[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 72 (Friday, April 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2106-H2108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE CONSCIENCE AGENDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. And still I rise, Mr. Speaker. I rise today as a 
proud descendant of the enslaved people who are the foundational 
mothers and fathers of our country. They are the persons who laid the 
economic foundation that we all reside upon today.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give an update on the conscience agenda. 
I rise to give an update because we have had something new that we have 
to add to the agenda.
  Previously, we had announced that the agenda would consist of 
expanding a Slavery Remembrance Day. August 20 of 1619 is a day that 
will live in infamy. It was a seminal moment in time for this country 
because it was on that day that persons upon a ship, the White Lion, 
docked at a place called Point Comfort, near what we now call Norfolk, 
Virginia.
  On that ship were persons of African ancestry, the first 20 Africans. 
There may be some debate as to the number, but approximately 20 is what 
is recorded in most places, it seems. The first 20 Africans were traded 
for goods. They became the first enslaved people in this country.
  August 20 of 1619, a day that was a seminal moment then and a seminal 
moment now because of the impact it has had on our country. Slavery 
should be remembered.
  We have a Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I completely, absolutely, 
and totally support it. I was at the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony 
just recently where we commemorated those persons who were victims of 
the holocaust. We have a 9/11 remembrance day. We have a Pearl Harbor 
Remembrance Day. We must have a Slavery Remembrance Day.
  I am proud to let the world know that this House of Representatives 
did pass a resolution commemorating slavery remembrance. It did not 
make it through the Senate, but the House did pass it.
  I am also honored to say that our President, the Honorable Joe Biden, 
recognized Slavery Remembrance Day with a press release. Last year, in 
Houston, Texas, we had an official Slavery Remembrance Day 
Commemoration Breakfast. At that breakfast, we had over a thousand 
people in attendance. We will have another such breakfast on August 20 
of this year. Slavery Remembrance Day is a part of the conscience 
agenda.
  We also have on the conscience agenda the awarding of a Congressional 
Gold Medal to the enslaved Americans of African ancestry.
  Why? Because in this country, we have reviled the enslaved and 
revered the enslavers. In this country, we have named military bases 
and schools after enslavers. We have not done such things, to any great 
degree that I am aware of, for the enslaved persons. We

[[Page H2107]]

revered the enslavers and reviled the enslaved.
  There is something a little bit more sinister associated with this. 
It is the notion that there seems to be an expectation that the 
descendants of the enslaved behave as perfect victims.
  Behave as perfect victims. Allow your ancestors to be dishonored, 
allow them to be disrespected. Be the perfect victim. Allow schools 
that you send your children to, to be named after enslavers. Allow 
military bases that your young people will go to and serve, when 
serving in the military--do this and don't complain. Don't complain; it 
is okay. After all, they were the enslaved.
  But we will salute, revere, give great honor, and lionize those who 
were the enslavers. Something sinister about that, expecting the 
descendants to appreciate the revering of the enslavers while reviling 
the enslaved. Something sinister about it. It boggles the mind.
  I refuse to be a perfect victim. I am not going to honor the 
enslavers, and I think that we should honor the enslaved. This is why 
we are asking this Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 
enslaved. They are the people who helped construct this very facility 
that we are in. They are the people who, with their humble hands, 
helped to erect the White House and build it. They are the people who 
built roads and bridges, planted the crops, harvested the crops, and 
fed the Nation. Many of them were born into slavery. Babies were 
enslaved in this country, lived as children in slavery, and died as 
slaves for hundreds of years.
  People expect the Al Greens of the world to be perfect victims, just 
accept it. I refuse to be a perfect victim. This is why I am asking for 
a Congressional Gold Medal for the enslaved persons who are the 
foundational mothers and fathers of this country.
  There is another reason for asking. We, in 1956, awarded a 
Congressional Gold Medal to the enslavers. The Confederate soldiers 
were awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. No such thing for the people 
who built the country, whose lives were sacrificed so that we could 
have this economic power that we have today.
  By the way, I love my country. I sing the National Anthem. I stand 
and I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I am not a person who, with some 
great degree of disdain, disrespects the flag. I don't do it.
  But I will say this: The greatness of America will not be measured by 
whether I salute the flag or sing the National Anthem. The greatness of 
America is measured by whether I will stand up for the rights of those 
who choose not to salute the flag, who choose not to sing the National 
Anthem. I do; I stand up for them.
  I would want you to know that if we can, as we did in 1956, give a 
Congressional Gold Medal to the enslavers, surely we can accord a 
Congressional Gold Medal to the enslaved. Just as we have done it for 
those who would have kept them in bondage, we can do it for those 
persons whose lives were sacrificed such that we would have this 
facility, such that we would have the economic engine that we have 
today. So we ask for the Congressional Gold Medal.
  We have also noted that Richard Russell, a self-proclaimed white 
supremacist--Richard Russell's name is on the Russell Senate Office 
Building, a self-proclaimed white supremacist. He fought antilynching 
legislation that we just passed in the last Congress.

  He was self-proclaimed, fought integration, and was one of the 
authors of the Southern Manifesto. Richard Russell's name is on the 
Russell Senate Office Building. That is the Richard Russell. His name 
ought not be there.
  These are the enslaved persons who were brought here, a depiction of 
them, in 1619.
  The Richard Russell Office Building is a symbol of national shame. 
The Senate has been in the process of, along with this House, taking 
the names of Confederate soldiers off of military bases. But that same 
Senate will not remove the name of Richard Russell from a building that 
it resides in, the Richard Russell Office Building, a symbol of 
national shame.
  I do not enter the Richard Russell Office Building. I have enough 
respect for myself. I am not a perfect victim. I am a one-person 
protest. It is better to stand alone on some questions than not stand 
at all. I don't have any problem with standing alone when it comes to 
this facility.
  Richard Russell has a rotunda in this facility devoted to him, with a 
statue of Richard Russell. Richard Russell, the self-proclaimed white 
supremacist, the same who fought integration, the same Richard Russell 
who coauthored the Southern Manifesto, a building named after a racist, 
bigot, self-proclaimed white supremacist.

                              {time}  1115

  His name needs to come off of that building and it should revert to 
the name that it had before his name was placed on it, which was the 
Old Senate Office Building. If we would like to name it something more, 
we can. The Senate is participating in the shaming of the Nation by 
allowing this name to stay on this building.
  The Senate but only has to have the will to remove the name. The same 
will that it had when it decided that we would take the names of 
Confederate soldiers off of military bases. If the Senate can take the 
names of Confederate soldiers off of military bases, surely it can 
acquire the will to remove Richard Russell's name from a building that 
the Senate has control over. It is a symbol of national shame.
  Now to the update. Not only is Richard Russell's name on the Senate 
Office Building, but his name is also on legislation. I am not the 
perfect victim. His name is on legislation. I have a piece of 
legislation in my hand that bears the name of Richard Russell. I will 
not single this piece of legislation out because there are other 
pieces.
  The substance of the legislation, I have no quarrel with. I do take 
issue with having legislation named after a person, in honor of a 
person, who is a self-proclaimed white supremacist, and in honor of a 
person who fought anti-lynching legislation. It is the same person who 
coauthored the Southern Manifesto. I refuse to allow it. I will not 
participate in it. His name should be removed from the Russell Senate 
Office Building.
  This piece of legislation, as I have indicated, bears his name. It is 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Program. His name 
shouldn't be on a school lunch program. It shouldn't. I can think of 
some other names that would be removed immediately, if not sooner, if 
they were on a school lunch program. I can. His name should be removed.
  I am filing legislation--this is the update--to have Richard 
Russell's name removed from all legislation that happens to bear it 
currently--all legislation--and to never have his name listed again. He 
is a symbol of national shame. His name should be removed. I refuse to 
be the perfect victim. The expectation that I don't respect myself 
enough to stand up for myself.
  What is so ironic about this, and it really breaks my heart, is to 
know that there are people who know this. They know this. There are 
people of color, African ancestry, and they know this. They still 
frequent the Richard Russell Office Building, a symbol of national 
shame.
  At some point, my dear friends, we have to cease to be the perfect 
victim and allow others to expect, and ourselves to participate, in the 
shaming of our ancestors, and the treatment that African Americans have 
received in this country by a Richard Russell, having a building named 
in his honor. We have to remove his name.
  This agenda also includes some other things. That was the update. 
Let's go ahead and refresh memories now.
  We have another item on the agenda, and that is enacting the 
Securities and Exchange Atonement Act.
  Friends, I had the honor, the singular honor, of serving as the 
chairperson of the Oversight Subcommittee on the full Financial 
Services Committee. I did so under the leadership of the Honorable 
Maxine Waters. Under her leadership, we found that there are banks in 
this country--the big banks, the major banks--these banks, through 
their predecessor institutions, these banks literally made loans so 
that masters, as they were called, could buy slaves--enslaved people. 
They would buy them.
  If the master did not make the payments, defaulted, the bank 
repossessed the people and treated them as chattels. I refuse to be the 
perfect victim. This behavior necessitates atonement.

[[Page H2108]]

We need to do what this legislation will call for, and that is--let's 
do the research, let's find out which of these banks benefited from 
this institution of slavery because they made a profit when they made 
these loans. They need to atone. That is what this legislation is all 
about.
  We also found out that the major insurance companies insured human 
beings as chattels. When the master's chattel, the human being that was 
enslaved, had some death that was one that would require the master to 
be compensated, the master received payment for the death of an 
enslaved person. This has to change. There has to be some atonement for 
this. That is what this Securities and Exchange Atonement Act is all 
about.
  The last thing on the agenda currently is the establishing of the 
department of reconciliation. To get all of these things done requires 
reconciliation. Reconciliation is bigger than the institution of 
slavery.
  There are others who necessitate reconciliation, as well. An example 
would be the indigenous population, the persons who were here when the 
Europeans arrived. The indigenous population, those persons who 
suffered what we call the trail of tears. Literally, they were uprooted 
from their homes and forced to move across the country, simply because 
others wanted their land. They just took it and forced them to move. 
Many died along the way. We need to reconcile for this.
  There were the persons who were placed in these camps when we were at 
war with Japan. They lost their homes and property. We need to 
reconcile. There is reconciliation that must be had and this department 
would help us do this.
  Right now we have a Department of Labor to deal with labor issues. We 
have a Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of Labor reports directly to 
the President. We have the Department of Commerce to deal with issues 
associated with commerce. The Secretary of Commerce reports to the 
President.
  We need a department of reconciliation with a secretary of 
reconciliation and undersecretaries of reconciliation to deal with all 
these various areas that need to be reconciled, and that person should 
report directly to the President.
  Reconciliation is not going to occur over one Presidency. It is not 
going to occur in a few years. It may take decades, but we will have 
the department to get it done. Just as we are going to keep a 
Department of Commerce, we should have and maintain and keep, if you 
will, a department of reconciliation. It is absolutely necessary for us 
to do this. If we should do so, we can also deal with some other issues 
that require reconciliation.

  This is the way a great nation should respond. A nation that requires 
liberty and justice for all. That is what is in our Pledge of 
Allegiance. A nation founded on the notion that all persons are created 
equal, who are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights, among 
them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is what this 
Nation was founded on.
  We have to live up to the promise and the pledge. We have to live up 
to the words in the Declaration of Independence. We have a duty and a 
responsibility to posterity to correct the injustices that were 
perpetrated. I have a duty and a responsibility to myself to decline to 
be the perfect victim.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise and I stand in this, the well of the House, not 
the perfect victim, but as a proud descendent of the enslaved people 
who helped construct this very facility. I do so knowing that there 
will be resistance to what I do, but I do so knowing that that 
resistance cannot withstand the bending of the arc of the moral 
universe toward justice for the enslaved people who are the 
foundational mothers and fathers of this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a descendent of these enslaved people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for 
yielding and I certainly share his commitment and I share your pride. I 
know you stand for justice. I know you stand for the cause of all folks 
who have been marginalized. I know of your commitment to our 
servicemembers during World War II.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank a member of my staff on the House Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs for his valued service to veterans, this Congress, 
and our country.
  Miguel Salazar joined our committee as our communications director in 
2019 as Democrats took back the House, and he was an integral part of 
the committee's efforts to deliver meaningful change for our Nation's 
veterans.
  When my Honoring our PACT Act was signed into law last year, Miguel 
worked tirelessly with our communications team to ensure that the 3.5 
million newly eligible veterans became aware of the benefits they were 
entitled to.
  As a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps Reserve, Miguel has 
embodied the very best of public service. He has been a true leader and 
an invaluable member of my staff. The work of my committee and this 
legislative body have been made better by Miguel's contributions. He 
will be deeply missed.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I compliment the gentleman for 
recognizing a staffer. This is what I would expect from him, to be 
quite honest. He has demonstrated in his years in Congress a desire to 
see that all people are treated fairly. He has not only demonstrated a 
desire, but he has actually demonstrated it by way of a voting record 
that evidences the will to see that it is done.
  Mr. Speaker, I compliment the gentleman and it is what I would expect 
from him.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I was trying to remember the gentleman's 
cause, which was the merchant mariners during World War II.
  I was at an event with Senator McConnell which commemorated the 
service of these merchant mariners who played such a critical role 
serving our Nation during World War II. They weren't in uniform, but 
they died at tremendous numbers.
  I share Mr. Green's concern that we need to do something for these 
surviving merchant mariners before they all die. They served our 
country in an incredible way.

                              {time}  1130

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
remarks. I also thank my friend for helping us to shepherd it through 
the House in the last Congress. We didn't get it through the Senate, 
but it got through the House because of his hands, and I appreciate it.
  Mr. Speaker, before I yield the floor, following the example of my 
colleague, I would like to commend an employee, actually an intern, who 
has worked in our office and has been of great service to us. Because 
this is an intern, I won't give the full name, but her first name is 
quite similar to my name. My name is Alexander. Most people know me as 
Al. Hers is Alex.
  Alex is with us today. She is a person who, quite frankly, has 
matured beyond her years and has rendered a great service to our 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Alex very much for her service to our country, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.

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