[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 57 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4061-H4064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RENAMING THE RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise. Mr. Speaker, and 
still I rise. And I rise as a proud Member of this august body.
  I rise with gratitude for the time that I have been afforded. I rise, 
understanding that time is precious. And I rise understanding that 
tonight, I have a topic that is going to be of interest to many and 
provocative to some, but still I rise.
  I rise with the topic of institutionalized racism emanating from 
Capitol Hill. Institutionalized racism emanating from Capitol Hill.
  This is hardly where one would expect institutionalized racism. And 
there are a good many people who say there is no such thing as 
institutionalized racism.
  I trust that after tonight's message, many minds will be changed, and 
perhaps some hearts will be changed because if you know the truth, it 
can set you free. It can free your heart, it can free your mind, it can 
free your body, and it can free your soul.

[[Page H4062]]

  So let's take the acts of truth tonight and slam it into the tree of 
circumstance and let the chips fall where they must. And still I rise.
  Mr. Speaker, it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. A 
picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a picture. This is a picture 
of the Russell Senate Office Building. The Russell Senate Office 
Building.
  I think it appropriate that we get a better understanding of who 
Russell was. In 1972, some 50 years ago, the Old Senate Office 
Building, that would be this building, was named after Senator Richard 
Brevard Russell, Jr., an unapologetic racist, a white supremacist.
  He was the chief legislative architect of the South's bitter 
opposition to the civil rights. He claimed that America was a White 
man's country. And he said:

       And we are going to keep it that way.

  Richard Brevard Russell, Jr., a Senator.
  During his first run for the State legislature in 1920, he solicited 
the support and influence of every White voter and pledged he would 
serve only them, he would serve only them, if elected.
  Russell said while campaigning in 1936:

       As one who was born and reared in the atmosphere of the old 
     South, with six generations of my forebearers now resting 
     beneath southern soil, I am willing to go as far and make as 
     great a sacrifice to preserve and ensure white supremacy and 
     the social, economic, and political life of our State as any 
     man who lives within her borders.

  These are the words of Richard Russell, Senator Richard Russell. 
Senator Richard Russell whose name is on the Russell Senate Office 
Building, a building maintained with tax dollars. A building 
constructed with tax dollars. A building that I have to go into from 
time to time.
  I try to limit my traversing through the building, but from time to 
time I must. But at some point, I am going to limit all of my movement 
into the building. I won't be going into it at some point.
  And at some point, people of African ancestry are not going to go 
into this building. It is a symbol of national shame, not national 
pride. A symbol of national shame. The Russell Senate Office Building.
  Senator Richard Russell successfully filibustered anti-lynching 
bills. We just passed an anti-lynching bill after many decades. One of 
the reasons why it took so long is because of Senator Richard Russell.
  He blocked bills to eliminate poll taxes. He stood in the way of 
voting rights, especially for people of color. He also blocked bills to 
desegregate public schools, and this was done after Brown v. Board of 
Education.
  He co-authored the ``Southern Manifesto'' to slow the integration of 
public schools after the Supreme Court unanimously ordered in its Brown 
case that schools would be desegregated with all deliberate speed. 
Senator Richard Russell. Russell Senate Office Building.
  Senator Russell proclaimed:

       There is no such thing as a little integration.

  This is what he said in 1957, he said:

       They, meaning Black people, are determined to get into our 
     White schools, and into White restaurants, and into White 
     swimming pools.

  He went on and indicated that he would warn his Senate colleagues 
that this would mean a mongrel race which would result in destroying 
America. Senator Richard Russell. A Senate office building named in 
honor of Senator Richard Russell.
  He proposed a voluntary racial relocation program to adjust the 
imbalance of the Negro population between the South and the rest of the 
country, literally proposed moving Black people to some other States 
because there were too many in the South. Senator Richard Russell. The 
Russell Senate Office Building.
  When President Truman fought to end segregation in the military, 
Russell responded with vile, racial libels. Here is what he stated, 
Senator Richard Russell, these are his words:

       The incidence of syphilis, gonorrhea, chancre, and other 
     venereal diseases is appallingly higher among members of the 
     Negro race.

  One would say that by this standard, all of us have been maligned, 
those of us who are members of the Negro race, as he called it.
  He declared:

       And allowing Black and White troops to serve together is 
     sure to increase the numbers of men who will be disabled 
     through communicable diseases.

  The words of Senator Richard Russell.
  Yes, the Senate Russell Office Building is named after a self-
proclaimed white supremacist. It is a symbol of national shame.

  On March 30, 1964, the Southern Bloc of 18 Democratic Senators and 
one Republican Senator, led by Senator Richard Russell, launched a 
filibuster to prevent the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, stood 
in the way of what we now consider some of the great legislative 
actions that were taken up by the House and the Senate.
  Senator Russell proclaimed:

       We will resist to the bitter end any measure or any 
     movement which would tend to bring about social equality--
     some things bear repeating--we will resist to the bitter end 
     any measure or any movement which would tend to bring about 
     social equality and intermingling and amalgamation of the 
     races in our States.

  He voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act which he called short-
sighted and disastrous. He added that the civil rights bill's true 
intended effect was to intermingle races, eliminate States' rights, and 
abolish the checks and balance system.
  A great President from the State of Texas, the Honorable President 
Lyndon B. Johnson, signed the Civil Rights Act into law. And, as a 
result, Senator Richard Russell led a southern boycott of the 1964 
Democratic National Convention.
  I would that many who contend that there is no institutionalized 
racism could walk in the shoes of those of us who face it, who 
understand that for us, racism is more than a word.
  It can sometimes be a way of life that you have to contend with, even 
into 2022. The Russell Senate Office Building.
  You think I get great pleasure walking through a building named after 
a person who proclaimed himself a white supremacist? I get no great 
pleasure in moving through the facility.
  And I find this to be very interesting. What the Senate does--the 
Senate named it. It was the Old Senate Office Building. What the Senate 
does, the Senate can undo.
  This building does not have to bear the name of a white supremacist. 
This can be changed. We but only have to have the will to do it.
  And, unfortunately, too many of us find ourselves having to deal with 
our concerns of this nature siloed. Siloed. Well, this concerns Black 
people, and as a result, Black people ought to solve this problem.
  That is not the approach that I have taken. Long before I came to 
Congress, I thought that and still believe that if invidious 
discrimination exists against anyone, it is everyone's duty, 
responsibility, and, indeed, an obligation to challenge it. Not for 
myself, but for humanity.
  And there are times when, in so doing, you have to stand alone. But I 
sincerely believe in the inner sanctum of my soul that it is better to 
stand alone than not stand at all.
  So I stand here tonight acknowledging that on many occasions when it 
has come to the rights of others, check my voting record. Check my 
voting record. Where were you, Al Green, when we took up the rights of 
the LGBTQ community? I was there.
  Where were you when we took up the rights of the Latino community? I 
was there. Babies at the borders.
  Where were you when we took up the rights of the Jewish community, 
those standing up against those who are anti-Semitic? I was there.
  So I ask tonight: Where are we, friends, on the Russell Senate Office 
Building that, to this day, honors a self-proclaimed white supremacist?
  This is institutionalized. It is institutionalized because the 
Congress, by and through the Senate as an institution, made it so.
  You want to see institutionalized racism? A picture is worth a 
thousand words. There it is. That is it. The Russell Senate Office 
Building. All people of good will ought to want to see this changed.
  I am not the first person, by the way, to say that it should be 
changed. I may be one of many, but as long as I am here, I am going to 
be fighting to

[[Page H4063]]

change the name of the Russell Senate Office Building.
  Institutionalized racism. A picture of it, worth a thousand words. 
Emanating from Capitol Hill, a place where we passed civil rights laws, 
a place where we stand, one would assume, against all forms of 
invidious discrimination.
  No one would have a building on Capitol Hill bear the name of a self-
proclaimed white supremacist, but there it is. The Russell Senate 
Office Building.
  Now, friends, I have not said what we should name the building after 
the name Senator Richard Russell is removed. I have not said that we 
should name it after any given person. I have not said that we should 
have a certain process in place to select the name.
  I have said let it revert to the name that was there before we named 
it after a self-proclaimed white supremacist. Let it revert to what it 
was before, and that was the Old Senate Office Building.
  Let it revert and then establish the proper protocols and all of the 
processes and whatever methodology you choose to select the name.
  I believe that we won't make that mistake again, the mistake that we 
made with Senator Richard Russell, but let's let it revert, and that, 
we could do overnight. That, we could do overnight.
  There is no requirement that we wait months, years, weeks. No 
requirement. We could change the name to the Old Senate Office Building 
overnight. We would only have to have the will to do it and believe 
that in so doing, it won't look like someone made us do it.
  You know, that always enters into politics it seems. I shouldn't say 
always. Too often, we don't do things because we don't want it to seem 
as though someone made us do it. We have to find our own way to get it 
done.
  We have to allow the parade to turn the corner and then run out in 
front of it and claim that we were there all the time.
  Do whatever you must, but let's take the name off. Let's take Richard 
Russell's name off of the building.

                              {time}  1915

  Friends, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I contend that a 
song speaks for itself and its writer. A song speaks for itself and its 
writer. Let's now move on from the Russell Senate Office Building, and 
let's move on to Stephen Foster. Stephen Foster.
  Stephen Foster has a memorial day. Stephen Foster Memorial Day in the 
United States is a Federal observance day, and we do observe Stephen 
Foster Day on January 13 annually. Stephen Foster Memorial Day.
  Who, pray tell, was Stephen Foster? Well, let's talk about Mr. Foster 
and some of the lyrics in some of his songs. Not all of his songs, but 
too many of his songs contained lyrics that are offensive to people of 
color.
  Before we examine the lyrics, let's do this. Let's just explain that 
you don't get a day in your honor without the consent of the House and 
the Senate and the President of the United States of America. You don't 
get a day in your honor without voting. People have to vote. The 
President has to sign an order.
  I will be reading for you the resolution in just a moment, but for 
now let's look at some of the songs, songs by Stephen C. Foster. 
Stephen C. Foster. Songs by Stephen C. Foster containing the n-word. 
Some of you may be familiar with ``Oh! Susanna.''
  ``Oh! Susanna.'' I trust at home that you can read this. He uses what 
I consider a demeaning vernacular.

       I jump'd aboard the telegraph and
       trabbled down de ribber,
       De lectrick fluid magnified, and kill'd
       500 n-words.

  We are not allowed to say the word on the floor, and I appreciate 
that. I never say it. I am not one of those persons who--in my private 
life I don't use that word. Song by Stephen C. Foster.
  Stephen C. Foster, by the way, was declared the Father of American 
Music. The Father of American Music. The date that we commemorate or 
celebrate, however you choose, is January 13 annually. The date was 
created by H.J. Res. 308, 82nd Congress, introduced in the House on 
August 2, 1951, passed the House on October 15, 1951, some 74 days 
after introduction. But 74 days after its introduction, it passed the 
House. It passed the Senate on October 19, 1951, some 78 days after 
introduction, and was signed into law by the President of the United 
States on October 27, 1951, some 86 days after introduction.
  One can only but pray that legislation, righteous legislation that 
benefits people who have been demeaned, people who have been 
discriminated against, righteous legislation that would benefit them 
and prevent future discrimination, righteous legislation, would only 
pray that we could get such timelines for righteous legislation.
  Stephen Foster performed in blackface. For those who are not 
familiar--and by the way, he started this at the age of 9, so he was 
influenced--blackface, this is a form of art--and I am being kind--
wherein persons who are of European ancestry paint their faces black, 
and in a sense they perpetrate a vision of Black people as happy-go-
lucky dancers, jumping around, simple and good-natured creatures in 
minstrel shows.
  Minstrel shows were a form of racist entertainment developed in the 
early 19th century consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, 
and music performances that depicted people specifically of African 
descent. The shows were performed by mostly White people in makeup, or 
blackface as I have explained, for the purpose of playing the role of 
Black people. Minstrel shows lampooned Black people as dimwitted, lazy, 
buffoonish, superstitious, and happy-go-lucky. Stephen Foster was a 
master of minstrel music.
  Christy's Minstrels, the most successful minstrel shows of the time, 
made an arrangement with Foster for the show to be the first to sing 
his songs. Mr. Foster, if you have a song, a minstrel song, we want to 
be the first. I can imagine Mr. Christy saying that. He would have the 
rights to be the first to sing these songs, present these plays 
demeaning Black people. And Mr. Foster complied.
  Before I read the resolution, let's take a look at another song, 
another song written by the Father of American Folk Music to this day, 
with a day that is celebrated on January 13 in his honor. The father.
  ``Old Uncle Ned,'' an excerpt:

       Dere was an old n-word,
       Dey call'd him Uncle Ned.
       He's dead long ago, long ago!
       No more work for poor Old Ned.
       He's gone where the good n-words go.

  The Father of American Folk Music institutionalized racism in song, 
institutionalized racism because this institution made it so. We. Not 
us personally, but this House made it so. More about that in just a 
moment.
  Let's look at another song.
  ``Oh! Lemuel!'' These are excerpts. It reads:

       Go down to de cotton field!
       Go down, I say!
       Go down and call de n-word boys all:
       We'll no more today.

  The Father of American Folk Music. Proclaimed as such by the United 
States House of Representatives. Institutionalized as such with the 
concurrence of the United States Senate. Ordered as such with the 
signature of the President of the United States of America.
  One final one. I shall not read it. I will simply place it before 
you. I trust that the camera allows you to see the words. ``Away Down 
Souf,'' s-o-u-f.
  So now we find ourselves with a day honoring Stephen Foster by way of 
a joint resolution, joint resolution authorizing the President--of the 
United States of America, I might add parenthetically--to proclaim 
January 13 of each year as Stephen Foster Memorial Day.
  It reads, in part, not in total:
  ``Whereas Stephen Collins Foster has become a national expression of 
democracy.''
  ``Stephen Collins Foster has become a national expression of 
democracy through his clear and simple embodiment of American tradition 
in his world-famous lyrics.''
  So says the House, the Senate, and the President such that we honor 
him on January 13 every year.
  The resolution reads:
  ``Whereas the songs of Stephen Collins Foster belong to the 
people''--don't count me among the people that these songs belong to--
``belong to the people and are the musical essence of democracy. . . 
.'' This is the musical essence of democracy. What a sad state of 
affairs that we have to contend with.
  ``Whereas the songs of Stephen Collins Foster belong to the people 
and are

[[Page H4064]]

the musical essence of democracy so that he is now recognized as the 
father of American folk music and the true interpreter of the 
fundamental spirit of music.''
  Stephen Collins Foster. ``Whereas Stephen Collins Foster symbolizes 
in his works the unity of mankind through music.'' This is the unity of 
mankind through music, so says the House, the Senate, and the 
President, and a day in honor of Stephen Collins Foster. His works 
symbolize the unity of mankind.
  ``Resolved by the Senate,'' these are the words. Do a little bit of 
research, and you can read it in its entirety. I have given you 
excerpts, but these are the words. ``Resolved by the Senate and House 
of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress 
assembled: That the President of the United States is authorized to 
issue a proclamation designating January 13 of each year as Stephen 
Foster Memorial Day, and calling upon the people throughout the United 
States of America to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies, 
pilgrimages to his shrines, and musical programs featuring his 
compositions.'' I assume that would be minstrel shows. ``Approved 
October 27, 1951.''

                              {time}  1930

  I was alive when this was approved. I am the son of a segregated 
South. I know what racism looks like. I have seen the cross that the 
Klan burned in my yard. I know what it sounds like having been called 
these words. I know what it hurts like. I have been to some funerals.
  Now, my dear friends, my dear brothers and sisters--and I say such 
because I am a student of Dr. King. I believe, as he proclaimed, that 
there really is but one race, and that is the human race. I believe 
that all persons were created equal from a base black, as Dr. King put 
it, to a treble white. He went on to say:

       Fleecy locks and black complexion
       Cannot forfeit nature's claim;
       Skins may differ, but affection
       Dwells in White and Black the same.

  And, ``Were I so tall as to reach the pole or grasp the ocean at a 
span, I must be measured by my soul. The mind is the standard of the 
man'' and woman.
  I believe this. Because I believe it, I believe that we all have a 
responsibility to eliminate this institutionalized racism emanating 
from the Capitol of the United States of America, institutionalized by 
the Congress, signed into law by the President, institutionalized by 
the Senate Russell Office Building.
  I love my country. I sing the national anthem. There are some parts 
of it that we may want to address at some point, but I love my country. 
I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I love my country. It means something 
to me to have been born in the United States of America. I just want to 
make America the beautiful a more beautiful America for all Americans.
  I want every little Black baby to grow up in a world where we don't 
have a self-proclaimed white supremacist honored with our tax dollars 
on a building built with our tax dollars. They deserve that. I would do 
it for any other subset of this society. I would stand up for you.
  When will we stand up against institutionalized racism emanating from 
the Capitol of the United States of America?
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________