[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING SALIM BAMOUE, BLACK HISTORY MONTH ESSAY CONTEST WINNER

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                        HON. A. DONALD McEACHIN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 28, 2022

  Mr. McEACHIN. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize the exemplary work of Salim Bamoue, an 8th grade student at 
Vernon Johns Middle School in Petersburg, Virginia, and the middle 
school winner of the Black History Month essay contest I hosted earlier 
this month. Mr. Bamoue wrote a powerful essay on the legacy of my 
former colleague John Lewis and why his lifelong work on voting rights 
is still important today. I am inspired by Mr. Bamoue's words, and I 
encourage young people across our country to reflect on what this month 
means to them.
  Since its creation less than 50 years ago, Black History Month has 
been a time to honor and reflect upon the remarkable achievements of 
the African-American community. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to 
join me in recognizing Salim Bamoue's exceptional work in celebration 
of Black History Month.

           VA04 High School Black History Month Essay Contest

                           (By Salim Bamoue)

       The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by 
     human beings for breaking down injustice and destroying the 
     terrible walls which imprison people because they are 
     different from others.--Martin Luther King Jr. Many people 
     consider voting to be the most prominent voice us citizens 
     have in office. While this is true, people of color do not 
     have equal opportunity to voice their opinions. John Lewis 
     fought for most of his life to preserve the voting rights of 
     his African American brothers and sisters. John Lewis's 
     impact on voting rights can not be taken away. He has 
     influenced changes that have been made and changes to be made 
     in American society for years to come. The struggle for 
     voting rights has always been long and arduous, and John 
     Lewis despite all the adversity, fought through it so that 
     minorities in America had equal opportunity to vote in the 
     United States of America.
       John Lewis was born on February 21, 1940 in a heavily 
     segregated Alabama. He was born into terrible circumstances 
     as he would grow up to be a victim of prejudice. When Jim 
     Crow laws were in full effect and white superiority was 
     preached everywhere and blacks were brutally persecuted due 
     to the forceful stereotypes and rhetoric spread by white 
     supremacists. Most people of color were gaslighted into 
     believing they were actually inferior to whites. This 
     genuinely applied to most things a normal American citizen 
     would do. Voting especially was a huge issue. The issue of 
     voting disproportionately benefited whites in a way which 
     might have seemed minute. John Lewis saw this and decided his 
     activism to the issue of voting rights. One of John Lewis' 
     most prominent and notable moments in his life was Bloody 
     Sunday. On March 7th, 1965, John Lewis and other activists 
     were brutally beaten for protesting their voting rights. 
     Voting rights have always been complicated. This did not 
     deter John Lewis though as he's been fighting for this up 
     until his passing.
       John Lewis' legacy is still integral in our fight for 
     voting rights. A bill is being worked on in his name to 
     secure the votes of African American citizens. While for the 
     most part the disparity between whites and blacks isn't as 
     notable, we are still currently struggling to attain our 
     voting rights in a way in which we feel secured and just as 
     considered as our white counterparts. John Lewis has fought 
     for many years to attain voting rights for his people, even 
     becoming a U.S. Representative so that people may look up to 
     him and strive for what he strived for. The future looks 
     promising as this new bill that may be passed in his name may 
     directly affect black voters in such a way that more and more 
     black voters are accounted for.
       Throughout history, people of color have notably been on 
     the short end of the stick and we still struggle to attain 
     even our voting rights, But late John Lewis has dedicated his 
     life to the cost in order to give black people an equal voice 
     as to who we should place in our offices. The current state 
     of the bill working on to be passed in John Lewis's name 
     doesn't look so good as it has failed the senate vote twice 
     and is exempt from filibuster, but that doesn't mean we sit 
     down and act as if we cannot find a compromise or some sort 
     of way to finally secure our voting rights as we as black 
     Americans should always strive to secure the rights given to 
     us and the fruits of our liberty. So I call upon black 
     Americans to keep on fighting the persecution even through 
     the face of adversity. There is always a light at the end of 
     the tunnel.

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