[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 103 (Thursday, June 16, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5639-H5642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RACIAL JUSTICE IN AMERICA

  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. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. And I rise today 
with an expression of gratitude and great appreciation.
  I thank the many persons who voted for H.R. 2543, the Financial 
Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Economic Justice Act. I rise to 
thank persons for this because I was fortunate enough to have the 
opportunity to manage the bill on the floor.
  The Honorable Maxine Waters is the sponsor of this piece of 
legislation. It is a compilation of some 13 bills that were used and 
packaged so that we could bring about some racial justice in this 
country. Racial justice that is long overdue, I might add.
  The Honorable Maxine Waters, but for her, I can say without 
reservation, hesitation, or equivocation, this bill would not have come 
to fruition. She has been a champion for those who have been left out, 
left behind, locked out, those that I label as being among the least, 
the last, and the lost.
  The least, those who don't inherit a legacy of wealth but, rather, a 
legacy of poverty. The least, those are persons who are still finding 
themselves living in the streets of life.
  The last, those are the last hired and the first fired.
  The lost, those who are lost in the richest country in the world, but 
lost perhaps in chemical consumption, drugs, if you will, lost because 
of mental issues, but they are lost in the richest country in the 
world. She has been a champion for them.
  I will always be grateful to her for working with me to help me to 
acquire a position on the Financial Services Committee. I think that 
probably but for her, I might not have the position that I have. So I 
know that she is not doing well today, but she will be back, and I want 
her to know today that I am appreciative for the many opportunities 
that I have acquired by virtue of her being there at the right time 
when these opportunities were available.
  I also thank the Members who had those bills, the 13 bills: Mrs. 
Joyce Beatty, Mr. Auchincloss, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Garcia of 
Texas, Mr. Torres, and of course, Ms. Waters, had a bill as well. I had 
two bills associated with this package.
  This package, the Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and 
Economic Justice Act, why is it needed? Why is it needed on this day 
some few days away from Juneteenth? And I celebrate Juneteenth, by the 
way. I commend my colleague, Ms. Jackson Lee, for her work on 
Juneteenth.
  I knew the father of Juneteenth, Al Edwards. Al Edwards was a State 
representative in Texas, and he was a person who was tenacious about 
Juneteenth. It was his legislation that passed the Texas House and 
Senate and was signed by the Governor of the State of Texas, making 
Juneteenth a holiday at a time when, quite frankly, people thought that 
it was impossible to get it done.
  Al Edwards, the father of Juneteenth, I always remember him, a dear 
friend. We celebrated Juneteenth together on many occasions. We 
traversed the State together. He was one of my supporters. I know his 
family. His brother was a banker, Redick Edwards. He was my banker, as 
a matter of fact. So I have a relationship with this family. I want the 
world to know that I am appreciative for what he did to lay the 
foundation for Juneteenth as a holiday at the national level.
  I also express my appreciation for what Juneteenth is all about. 
General Gordon Granger came into Galveston, Texas, in 1865. The 
Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. The war had ended, but in 
Texas, the slaves were not accorded their freedom. Some people say that 
the word hadn't reached Texas. I differ. The word reached Texas, but 
the slaveholders saw those slaves as personal property, and they saw no 
reason to give up their personal property simply because Mr. Lincoln 
signed an Emancipation Proclamation or simply because the war was over. 
That was their personal property.
  It is said that someone was sent, an envoy, if you will, to make it 
known to people in Texas that the slaves had been freed. This is prior 
to General Gordon Granger arriving in Galveston, Texas in 1865. Well, 
they said that that person didn't quite get the message across, and one 
can well understand why, given the behavior of Texas, a State that 
seceded from the Union and also seceded from Mexico because of slavery.

                              {time}  1315

  They were recalcitrant--and that is being kind--about the desire to 
maintain slavery. But President Lincoln sent General Gordon Granger.
  To say that he sent General Gordon Granger, quite frankly, is an 
incomplete statement. He sent General Gordon Granger and 2,000 troops. 
General Gordon Granger, being the wise man that he was, brought those 
troops with him, but they also had some friends with them. They had Mr. 
Winchester, Smith & Wesson. They were well equipped to present this 
message to the slaveholders. When it was presented with 2,000 troops 
who were well armed, it was received.
  It was the next year that the first Juneteenth celebration took 
place. That was in 1866, the first celebration.
  This is what Al Edwards shared with me about Juneteenth, the actual 
moniker, the name for the holiday. It was his position that it became 
known as ``Juneteenth'' because there was some question about the date 
that General Gordon Granger arrived, within the minds of the slaves, 
whether it was on the 18th or the 19th. Rather than continue a debate 
about the actual date, it simply became ``Juneteenth,'' and folks can 
fill in the blank as they choose. 1866 was a big celebration of 
Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom.
  Again, I commend the father, Al Edwards, and I commend my colleague, 
Ms. Jackson Lee, for her stellar work here in Congress to work 
Juneteenth through to the point that it is now a Federal holiday. I 
commend both of

[[Page H5640]]

them. I commend the many people who voted for it.
  Today, I thank the people who voted for that holiday, but I also 
thank the people who voted for H.R. 2543. I greatly appreciate the fact 
that you voted for the Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and 
Economic Justice Act because that act is needed.
  There has to be some question as to why it is needed more than 150 
years after the end of slavery. Why would we need a Financial Services 
Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Economic Justice Act these many years 
later?
  Well, rather than give you my opinion about it, I am going to read to 
you from a report presented by the Brookings Institution. Brookings is 
well known and well respected. Let's just see what Brookings says. This 
was published on February 27, 2020. Not a lot has changed since 
February 27, 2020, so let's examine what they at the Brookings 
Institution have shared with us with reference to the Black folk in 
this country.
  It is styled, the article, ``Examining the Black-White Wealth Gap.'' 
Hear now the words of the Brookings Institution: ``A close examination 
of wealth in the U.S. finds evidence of staggering racial disparities. 
At $171,000, the net worth of a typical White family is nearly 10 times 
greater than that of a Black family, which is $17,150.'' This was in 
2016.
  2016, White family's worth: $171,000. This is the net worth. Black 
family's net worth: $17,150. Over 150 years since the end of the Civil 
War, more than 400 years since the first Africans were brought here as 
slaves in 1619, 400 years have passed, and we still have this wage gap.
  It goes on to read: ``Gaps in wealth between Black and White 
households reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and 
discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that 
can be traced back to this Nation's inception.''
  ``Traced back to this Nation's inception.'' This is the Brookings 
Institution. ``Traced back to this Nation's inception.''
  ``The Black-White wealth gap reflects a society that has not and does 
not afford equality of opportunity to all its citizens.''
  Equality of opportunity is the opportunity--these are my words--to 
succeed on your merits or fail on your demerits, the opportunity for 
you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. The society, according to 
Brookings, does not afford equality of opportunity to all its citizens.
  It goes on to indicate: ``Efforts by Black Americans to build wealth 
can be traced back throughout American history. But these efforts have 
been impeded in a host of ways, beginning with 246 years of chattel 
slavery followed by congressional mismanagement of the Freedman's 
Savings Bank.''
  This bank was established after the slaves were freed to provide them 
an opportunity to accumulate wealth. They were free, but they were just 
free to the elements. They didn't have property that they owned. They 
were free to have persons abuse them. They were in a hostile 
environment. They were among people who had held them as property, 
people who had no desire to see their property taken from them.
  So they were free, but they were free to the wind, the rains, the 
elements, free to starve, and free to survive if they could. But that 
level of freedom was supposed to be curtailed with the Freedman's 
Savings Bank.
  Well, the bank started with the best of intentions. According to the 
history I have read, it was the idea of Frederick Douglass and was 
supposed to give the freed slaves an opportunity to acquire wealth, to 
save money, to understand the process of saving money, by the way. For 
people who had never had money--imagine this--never had money, what do 
you do with it if you acquire some? Many of them were working for the 
Union Army, and they were getting paid. So what do you do with this 
thing called money?
  Well, this bank was a place where they were supposed to be able to 
save. Unfortunately, there was mismanagement. Congress did not put in 
the proper safeguards so that it could continue to exist in perpetuity, 
and it left some 61,144 depositors with losses of nearly $3 million in 
1874.
  Then, there were persons who sought to move ahead, notwithstanding 
circumstances, and there was this area in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa's 
Greenwood District.
  Here is what is said by Brookings with reference to Greenwood. It 
reads: ``The violent massacre decimating Tulsa's Greenwood District in 
1921, a population of 10,000 that thrived as the epicenter of African-
American business and culture, commonly referred to as `Black Wall 
Street,' ''--Black Wall Street was decimated. This was an opportunity 
for people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, to find a means 
by which they could have commerce among themselves. They were of no 
threat to the broader community, but they had Black Wall Street taken 
away from them, literally destroyed.

  Thereafter, we had the discriminatory policies throughout the 20th 
century, including Jim Crow-era Black codes, laws that applied 
specifically to Black people. If you weren't working, you could be 
incarcerated if you were Black.
  This is not contained here, but you had the convict leasing that took 
place, which was another form of slavery. A person would be arrested 
for some minor offense and then placed in the hands of a landowner to 
work--leased, as it were, from the State. Some of these persons would 
work for the rest of their lives for some minor offense. They became 
slaves by another name, leased convicts.
  So, we had Black codes limiting opportunities in many Southern 
States.
  Along came the GI Bill. We are fast-forwarding now, and this is part 
of the article that I am reading. The GI Bill benefited and still 
benefits--a good many people who are right here in this Congress 
benefited from the GI Bill. Few Black people did. Very few Black people 
benefited from the GI Bill. The statistical information is overwhelming 
in terms of the number that did not, small numbers.
  Of the thousands that initially benefited from it, numbers less than 
10 were Black. Thousands, with 10 maybe, or less, that were Black. 
There are some people who give a specific number on it at less than 10. 
But let's just leave it with the fact that there were less than 10 who 
benefited from it among thousands.
  Here is why they didn't benefit. They didn't benefit because if you 
wanted to get a mortgage to buy property, which is what the GI Bill 
would afford you, the banks wouldn't lend money in Black neighborhoods. 
If you were Black and you walked into the bank, that in and of itself 
was a denial of the loan. Your presence, your skin complexion, that was 
the denial of your loan because banks were not lending to people living 
in Black neighborhoods.
  Well, someone would say: But, Al, how did they know they were living 
in a Black neighborhood? Because you couldn't live in a White 
neighborhood. You couldn't live among people who could get loans. There 
were restrictive covenants. The law said they couldn't live there, and 
they were denied the opportunity to acquire land, which was another 
means of amassing wealth.
  By the way, this was not the first time people of color were denied 
the opportunity to acquire land. In the early years in this country, if 
you could fence in land and you could protect it, you could squat. It 
became yours. All you had to do was fence it in and protect it. Black 
people were not afforded that opportunity.
  So, here we are, a few days away from Juneteenth, which I will 
celebrate and appreciate, but I want you to understand why there was a 
need for H.R. 2543, the Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, 
and Economic Justice Act. There was a need for it. There is a need for 
it, and it passed this Congress.

                              {time}  1330

  So we find ourselves now with the GI Bill and other circumstances 
that did not inure to the benefit of Black people.
  According to this article, another circumstance was redlining. 
Redlining is where literally a red line was drawn around certain areas, 
and those who were in the business of selling and buying real estate, 
they rarely wanted to buy that land, so it became a place where people 
of color lived and the people of color could not get loans to upgrade 
their property, they could not get the loans needed to improve their 
lives because the banks were not lending.

[[Page H5641]]

  So this wealth that many people have, the wealth that they have is 
something that they acquired in ways that were associated with the 
government that locked Black people out. This--according to the article 
now--history matters for contemporary inequality, in part, because its 
legacy is passed down generation to generation. Repeat. This history 
matters for contemporary inequality, meaning the inequality we see 
today, in part, because its legacy is passed down generation to 
generation through unequal monetary inheritances which make up a great 
deal of current wealth, meaning a good many of the people who have the 
current wealth they acquired this wealth by being born.
  A good many people make their first million dollars by being born, 
just coming into the world, coming into the world in the right family. 
And these inheritances are passed down from generation to generation 
through unequal monetary inheritances, which make up a good deal of the 
current wealth.
  Interesting fact: In 2020 Americans are projected to inherit about 
$765 billion in gifts. In 2020, Americans are projected to inherit 
about $765 billion in gifts and bequests. I assure you only a marginal 
amount of this will be inherited by Black people.
  Excluding wealth transfers to spouses and transfers that support 
minor children, inheritances account for roughly 4 percent of annual 
household income. Black people have little to pass on, therefore, there 
is very little that is inherited. And as a result there is no transfer 
of wealth from one generation to the next to speak of.
  It is really a sad state of affairs when you really think about it. 
We have been so conditioned to accept our circumstances in life that 
this sad state of affairs is just normal to us. It is just as we have 
embraced it almost. It is just the way things are. Things don't have to 
be this way. That is why H.R. 2543 is needed.
  Let me remind you one more time that Black people in this country 
have wealth that is about one-tenth of what White people have, about 
one-tenth of what they have. That, my friends, is something that is 
unacceptable. And it is not because Black people won't work hard. It is 
not because they don't have good work ethics. No, it is because a 
system that we exist within has been so structured that not only did we 
fail to acquire wealth, couldn't acquire it early on in the history of 
the country, but this system still prevents Black people from acquiring 
wealth.
  I come to the floor and talk about these issues quite regularly, and 
there are some people who have asked me why am I so passionate about 
these issues?
  Well, why do I persist when I could easily just go on with my life?
  And I have had people tell me: You are doing all right. You are doing 
well. You have all of the trappings of a middle-class person. Why would 
you do this?
  Because I haven't always been where I am now, and because I have a 
memory.
  I know what it is like to live in poverty.
  I know what it is like to be discriminated against. I am a son of the 
segregated south. Those rights that the Constitution recognized as 
belonging to me, my friends and neighbors took them away. They denied 
them.
  I know what it is like to drink from a colored water fountain.
  I know what it is like to go to a back door to get your food. And I 
know what it is like for the law to say that you have to go to that 
back door to get your food.
  I know what it is like to stand in a separate line in the supermarket 
and have to wait until all of the persons who are White are served 
before you can be served.
  I know what it is like to be born in a racist society. Believe me. I 
was born into the south. I am 74 years old. I know what racism smells 
like. I know what it looks like, I know what it tastes like, I know 
what it sounds like, and I know what it hurts like.
  So my passion emanates from the suffering and the understanding of 
what it is like to live in a hostile environment.
  My friends, Black people are still living in a hostile environment. 
We don't like to acknowledge it, we want to believe otherwise, but it 
is a hostile environment. It is a hostile environment.
  When you go in to get a loan and you are qualified, and you cannot 
get the same loan that a person of a different hue can acquire who is 
equally as qualified as you, you are equally as qualified as that 
person, that is hostile to you in terms of your economic status. H.R. 
2543 seeks to remedy that. H.R. 2543 makes it a crime to discriminate 
against a person in lending.
  I must tell you, the Honorable Maxine Waters has more courage than we 
can measure. There is no way to measure the amount of courage this 
woman has to bring this kind of legislation to this floor. And I have 
to acknowledge that the other leadership in the House, it was pretty 
courageous of them, too, to let this kind of bill come to the floor for 
a vote. And I congratulate and thank every person that voted for it. 
Because it ought to be a crime to defraud a person out of a loan.
  For edification purposes, if you defraud the bank, you can face a 
fine of up to $1 million, up to a $1 million fine. And you can be 
imprisoned. There is no such fine if the bank denies you a loan, 
defrauds you of your loan that you are entitled to.
  That changed with the passage of H.R. 2543. This is historic. You are 
not going to read about it in the newspapers. But you are going to hear 
about it from me right here on this floor of the House.

  I didn't come here to hide the good news. We want to let the world 
know about the good news. The challenge would be, of course, to get it 
through the Senate. I believe this President will sign it but getting 
it through the Senate will be a challenge.
  But back to where we were. So we find ourselves acclimating to the 
hostile environment we have. We find ourselves accepting our 
circumstance. And there are others who would say that you are free, you 
can just make your way as others have made their way, pull yourself up 
by your bootstraps.
  Well, let's see where we are with bootstraps. Bootstraps would first 
require that you have boots. Black folk don't have the boots. The boots 
are at the banks.
  People in this country who have little acquire some things with their 
hard work and then they are in a position to borrow money. If we are 
not given a fair opportunity to borrow money, which would give us the 
boots, and then we can have straps added to the boots, you are not 
going to be able to pull yourself up by the bootstraps when you don't 
have boots. It just doesn't happen. And that is the circumstance we 
find ourselves in.
  There are many people who will say that by doing what I am doing I am 
just making excuses. Well, tell that to the people at the Brookings 
Institution. Convince them. They compile this statistical information, 
the empirical evidence I have shared with you. This is not Al Green 
speaking in the sense of Al Green compiled the information that you 
have heard. No. This is the Brookings Institution. I am just the 
messenger. They compiled the message.
  So we find ourselves in this hostile environment as it relates to the 
economy.
  It is a hostile environment in many other ways, as well. It is a 
hostile environment just in terms of our living. Still discriminated 
against when it comes to housing. Still discriminated against. And it 
took the death of Dr. King to get the Fair Housing Act through 
Congress.
  It is amazing how many of the seminal pieces of legislation that 
impact the lives of people of color are signed in ink, but they were 
written with the blood of people who made great sacrifices, Dr. King's 
life, John Lewis and the Edmund Pettus Bridge. But for John Lewis and 
the Edmund Pettus Bridge, additional civil rights laws would not have 
been signed into law. It took blood on the bridge to bring about the 
Civil Rights Act of 1965.

                              {time}  1345

  So my dear friends, we are in a hostile environment. People don't 
like to talk about the hostile environment. When people say Jews will 
not replace us--when they say Jews will not replace us--my friends, 
many of those people work in restaurants.
  One can but only imagine what happens to the food of a Jewish person 
when you have a person working in the restaurant who says Jews will not 
replace us. Given that this theory--this

[[Page H5642]]

fake theory, this myth--there are some other words that can be used 
that my mother taught me not to use, but these prevarications are 
associated with this myth.
  Friends, the myth is that Jews are going to use Black people to 
replace White people--which is ridiculous. But that means that there 
are some people that are very hostile to Black people since they think 
Black people are going to take over--and minorities and immigrants.
  Just imagine what it can be like to go into a restaurant, and you 
have persons who don't find favor with treating us fairly. We have to 
be careful where we eat--we do--if you understand the environment you 
are living in. Hostile environment.
  Can you imagine some of these persons--Jews will not replace us--
persons who are up in Idaho dressed in this military regalia, can you 
imagine one of them being a physician? You have got to go into this 
office, you need help, maybe you are going into the emergency room. It 
is a hostile environment.
  You can't appreciate it if you don't understand the consequences that 
can emanate from people who scream Jews will not replace us, people who 
burn crosses, people who say that they are a part of a superior race.
  You don't think it is a hostile environment? Ask the ghosts of the 
people who went into the Tops Food Store. Ask the ghosts if it is a 
hostile environment. He went there to kill Black people. If you don't 
think it is a hostile environment, ask the spirits of the people who 
were in the Walmart store in Texas. It is a hostile environment.
  It is hostile if you understand and appreciate what is going on 
around you. I don't say it is hostile to the extent that we can't 
overcome it. I don't say it is hostile to the extent that we should 
simply surrender and throw up our hands. That is why we have H.R. 2543, 
and there are other aspects of it requiring transparency. We need to 
know who is integrating their business.
  Sometimes when people have to announce their circumstance, they 
change that condition. H.R. 2543 will provide a lot of transparency. 
This is needed when you are in a hostile environment.
  I would say to you, my dear friends--as Brookings puts it--just how 
large and persistent are these racial wealth gaps? Brookings has made 
it very clear that at least $17,150 for a Black family in terms of 
wealth is about one-tenth of the $171,000 net worth of a White family.
  My hope is that we will remember yesterday as a moment in time that 
will hopefully accelerate the time that we will need to bring about a 
closing of this wealth gap. I think that what happened yesterday is a 
great step in that direction. It is not the last step. It is really not 
the first, there are other things that have been done, but it is a step 
in that direction. We need to close the wealth gap.
  Madam Speaker, I pledge to do all that I can to close it. I want to 
let you know that in doing all of these things and saying what I am 
saying to you, explaining it in terms that many people will find 
uncomfortable, I still say that I love my country.
  I still say I love my country. I still say I salute the flag. I am 
not some person who hates America. I am the guy who wants America to 
become America for all Americans. I want equality of opportunity. I 
want America to live up to its promise.
  As I celebrate Juneteenth, I assure you, I will do the things that 
are customarily done in terms of the food and the drink and just having 
a great time celebrating freedom. It does not mean that I am going to 
forget the need for more work to be done.
  I have great respect for and appreciation for Mr. Hoyer. I can't tell 
you how much I appreciate and respect him. He has said things here on 
this floor that I appreciate with reference to discrimination. Others 
have said things, too, that I greatly appreciate, it is just that I 
have sort of built a relationship with him.
  I appreciate his indicating that Slavery Remembrance Day is something 
that is on his agenda. I am going to celebrate Juneteenth, but that 
doesn't mean that I won't commemorate August and Slavery Remembrance 
Day, that is a day of commemoration.
  Madam Speaker, I am going to enjoy Juneteenth, but remembering that 
there is still great work to be done. I remember as a child my 
grandfather reminding me that I would have to be willing to make 
sacrifices that others would not have to make if I wanted to succeed in 
life in this country. Sacrifices that others would not have to make. I 
assumed that we all make the same sacrifices, but my grandfather taught 
my differently--that is not the case.
  While I celebrate, I still have some appreciation for the sacrifices 
that have been made and have to be made. I understand that we need the 
Maxine Waters of the world who work hard to make sure that while she 
has the gavel that the change that she can bring about will take place.
  I appreciate the Sheila Jackson Lees of the world who worked hard to 
make Juneteenth a holiday. It is a holiday and it is a time to 
celebrate. I also think we need a day to commemorate because in Texas 
there is a desire to not allow slavery to be taught--the history of 
African Americans as it relates to slavery to be taught in the schools. 
You can't teach it if Texas has its way.
  Madam Speaker, I celebrate and commemorate. I thank God for the 
opportunity to serve in this House. I thank those persons who voted for 
the bill that we brought to the floor, H.R. 2543. I appreciate you, 
each of you, and I will be sending you a written thank you, but I 
didn't want too much time to pass without saying it to the world. I 
appreciate it.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________