[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HISTORY REPEATED ITSELF ONCE MORE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today appalled and disgusted 
and brokenhearted. Like so many others, I am still struggling to 
process the sheer inhumanity on display in the murder of Tyre Nichols.
  Last week, our Nation watched helplessly as another innocent Black 
man was beaten to death by men sworn to serve and protect. In the final 
moments of his life, Tyre Nichols cried out for help as he struggled to 
understand what he possibly could have done to deserve such a fate.
  As a mother, seeing Tyre cry out for his mom deeply pains me. As a 
Black woman, I am furious at the injustice that Black Americans face 
every day. As a human being, the vicious murder I have seen leaves me 
shaken to my core.
  Tyre Nichols was a human being with a life as beautiful as any other. 
He was a photographer. He loved skateboarding. He was a son to a loving 
mother and a father to a 4-year-old son.
  Tyre will never get to see his son grow up, and his son will never 
get another hug from his father.
  I mourn Tyre, and I pray for his loved ones. I mourn Keenan Anderson, 
who invoked George Floyd's name when he, too, was killed by police this 
month. I mourn Elijah McClain, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and every 
other Black life stolen from us by police.
  I have grown weary of my mourning, though, Mr. Speaker, because 
history has repeated itself once again.
  The murder of Tyre Nichols comes 3 years after the murder of Breonna 
Taylor. It comes 9 years after the murder of Michael Brown. It comes 14 
years after the murder of Oscar Grant. It comes 153 years after the 
murder of Henry Truman in 1870.
  Nothing we can do will ever bring back Tyre Nichols, Daunte Wright, 
Eric Garner, or any Black American killed by a system that did not 
value their lives. We can, however, demand accountability and sweeping 
reforms from police departments that have built, maintained, and even 
encouraged a culture of brutality and even racism.
  The time is now to reevaluate and reimagine the role of police in our 
community. We must stop waiting for justice and start doing our jobs.
  As public servants, we have a duty to do right by our communities, 
even if that means starting the long, difficult process of reforming 
and restructuring our justice system. It is the duty of the Federal 
Government to ensure that law enforcement is used to protect 
communities, not tear them apart.
  Last Congress, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing 
Act, but the Senate blocked it from becoming law. That was a 
disappointment, but it cannot be a defeat.
  This Congress, we have a new opportunity to end qualified immunity 
and protect our communities. However, that opportunity will not seize 
itself.
  House Republicans have spent endless time and resources establishing 
committees for conspiracy theories but have offered zero solutions to 
the rising tide of police brutality. I call on all of my colleagues to 
commit or recommit themselves to fixing the fundamental flaws in the 
fabric of our justice system. If we fail to do so, our society will 
forever be one in which police are seen as an occupying force instead 
of a force for good.

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