[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING REVEREND J. EDWARD NASH

  (Mr. HIGGINS of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today as we celebrate 
Black History Month and adopt antilynching legislation to recognize 
civil rights trailblazer Reverend J. Edward Nash.
  The son of slaves, Reverend Nash served as pastor of the Michigan 
Street Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York, which opened its doors up 
as a meeting place for abolitionists and antilynching activists and as 
a stop on the Underground Railroad.
  Last week, I visited the Nash House, a site on the National Register 
of Historic Places and a testament to his work as part of our national 
story. Our gracious hosts, former Buffalo Council President George K. 
Arthur and Sharon Jordan Holley, shared with me their vision, 
enthusiasm, and dedication to Nash, his home, and his legacy.
  Among his papers are notes from the 1939 Urban League meeting 
benediction in which he applauds those working to ``free us from the 
shackles that hold us in the bondage of narrowness, selfishness, and 
prejudice.''
  Let us heed the advice of Reverend Nash.

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