[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 86 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5203-H5205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TAKE A STAND AGAINST HATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Tlaib). 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. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. I rise today to 
express my sympathies and my condolences to the families of the many 
who have suffered from hate--more specifically, the families who have 
lost loved ones to hate.
  The latest example that is being discussed quite widely now is what 
happened in Buffalo: 13 people wounded, the majority of them, the 
overwhelming majority, African Americans. Some were White.
  But I express my sympathies and condolences to all persons who have 
family members who have suffered from hate violence. I do so because I 
understand that sympathies and condolences are important. People need 
to know that you care. But I also know, Madam Speaker, that sympathies 
and condolences are not enough.
  It is not enough now to express our sorrow. It is important to 
express our sorrows, but it is not enough. Too many have died, and the 
truth is, this impacts all segments of society.
  The African-American community had 9 people murdered on June 18, 
2015, at the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting.
  The Asian community, 8 people murdered on March 16, 2021, at the 
Atlanta spa shooting.
  The Jewish community, 11 people murdered on October 27, 2018, at the 
Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting.
  The Latino community, 22 people murdered on August 1, 2019, at the El 
Paso Walmart shooting.
  The Muslim community, two people murdered on August 13, 2016, at the 
New York City mosque shooting.
  The LGBTQ community, 49 people murdered on June 12, 2020, at the 
Pulse nightclub shooting.
  This impacts all of our communities. All are at risk. The truth is, 
this continues because too many people in this country tolerate hate. 
Those who tolerate hate perpetuate hate.
  Too many people tolerate hate. It is time for all to speak up.
  If we are going to do something about this, we have to acknowledge 
something. The person who did this in the State of New York, Buffalo, 
this person has to be prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law 
allows, the fullest extent.
  But we also have to understand something else as it relates to this 
person and the many others who have engaged in this kind of horrific 
activity, self-proclaimed white supremacists, persons who travel some 
great distance so they can find persons of African ancestry that are 
suitable for assassination. It happened in Texas at the Walmart. It 
happened in New York now at Buffalo, a person travels some 200 miles.
  Saying that we care is important, but dealing with this hate is more 
important. We have to realize that for all of these people who 
performed these dastardly deeds that must be punished, we must realize 
that they were not born with this hate in their hearts. This is not 
expressing sympathy for them. This is understanding how it is we find 
ourselves having to mourn all of these persons who have been murdered, 
massacred, assassinated.
  If we understand that they weren't born this way, then we have to ask 
ourselves: How did they become the dastards who would commit such 
heinous crimes?
  I have in my hand something that is fairly succinct, something from a 
movie. I have the lyrics to the song, ``You've Got to Be Taught.''

     You've got to be taught to
     hate and fear
     You've got to be taught
     from year to year
     It's got to be drummed
     into your dear little ear.
     You've got to be carefully taught.
     You've got to be taught to be afraid . . .
     of people whose skin is
     a different shade
     You've got to be carefully taught.
     You've got to be taught
     before it's too late
     before you are six or
     seven or eight
     To hate all the people
     your relatives hate
     You've got to be carefully taught.

                              {time}  1345

  Each of these persons were taught--some at home from families who 
stated things in their presence that encouraged them to do these 
things.
  Today, we have the problems of the internet and social media. Today, 
we have the ability for young people, with and without their parents' 
knowledge, to receive information, disinformation, fabrications, 
insidious prevarications, to receive this kind of horrible information 
online, with and without their parents knowing.
  It appears that there is a theory now, the great replacement theory, 
the fear that immigrants are going to replace White Europeans. It 
appears this young man, this dastard in New York, the State of New 
York, city of Buffalo, that this person decided that this theory was 
enough to motivate him to commit these crimes.
  We have to fight evil speech with our just speech. The speech that 
can counteract the evil messages that are being pervaded. We have to 
fight it with our speech. Everybody has a duty to stand up and speak 
out.
  Those who tolerate bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, sexism, racism, 
anti-Semitism, all of the various invidious phobias, those who tolerate 
these phobias, who tolerate people deciding that they will simply 
murder and massacre people, those who tolerate, perpetuate. And to a 
certain extent you become complicit.
  As Dr. King put it, after some point of time, those who tolerate 
hate--these are not his exact words--it becomes betrayal. We have a 
duty to stand up and speak out. All people of good will.
  Madam Speaker, I ask today: Where is the business community? These 
things are happening in places of business.
  Where is the Chamber of Commerce? Where are the various Chambers of 
Commerce across this Nation? Why have they not spoken out?
  These things are occurring in business places. At some point, people 
will limit their engagement in business places, if we don't stand up 
and speak out.
  If people understand that there is a risk of being harmed for going 
into a food store or a service station, some place of business, people 
will limit their activities.
  Someone might say, well, you can always order your food from a source 
and have it delivered to you. I contend that if you do this, or if you 
limit your participation, revenue will decline in places of business. 
The business community has to be concerned about its revenue.
  Look, we should all be concerned about the lives that have been lost, 
but this can impact the economy. It can impact businesses and the 
extent that they will be able to maintain the workforce that they have. 
We have got to care about all of this. What impacts one directly can 
impact all indirectly. So we have got to concern ourselves with what is 
happening and how this can impact the economy.
  So if we conclude that people are going to limit their access by 
going into places, choosing not to go, well, if this occurs, as I said, 
you might want to order your products from these business places. But 
here is the problem with that. That, too, will cause the revenue flow 
to be impacted in an adverse way.
  Here is why. It is not unusual for someone--and I will use myself as 
an example--to go into a place of business

[[Page H5204]]

looking for one item, not find that one item and still spend $50. That 
is because while I am there, I see other things. But if you don't go 
into that place of business, you don't see these things, and that can 
limit revenue.
  If these mass shootings continue, there are people who won't want to 
live near certain areas. Property values can be impacted. Schools have 
already had mass shootings. People choose to send their children to 
schools where they think their children will be safe. All of these 
shootings can impact schools, places of worship, and businesses.
  So the business community has a duty to speak up. I have sent a 
letter to the Chamber of Commerce in Houston, Texas. I have sent 
letters to other chambers of commerce, as well. In Houston, it is 
called the Greater Houston Partnership. I am beseeching and imploring 
the Greater Houston Partnership to take a stand publicly.
  And, please, don't be afraid to say the word white supremacy. We, for 
some reason, want to allow this to just become another shooting silo--
many people, not all--silo this shooting. Then we will wait until there 
is another, we will attack it and silo that shooting.
  Friends, it is the hate that we have to prosecute. Prosecuting the 
criminals is always important. They ought to be prosecuted to the 
fullest extent that the law allows, but we also have to prosecute the 
hate that produces the behavior that is taking the lives of people 
across the length and breadth of this country. If we are going to 
prosecute the hate, we have got to have the will to say white 
supremacy.
  We have to have the guts to say what it is. Our failure to say what 
it is leaves things too nebulous. We don't want there to be any 
confusion about what is happening.
  I am on the Committee on Homeland Security. We have had many hearings 
where experts have made it clear to us that white supremacy is a 
threat. Quite frankly, in my opinion, it is a form of domestic 
terrorism. And you have got to have the courage to say it. You have to 
say it.
  Madam Speaker, I am imploring the business community to take a stand, 
hold a press event and denounce white supremacy and all of the evil 
associated with it. The business community has to take a stand.
  Equally as important is this: Where is the clergy? Where is the 
clergy?
  Where are, more specifically, the White evangelicals? Why is your 
voice muted? Why aren't you out front with other members of the clergy 
denouncing this openly, out in the public?
  There ought to be an assemblage of clergy; Black, White, Brown--
whatever colors--denouncing this. We are at a seminal moment in time 
that can impact the rest of our time, and it is time for us to take a 
stand against hate.

  So I ask the clergy, I ask you, please, do your part; be out with the 
clergy and business community. It is important for this type of unity 
to take place. The words we say can make a difference.
  Emily Dickinson said, ``A word is dead when it is said, some say. I 
say it just begins to live that day.'' And I agree with this. Words can 
make a difference.
  There are many other things that we can do. We can pass laws here, 
and we have. But we need the cooperation of the business community, the 
clergy, and all other businesses, all other communities to become a 
part of this effort to denounce white supremacy.
  In the effort to do so, it is important that we not allow ourselves 
to tolerate the hate that is in our immediate environment--on your job. 
You experience it. You have got to speak up, speak out. If you see it, 
you have got to say it. Say that it exists.
  You cannot say that there were some very fine people among those in 
Charlottesville proclaiming Jews will not replace us. You can't allow 
that kind of behavior to go unchecked. It doesn't matter where it comes 
from. If it comes from the highest office in the land, it has to be 
checked.
  Jews will not replace us. That is a part of the replacement theory 
being articulated openly and notoriously. Yet, we, to this date, have 
not done enough to denounce it.
  Jews will not replace us. We cannot allow people, regardless of where 
they are in life, what their station is in life, to do things that will 
impact the lives of others. So, yes, it doesn't matter the source, it 
doesn't matter where you are, you have got to be called out.
  I don't in any way conclude that this is something that we cannot 
eliminate. I believe we can. This is why I have a piece of legislation 
that addresses this. It is a piece of legislation for a department of 
reconciliation. We have not reconciled in this country. We have not.
  From 1619, August 20, when the first Africans were brought here 
enslaved, to this very second, we have not engaged in reconciliation. 
The reconciliation that we need is not going to occur as long as we 
silo each of these massacres. We have to have a formal structure within 
which to have policies and procedures and laws developed.
  We need a department of reconciliation for this Nation. Just as we 
have a Department of Labor, a Department of Commerce, a Department of 
Defense, we need a department of reconciliation. Just as we have a 
Secretary of Labor, a Secretary of Defense, a Secretary of Commerce, we 
need a secretary of reconciliation, with under secretaries.
  The department has to be funded. I suggested that it ought to be 
funded by indexing it to the Defense Department, some percentage of the 
budget of the Defense Department, because the Defense Department will 
always be funded. Therefore, the department of reconciliation will 
always be funded.
  It is not going to occur overnight. It won't. I think that there are 
many other things that have to happen, and this department of 
reconciliation can be part and parcel to producing a climate, policies, 
if you will, such that these other things can happen.
  So if you have something that is very important associated with this, 
then let the department of reconciliation work that into the system. A 
department of reconciliation, the secretary of reconciliation, would 
report directly to the President of the United States, and it would not 
be something that has a defined lifespan.
  We don't conclude that the Defense Department will sunset on a 
certain date. The Department of Commerce doesn't sunset. The Labor 
Department doesn't sunset. The department of reconciliation should not 
sunset, so that it can continue its work. Presidents might come and 
Presidents would go, but the department of reconciliation, reporting 
directly to the President, will still be with us.
  Madam Speaker, we have not reconciled in this country. I believe that 
with a department of reconciliation, something as simple as the Richard 
Russell Office Building would become worthy of consideration. Richard 
Russell was a racist and a bigot, and we have an office building named 
after Richard Russell, the Russell Senate Office Building. That is a 
disgrace.
  Madam Speaker, we have the authority to change that, but we have not. 
It is our duty to change what we can. No one in this country can remove 
that name, save people who hold public trust here in Washington, D.C.

                              {time}  1400

  We ought to change that. Those who tolerate bigotry and racism and 
hate perpetuate it. We are tolerating the name ``Richard Russell'' on 
that building when we know what he stood for. Within the building, we 
have a statue in the rotunda devoted to Richard Russell.
  How long will this go on?
  There are some people who say, ``Well, it is a good message,'' but 
they have all kinds of reasons for not wanting to take action right 
now: wrong messenger, good message, wrong messenger; got to wait until 
we can get somebody that we have influence with to push this issue; or, 
you present it too strongly, do it quietly.
  Why do people of color have to be quiet about the issues that impact 
them? Why do people of color have to find a way to get things done 
without being openly hostile to the things that are harmful to them?
  We have every right to demand that the name ``Richard Russell'' not 
be on that building. I am not ashamed of the fact that I have the 
courage to say that. The department of reconciliation could deal with 
it.
  Well, the father of American music--the father of American music--was 
a racist. He was a racist, and we have tolerated this. We know it. We 
have looked at the lyrics, but we haven't changed it.

[[Page H5205]]

  This notion of the father of American music existing emanates from 
this House. It was in this House and in the Senate and signed by the 
President that we have a father of American music who is a racist. That 
could be changed if we had a department of reconciliation.
  I believe that we owe it to ourselves and to the generations to come, 
to posterity, if you will, to be bold enough to change these things and 
to have the courage to do so without having to demonstrate that we are 
afraid to do so.
  There are many who won't do it. It is regrettable, but it is the 
truth. We have the power to do it, but we only have to have the will to 
make the change.
  Those who tolerate bigotry, those who tolerate hate, those who 
tolerate racism perpetuate it. Unfortunately, too many Members with the 
power to make the change--not all--decline to do so, for whatever 
reasons.
  I would hope that things will change, but if they don't, I will be 
back again and again and again until the change that we seek takes 
place.
  I believe that Gandhi was right. Be the change you wish to see.
  I am here to be that change, but I am also reminded of what Maya 
Angelou has said in her poem about being the hope of the slave. There 
were people who died praying for a day that some African American would 
have the opportunity to stand here and be a party to making the change, 
not a party to acquiescing, but to making the change that can make a 
difference in the lives of not only Black people but all people.
  I love my country. I love my country. That is why I am here demanding 
the change, and I am not afraid to say ``demanding.'' Demanding the 
change.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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