our Nation's values
of equality and dignity for all.
[[Page H4840]]
The kind of intolerance, hate, and violence on display that day in
Orlando has become an alarming trend in this country, a trend that has
disturbingly been fueled by President Trump. According to the Southern
Poverty Law Center, 37 percent of the 1,094 bias-related incidents in
just the first month after the election referenced the President, his
campaign slogans, or his remarks about sexual assault.
As he did throughout his campaign, President Trump continues to speak
the language of racial and cultural grievance, pitting Americans
against one another and perpetuating the viciousness he pretends to
despise. The result is what you would expect: a spike in hate crimes
and hate speech.
I have seen in my district in New Jersey where anti-Semitic graffiti
was plastered on a pedestrian bridge. We have seen it at American
University and just down the road at the National Museum of African
American History and Culture, where nooses were found last month.
Communities of color know this pain all too well.
Mr. Speaker, I am really fortunate to be able to discuss an issue of
such importance to this Nation. This is one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
You know, I have been very fortunate in my life to have been born
into a situation where a great American prior to me held this seat for
23 years in the 10th Congressional District of the State of New Jersey.
His name was Donald Payne. He was my father and he afforded me a
lifestyle, one of which I did not know of his suffering and pain
growing up as a young African American in this country. But even in
that situation, I have found myself--irrespective of being in that
position, I found myself in situations that have been dangerous and
uncomfortable.
As a young, 20-year-old--you know, when we are 20, we do things that
we probably shouldn't be doing at times. I was on my lunchtime going
downtown to pay a bill at a department store where I had my first
credit card, and I was running late. So what I decided to do was make a
U-turn on the main street, Broad Street, in Newark, New Jersey, which
is the largest street in the town. And I made a U-turn to come in front
of the store.
Naturally, you know, with my luck, a motorcycle police officer was
coming down the street at the same time. So he pulled me over, as he
should, and I was wrong. But I was using my cousin's car. So when he
asked me for my license and registration, I could not find the papers
that I needed and I was fumbling and nervous.
The officer leaned into the car and used the N-word and said: If you
don't find those documents in a minute, I will throw you so far under
the jail that they will never find you.
So this is very frightening for any citizen to go through. So I was
able to get my license, and I handed it to him. Just before that, they
would throw me so far under the jail that they would never find me
again. Once I handed him my license and it said that I was Donald
Payne, Jr., whose father was a sitting councilman in the city of
Newark, his whole attitude changed.
``Don't you know that you could get hurt, or you could hurt someone,
or you have to be careful.'' A minute ago I was nothing. I would be so
far under the jail, they would never find me. But now that I am
connected to something or someone, all of a sudden we have become
paternal.
Mr. Speaker, there are millions of people in this country that aren't
connected to someone, and these are the types of things that they go
through. So I am just here to say that we must be vigilant. I believe
in this country; I believe in its greatness. I believe in the words in
the Pledge of Allegiance. I believe in the Constitution. We must make
it work for all Americans.
Ms. PLASKETT. Thank you so much, Mr. Payne, for your words, your
enlightenment, and for sharing that very personal piece of you and your
own experience. There are so many African Americans and so many people
of color in this country who have those exact same experiences.
Whether it is us, personally--I know I have mine exactly like that.
You know, I have four sons, and each one of them have had that kind of
experience here in this country.
With the rise of hate that is occurring, we have to be careful for
every American and we need to be concerned that this country is no
longer becoming a safe place for groups of individuals; that there are
people that are rising up and attempting to terrorize other Americans.
This should be of concern to Congress. This should be of concern to our
President.
I thank Mr. Payne again for that.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
from Texas, who sits not only on the Budget Committee, but, very
relevant to our discussion this evening, is one of the senior members
of the Judiciary Committee, as well as Homeland Security Subcommittee,
where so many of these issues form a confluence.
Thank you so much for being with us this evening, Congresswoman
Jackson Lee. We look forward to your remarks and to the enlightenment
that you will be giving us here in this Chamber as well as the American
people.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Well, first of all, it is my honor and privilege to
thank Congresswoman Plaskett for her ongoing leadership in speaking to
our colleagues and the American people. Let me take a moment of
personal privilege to say to her that, over the weekend in Texas, I was
with a number of individuals from the Virgin Islands, and it certainly
was my first task to tell them of the excellent representation that
they were getting by her leadership on so many issues.
But to you, I want to say that we were at the commissioning of the
USS Gabrielle Giffords, and proudly so. The commander of that ship is
from the Virgin Islands, so there was a contingent of individuals from
all over the country for recognizing the commander and his wife. Let me
say that I made sure that those sailors knew who was supporting them as
well. It certainly was a great honor to former Congresswoman Giffords,
and there wasn't a dry eye as we did that. So I just wanted to add that
and thank you for your indulgence of that.
If I might, let me also acknowledge my colleague on the floor,
Congresswoman Val Demings, and Floridians who are here, just to make
note of the commemoration of the tragedy at the Pulse Nightclub.
{time} 1945
This is the area in which the Congresswoman policed, if you will, and
her spouse still there leads the community in law enforcement. I will
honor to those who lost their lives, but to the recognition that
terrorism and hateful acts are not to be accepted by any of us.
As a good friend of mine, a Muslim, said yesterday as we stood
against hateful acts against Muslims around the world, and particularly
around the United States, he said that the way that we deal with this
danger is to love in recognition of the human dignity of all.
To the LGBTQ community, my deepest sympathy and recognition in this
month that we honor and have Pride Month that we recognize your deep
involvement in this country and your right to human dignity. So I thank
Congresswoman Plaskett for allowing me to engage in that statement.
Let me say that I would hope that none of us would have wanted to be
on the floor tonight to talk about the changing face of America since
the election of the President of the United States but, in fact, to
recognize that there has been a surge in discrimination throughout this
Nation.
The roots of racial extremist violence against peaceful Black
communities runs deep in American history: from this country's dark
path of chattel slavery; to the southern lynch mobs that sought to
permanently disenfranchise the Black vote; to the church bombing that
killed four little Black girls in Birmingham; to the dismantling of an
entire economic district in Tulsa; and to the senseless stabbing, just
a few weeks ago, of a bright, young man by the name of Richard Collins
III.
I am sad that the election of President Trump--and I am not sure
whether this has been brought to his attention. I would like to bring
it to his attention--has created a divisive atmosphere. Trump's
political debut was centered on the racist birther movement, which
questioned the citizenship of then-President Obama.
[[Page H4841]]
He was not in office then. And to some, it was a little humorous;
some were shocked. Certainly, the Black community did not take it
humorously. This was a Senator who had been duly elected by the
citizens of Illinois. He had done nothing to bring in commentary on
himself personally. He sought the Presidency of the United States. He
offered to the American people all of the documentation that would be
required, yet Donald Trump persisted for 5 years in insisting, through
fake news, that he was not a citizen of the United States of America.
During his political campaign, he repeatedly refused to reject the
endorsement of White supremacist groups. He failed to condemn
supporters who shouted out racist slurs, and, on occasion, violently
attacked protestors who happened to be an African-American woman, in
particular.
In a nation completely comprised of immigrants, he has built a
hateful movement around building a wall. And to my friends who are
Hispanic, particularly Mexicans, he called them drug dealers and any
number of names.
This country has prided itself on the value of immigration, of
diversity, and, certainly, freed slaves who have come to make this
country the great country that it is. Overall, his anti-immigrant
incidents were the most reported, 315 incidents; followed by anti-
Black, 221; anti-Muslim, 112; and anti-LGBT, 109.
So I just want to take a moment to add to my commentary, the things
that I think are grossly horrific; that we should realize that this is
not a time for the CBC to be on the floor casting blame.
Let me also, as I acknowledge Congresswoman Plaskett, thank our
chairperson, Congressman Cedric Richmond, for his really unceasing
leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus and the work that he has
done to make sure that we astutely have the information to be the
conscience of Congress.
These are the pictures of hatred. This is the individual who killed
the young man that--I don't want to show the wrong picture--but this is
a picture of an individual who was engaged in the killing of two
individuals, I believe in Portland, Oregon, because they were trying to
defend someone of a different background.
We have a noose found hanging near a school in Washington, D.C. This
is a picture of that. This has all happened since the election of
President Trump.
We have an incident, June 9, 2017, The Washington Post says, `` `Shut
up, Slave!': A spilled Starbucks drink led to a racist tirade and
sidewalk fight. . . .''
I don't know if people are under extreme tension, but this is all
happening in 2017.
We have another one: A day without racism? Not for Trump's
administration. The Department of Justice is dismantling, or lowering
the Civil Rights Division, cutting the staffing that is there.
Hate crimes in the U.S. rising. These are the kinds of things. And
tragically, here is a handsome, beautiful, young man who was taking his
commission and getting ready to graduate, Richard Collins III, and he
was killed.
Let me finish on these points about the criminal justice system that
I think is very important.
Black Americans are more likely to have their cars searched.
Black Americans are more likely to be arrested for drug use.
Black Americans are more likely to be jailed while awaiting trial.
Black Americans are more likely to be offered a plea deal that
includes prison time.
Black Americans are more likely to serve longer sentences than White
Americans for the same offense.
Black Americans are more likely to be disenfranchised.
We also know that we have statistics, that I will offer into the
Record, of Black American youth who are more likely to be included in
the juvenile detention center, police stops, police searches, use of
force during arrest, juvenile arrests, transgender arrests. Sixty
percent of the transgender arrests are Black or Latino; arrests for
marijuana.
Most Blacks are not likely to get pretrial release. More Blacks are
likely to be prosecuted. More Blacks are likely to get prison versus
community service. Length of incarceration is longer than Whites.
State judge incarceration, there are 208,000 people in State prison
for drug offenses; 32 percent are White, 68 percent are Black.
Federal drug convictions are higher among African Americans. Forty-
seven percent were Hispanics, and we are higher than those.
Federal court sentencing, and, of course, incarceration of women
African Americans are higher. Sentencing to life without parole,
African Americans are higher, 65 percent.
Hiring people with criminal records, that makes it very difficult for
us to work, and eliminating the right to vote.
So, Congresswoman, I will close by simply saying, where is the
President on standing with the moral compass of asking the hatred to
stop; to really empower a Department of Justice not to be led by an
individual who has fought against voting rights, fought against the
rights of those who are seeking to be rehabilitated in the criminal
justice system; to join a bipartisan army of individuals against mass
incarceration? Where is the President in standing against the hatred
that has impacted the African-American community?
The words that he has said, where is the President in stopping this
onslaught that is generating into violence in the streets?
Where is the moral compass of this administration? If it is not you,
Mr. President, the Congressional Black Caucus will not take a back seat
to you. We will fight and bring this country back to where it should
be, and that is a country that believes in the equality of all
Americans, and the African Americans who have died and bled in wars,
and have been slaves, and, in essence, came through a reformation to be
free. We will not take a back seat to all of this hatred.
I ask you, Mr. President, where are your answers?
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Veasey and
Congresswoman Plaskett for anchoring this important special order on
``Racism and Discrimination in America.''
For over 40 years the CBC has been at the forefront in the fight
against the evils of racism, discrimination, marginalization, and the
various manifestations of institutionalized racial bias.
In today's uncertain times, we must be more steadfast than ever to
continue that fight.
No matter what your party identification is, I believe we can all
agree that we must root out extremist violence everywhere, and
especially within our borders.
And while we are all committed to eliminating ISIS and all its
sympathizers, we must not underestimate the threat of domestic
terrorism and domestic violence by racial extremists.
Throughout the history of this country, African-American communities
have faced innumerable threats from those who don't comprehend that
there is value within our nation's diversity.
The roots of racial extremist violence against peaceful Black
communities runs deep in American history: From this country's dark
past of chattel slavery, to the southern lynch mobs that sought to
permanently disenfranchise the Black vote, to the church bombing that
killed four little girls in Birmingham, to the dismantling of an entire
economic district in Tulsa, to the senseless stabbing of a bright young
man by the name of Richard Collins III just a few weeks go.
As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, or the ``Conscience of
the Congress'', I call on this body to do all it can to stem the rising
tide of racial violence.
Although progress has been made, President Trump's divisive rhetoric,
and the actions of his followers, have shown us that we still have much
work to do before all of America can feel safe.
Consistent rhetoric of intolerance coming from Trump's campaign and
now his administration has not only put a target on African-American
communities, but also on Mexican-Americans, Muslim-Americans, women,
and those within the immigrant population.
The election of Donald Trump has had a significant effect on the
nation's race relations:
Trump's political debut was centered on the racist ``birther
movement'', which questioned the citizenship of then President Obama
for months.
During his political campaign, he repeatedly refused to reject the
endorsement of white supremacist groups.
He failed to condemn supporters who shouted out racist slurs and on
more than one occasion, violently attacked protesters.
In a nation completely comprised of immigrants, he has built a
hateful movement around building a wall to keep them out.
[[Page H4842]]
This country has prided itself on being the melting pot of the world.
The bastion of freedom of equality. Violence against any person based
on their class, color, or creed is not only immoral, it's anti-
American.
We must condemn, denounce, and seek to eliminate these acts of racial
terror with the same fervor that we would when dealing with religious
extremists.
I have to quote former Attorney General Eric Holder who stated,
``Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting
pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too
many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.''
Regardless of who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., this body, the
people's chamber, has a responsibility to do all that it can to ensure
the safety of all Americans. That is why I, along with my colleagues
from the Congressional Black Caucus, have sent out a letter to the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the acting
director of the FBI urging them to allocate more time and resources to
curbing the recent uptick in violence.
Incidents of Racialized Violence Since the Election:
The Southern Poverty Law Center has conducted a report on incidents
of racialized violence following the Presidential election.
There were over 1000 violent attacks reported within a month of the
election.
Overall, anti-immigrant incidents were the most reported at 315
incidents, followed by anti-black (221 incidents), anti-Muslim (112
incidents), and anti-LGBT (109 incidents).
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her
leadership on issues related to the Judiciary Committee and to others.
At this time, I would like to invite the Congressman, not just from
New York, but from, of course, what I believe is the best, most
illustrious borough in New York City--Brooklyn, of course, which is
where I was born and raised.
Thank you so much, Congressman Jeffries, for your leadership on the
Judiciary Committee, your discussions about the issues that we are
discussing here this evening, and I am waiting to hear what you are
going to not only present to us here in this Chamber but to the
American people on this issue.
I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from
the Virgin Islands for yielding, and for the phenomenal job that you
have done, along with my classmate, the distinguished gentleman from
Texas, Representative Marc Veasey.
As you know, I have great affection for the fact that you have a
significant connection to Brooklyn. We say back home, there are two
types of Americans: those who live in Brooklyn, and those who want to
live in Brooklyn.
But, certainly, this is a significant issue, that the Congressional
Black Caucus has gathered here today to discuss during this hour of
power, the opportunity for members of the Congressional Black Caucus to
speak directly to the American people on an issue of great
significance.
Since January 20, we have seen a disturbing increase here in America
in anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-LGBT, and anti-Semitic
acts.
And the question is: Is this just a coincidence, or could it possibly
have something to do with the election of the 45th President of the
United States of America?
Now, in part, what we are seeing is connected to a historic backlash
that has often occurred throughout this journey that we have been on
here in America, that whenever we make significant progress, there is
always a backlash amongst some in America who have got a problem with
the fact that we have done things designed to be more consistent with
our values of liberty and justice for all, equal protection under the
law.
We know slavery was the original sin here in America. That was
corrected in the aftermath of the North's victory during the Civil War.
We had the reconstruction amendments: the 13th Amendment, abolish
slavery; 14th Amendment, equal protection under the law; 15th
Amendment, the right to vote regardless of race. That was progress in
America followed by the inevitable backlash.
The imposition of Jim Crow laws; a lynching epidemic; Black code,
segregation, particularly through just the Deep South. Progress
followed by backlash.
And then finally, in the 1960s, in an effort to create a more perfect
union and address the unfinished business in America, you had the civil
rights movement, anchored with the `64 Civil Rights Act, effectively
ended Jim Crow; the `65 Voting Rights Act, giving African Americans in
the Deep South, people of color throughout the country the right to
vote, unimpeded from things like grandfather clauses, and poll taxes,
and other types of shenanigans that people were practicing; the 1968
Fair Housing Act capped off the civil rights movement, followed by the
inevitable backlash.
Richard Nixon ran a racist campaign, a southern strategy, designed to
appeal to aggrieved Whites in parts of this country, particularly in
the Deep South, ushered in an era of resistance to the progress that
had been made, antibusing, antiaffirmative action.
And then, of course, we have got Barack Obama who was elected in what
many of us viewed as an incredible step in the right direction. African
Americans, having gone from the outhouse to the White House. Eight
years of tremendous progress in moving this country forward, followed
by the election of Donald Trump, a man who spent 5 years perpetrating
the racist lie that Barack Obama was not born in the United States of
America.
And many of us are wondering, why were so many people who worship at
the altar of White supremacy drawn to Donald Trump's campaign? What was
it about this individual that so many folks dripping in hatred flocked
to his candidacy? That is not to say that everyone who voted for Donald
Trump is a racist. We do know that every racist in America voted for
Donald Trump. That is a problem.
And so, again, I just ask the question in closing: Is this all a big
coincidence? We know part of it is the backlash that has often occurred
whenever we have made progress in America. But this President has a
responsibility to address the rise in hate crimes that have taken place
on his watch, whether or not his election is directly connected to it.
Many of us have our own suspicions, but he is the Commander in Chief.
{time} 2000
He has got to tell his Attorney General, who is straight out of
central casting in terms of the good old boys: Your job as chief law
enforcement officer in the land is to enforce the laws whether you like
them or not.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
The gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands may continue.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Jeffries).
Mr. JEFFRIES. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I will simply say that every
single thing that has been said--and I would urge you to challenge
anything as a fact. In fact, there are facts that have been left out in
terms of my remarks about the 45th President of the United States. I
have actually been kind of gentle as it relates to the person who is
occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right now, but more to come. I would
welcome the Speaker to dispute anything that has been said in the name
of us trying to move this country forward consistent with the notions
of equal protection under the law and liberty and justice for all.
Ms. PLASKETT. I thank Congressman Jeffries and I really appreciate
his remarks. I know that this House has rules and is concerned about
decorum in here. We at the Congressional Black Caucus are also very
concerned about decorum. While we uphold the position of the President
of the United States, many individuals--particularly constituents, the
underserved within our communities--are fearful about us actually
speaking out, specifically to the personage and to the person of
President Donald Trump.
What we are trying to do in this Special Order is speak unrefutable
facts; not about the personality, not subjective discussion about the
President, not our feelings, and not our fears, but the actual facts of
what has happened in this country and what is happening in this country
because that is life for our children, that is the very essence of us
continuing, and that is what democracy is about.
If we cannot critique the actions of our President, then that is very
fearful
[[Page H4843]]
to us as Americans and very fearful to this House, which is supposed to
be a separate branch of government and which I recall maybe a year ago
it speaking very vehemently against the person who was in the White
House at that time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson
Coleman), who is my classmate. I thank Congresswoman Watson Coleman for
her work, particularly in working with other Congressional Black Caucus
women to found the Caucus for Black Women and Girls, which is very
important right now because this is a forgotten group quite often here
in the United States, and the gentlewoman is advocating and speaking
out for those individuals.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman so much
for her leadership and this Special Order hour and considering this
subject matter that we are going to discuss.
I want to talk a little bit about something that has sort of been my
observation and my experiences for a very long period of time and I
think that are actually exacerbated by this Presidency that we
currently have in this House. Let me, by way of association, just
comment positively to the remarks of my colleague and the former
speaker, Hakeem Jeffries from New York.
I entitled my remarks ``From the Cradle to the Grave.''
From the cradle to the grave, Black people in America are required to
be resilient, courteous, and persistent. The rules are always
different.
From the cradle to the grave, Black people in America must be
comfortable and confident in ourselves, but only so much so that we do
not intimidate or aggravate.
From the cradle to the grave, Black people in America are told our
plight, our struggle, and our sacrifice is a mere fantasy in post-
racial America while we witness the reality of institutional racism,
conscious discrimination, and our rich history erased or appropriated.
From cradle to grave, Black people in America experience this racism
and discrimination walking home from the corner store eating a pack of
Skittles, listening to music at a gas station, or simply sitting in our
neighborhood park.
We experience this racism and discrimination showing up to school in
our natural hairstyles, shopping in our favorite stores, or even just
showing up to work--including the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
Last Wednesday, it was reported that Black troops are far more likely
than their White counterparts to face court-martial or other forms of
military punishment.
National data shows us that Black girls are 5.5 times more likely to
be suspended from school than White girls. That rate actually balloons
in my State of New Jersey to 8.5 percent. More than 60 years after
Brown v. Board of Education, school systems in the United States are
still separate and unequal.
As of 2014, California had 31 open desegregation cases. In 2016, a
Presidential candidate ran a campaign on divisive rhetoric that
targeted our communities, our well-being, and our safe spaces. It only
gets worse.
From the cradle to the grave, we are told to calm down, sit down, and
be courteous and humble. From the cradle to the grave, the experiences,
the challenges, the stories, our history, and even our very being are
kept out of boardrooms, classrooms, voting booths, department stores,
history books, movie screens, television scripts, and the like.
But let me just tell you that, from the cradle to the grave, we are
built to persevere, we are strengthened to overcome, we are born to
lead, we are committed to uplift, and we are fully equipped to soar
with weights on our shoulders even in these times and even under this
Presidency. And guess what. We do.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much for her
inspiring words and motivation to us all.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).
We always bring up the fact that Congressman Dwight Evans is a
freshman, but he isn't really a freshman. Everybody acknowledges his
leadership in his work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the State
house that transcends him as a freshman. We call the gentleman a
superfreshman in that respect because he comes with a great deal of
experience and wisdom here to the House floor. I am very anxious to
hear what the gentleman has to speak about related to hate crimes and
the rise of domestic terrorism against people of color and against
minorities here in this country.
Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin
Islands for her leadership, along with my colleague from Texas, because
both of them have demonstrated real clear leadership for the
Congressional Black Caucus and the leadership of our chairman, Cedric
Richmond. So I thank both of them publicly for what they have done and
all of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Mr. Speaker, we have a lot to lose under the Trump administration. It
has been very clear, as has been stated by all of my colleagues, from
healthcare to food policy, to education, to affordable housing, the
President and his party continue to look for ways to take away what we
have come to know as fundamental programs behind building stronger
neighborhoods.
Our Nation is facing challenging times and we simply cannot afford to
carry on business as usual. From the nooses found at the Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History and Culture to the racial
slur spray-painted on LeBron James' house during the NBA finals and
attacks against Jewish community centers and vandalism in Jewish
cemeteries, our country and our globe are sadly seeing horrific
increases in discrimination and racially biased incidents.
Dr. King always said: We have come over here in different boats, but
we are now in the same boat.
I really mean just that. Think about it: an attack against one of us
is an attack against all of us. We know we have come a long way in our
fight against racial intolerance and hate in our country, but our
journey continues. It doesn't matter if you are Black, Jewish,
Hispanic, or LGBT. We are stronger together when we celebrate both our
similarities and our differences.
When we watch the news, it is incredibly upsetting to see what is
still happening in 2017. A little over a week ago at the Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History and Culture here in D.C.,
we found another noose on the Smithsonian grounds. The museum's
founding director said: ``It is a painful reminder of the challenges
that African Americans continue to face.''
We know that we are not only seeing violence and intolerance against
the African-American community, but it is everywhere. This year at the
Mount Carmel Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery just outside of my district in
northeast Philadelphia, countless tombstones were toppled and
vandalized. Days after this, the JCC in Wynnewood in my district
received a bomb threat.
These are just a few of the truly cowardly acts of violence taking
place in our neighborhoods, yet our Attorney General, Jeff Sessions,
and the President claim to be tough on crime. They want to put more
people in cities behind bars.
This weekend, Mr. Speaker, I was the keynote speaker at Gaudenzia, an
addiction treatment and recovery center in my district. The graduates
are some of the strongest individuals in our city, and their stories of
perseverance and hard work are truly inspiring. I always say: Where you
start is not where you end up.
Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to trying to find ways to
build stronger neighborhoods block by block. To do this, we have to
make good jobs, great schools, and access to healthcare a reality.
We know the tradition and reentry back into our neighborhoods isn't
always easy. In Philadelphia, ShopRite supermarket is hiring to give
good-paying jobs to those who formerly were incarcerated. The company
estimates they have given over 500 jobs to formerly incarcerated
individuals. This is the result in one city.
Sadly, we know that racism and bigotry are still a factor in our
communities. We have to confront this head-on. As the Congressional
Black Caucus
[[Page H4844]]
collectively stands here today, we will not accept what is taking
place. We are prepared to face these challenges, and we are asking
others to join us because we recognize that we can move this country
forward, but it will take all of us.
So what we are doing here today is raising the awareness because we
must have this conversation in a public way. We must deal with this
issue of racism, noninclusion, and discrimination. No longer can we
accept this.
Mr. Speaker, I say to you today: As a member of the Congressional
Black Caucus, we are prepared to do our part.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for his
remarks and continued work to discuss middle communities, middle
neighborhoods, and the importance of these communities and how they
need to be protected.
Congressman Veasey, we have had a discussion here this evening about
so much of the rise in hate crimes and the rise of racial tensions. I
know that this weekend Puerto Rico had its plebiscite in which they
talked about becoming a State.
One of the things that I often talk to people about is the Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto
Rico, all of us are territories now after 100 years.
It was never the intent of Congress for areas of the United States to
be a territory for 100 years except for the fact that these are now
people of color. These are communities of people of color. So based on
the insular cases 100 years ago which said that the people living in
the territories and offshore territories were people of alien races who
couldn't understand Anglo-Saxon principles of law, that is why we were
not able to have the full-fledged rights of American citizens.
{time} 2015
Now we are seeing, even here on the mainland, individuals, people of
color, who are being treated as second-class citizens and who are not
afforded the full protection of this country.
When you have incidents like on May 20 with Richard Collins, on May
26 with Jeremy Joseph Christian, who began shouting racial slurs at two
women on a Portland, Oregon, train, and as the two men stepped in to
de-escalate the situation, those two great men were stabbed to death,
and a third man was wounded, much needs to be done.
We have our moments of silence when there are mass shootings. We
mourn for the families of Pulse nightclub and for what happened in
those areas. But it is not enough for us to have Special Order hours,
to have discussions, or even have moments of silence. Action must be
taken by this administration.
Mr. VEASEY. Absolutely. We do need action taken by this
administration, Representative Plaskett.
I mentioned to you earlier that I wanted to talk about the
President's history on racism and some of the things that came out in
the campaign--not anything new but, nevertheless, very disturbing--and
why we need for the President honestly to lead this discussion.
General Leave
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order
hour.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Smucker). Is there objection to the
request of the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I know that there were other issues that
the gentleman wanted to discuss with regard to some of these and
examples that he wanted to give as well, and I yield to the gentleman
from Texas.
Mr. VEASEY. Very briefly, we have the President's history on racism
from the very beginning of his candidacy, of course, and the way he
disparaged Mexicans and Mexican Americans in this country by calling
people rapists and accusing people of bringing disease and crime into
the United States, pretending that he didn't know who David Duke was.
It is unbelievable, pretending to not know who David Duke was.
Ms. PLASKETT. I think he knows now.
Mr. VEASEY. Even condoning the beating of a Black Lives Matter
protester, his history extends before that.
Of course, it was very well covered, very well chronicled during the
campaign about the Justice Department suing his real estate company and
his father's real estate company for not renting apartments to Black
people, not renting apartments to African-American potential tenants.
Of course, they ultimately settled that lawsuit because of the
wrongdoing that happened there.
Ms. PLASKETT. That was in the 1970s, I believe.
Mr. VEASEY. The gentlewoman is absolutely correct.
In 1989, he encouraged and celebrated the wrongful imprisonment of
the Central Park Five and took out full-page ads in New York area
newspapers calling for the return of the death penalty in response to a
very infamous case in which a woman was beaten and raped while jogging
in Manhattan's Central Park.
Back then, before he was President, Donald Trump said: They should be
forced to suffer, and when they kill, they should be executed for their
crimes. I want these murderers and always will.
Of course, there was a lot of public outrage over that case. It was
very well talked about. It was on all the talk shows and what have you.
Those men wrongfully spent time in prison because the DNA evidence
exonerated them.
Ms. PLASKETT. Actually, they weren't men at the time. They were
teenagers.
Mr. VEASEY. They were teenagers at the time.
Even after the DNA evidence exonerated them, he still said that maybe
they could be guilty of something. I thought that was a terrible thing
to say.
Of course, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission fined Trump Plaza
Hotel and Casino $200,000 in 1992 because managers would remove
African-American car dealers at the request of certain big-time
gamblers that would come in.
In 1996, 20 African Americans in Indiana sued Trump for failing to
honor a promise to hire mostly minority workers for a riverboat casino
on Lake Michigan.
Let me tell you why, even despite this, the President has the ability
to lead a discussion on race.
You might remember Shirley Sherrod. I don't know if that name rings a
bell with you. She was an African-American agricultural worker who
worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Georgia Department
of Agriculture, and was given an example of how she overcame her own
bias and her own racism.
Of course, her comments were misconstrued and the tapes were made to
sound one way. She ultimately lost her job. She was offered her job
back after it was proven this conservative newspaper had actually tried
to disparage her so they could have some sort of a racism equivalent or
something to try to make the readers feel better.
The reason why I bring that up is because here was a woman that was
being honest about and trying to give an example about how she overcame
bias and how she overcame prejudice. The President has an opportunity
to talk about Central Park, to talk about racism in his apartments, to
talk about the issues at the casino, to talk about the other areas in
his life where he has fallen quite short when it comes to fairness and
honesty and racism. So we need him to lead that discussion so we can
begin to talk more and begin to heal our country.
Ms. PLASKETT. Part of leadership is expressing your shortcomings and
using that as an opportunity to move forward and to move the Nation
forward. So many people look to our President for his leadership and
for his thoughts and his out-of-the-box thinking. This would be
tremendous not only to the people who are being oppressed, but to
others as well.
One of the things I wanted to leave us with was a quote and some work
that the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is working on,
that has a mission to secure equal justice for all through the rule of
law, targeting, in particular, the inequities confronting African
Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities.
In December 2016, Kristen Clarke, who is the president, stated:
``Hate
[[Page H4845]]
crimes and hate-filled incidents stand as a dark cloud over our
democracy. The recent spike in hate crimes is attributable, in part, to
racially charged rhetoric that characterized the 2016 election cycle
and the rise of `alt-right' white nationalist extremism. This is a
moment that calls for Federal, State, and local officials to use every
tool in their arsenal to fully investigate and prosecute these
incidents when they occur.''
And we from the Congressional Black Caucus say, as well, to eradicate
this from our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the 2016
presidential election was an exceptionally bitter fight between
Republicans and Democrats. The election highlighted many of the
existing divides between many Americans and the underlying frustrations
that we have been wrestling with as a people. Couple this with the
resentful partisanship that we have experienced in Congress, and it is
quite clear that there are deep rifts dividing our country. However,
one of the biggest consequences of this partisan bickering and
inability to compromise has been the increase in the frequency of hate
crimes across America.
The latest figures from the Southern Poverty Law Center estimate that
there have been nearly 1,372 bias incidents between the day after the
election and February 7, when these statistics were last reported. SPLC
is collecting self-reported data from across the country in an effort
to monitor ``bias incidents''--or acts of hostility that are motivated
by racism or other prejudices--across the United States. While it is
important to acknowledge the limitations of self-reported data, this
trend is consistent with several other incidents reported nationwide
that have challenged the notion that we are living in a post-racial
society.
For example, several nooses were found throughout our nation's
capital this month--one near an elementary school, another in the
African American Museum of History and Culture, and on American
University's campus. On June 2, a Muslim couple was allegedly harassed
in Oregon and told to go back to their country. More prominently, two
men in Portland were stabbed to death and another wounded when they
tried to intervene on behalf of two women, one of whom was wearing a
hijab, who were being verbally assaulted by a man yelling slurs.
Mr. Speaker, these are just a few of the horrendous incidents being
reported in the wake of this election and the hateful rhetoric that has
come to define the political narrative. However, I am here to join my
colleagues not only to denounce these actions and hateful words, but
also to remind ourselves that we are better than this. We are better
than this as a people and a nation, and we must all do our part to
discourage this behavior and hold these violators accountable. Until we
all take active roles within our society and democracy, we cannot
reasonably expect our society to overcome these challenges and emerge a
stronger society. I am proud to join my colleagues tonight in sending a
clear message that these acts of hatred and violence will not be
tolerated. Not today, not ever.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
____________________