[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H6918-H6919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        JOSEPH RAINEY: 150 YEARS

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, America 
recognizes 150 years since Joseph Rainey, the first African American to 
serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, took office.
  I am grateful for South Carolinian Joseph Rainey, a Republican, a 
champion of civil rights, for breaking

[[Page H6919]]

ground for so many African Americans who followed in his footsteps.
  Last week, it was announced there will be a House exhibition 
entitled, ``Joseph Rainey: 150 Years.'' The exhibition shares Rainey's 
impact from the 1870s through the 1970s. The power and importance of 
voting rights are at the heart of the exhibition, which tells this 
tumultuous history through objects, images, documents, and words of 
African-American Members of Congress who have lived and legislated 
through it.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.
  Congratulations to President Donald Trump for leading South Carolina 
Republicans to the most success in 140 years since Congressman Rainey 
began the Republican Party.

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