[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 122 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3633-H3638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and a privilege 
to share the podium today with my esteemed colleague, Sheila Cherfilus-
McCormick, as we embark on this significant CBC Special Order hour, an 
hour that has come. We are going to dive deep into understanding how 
terms like colored people have shaped our racial conversation and 
histories. This isn't just an exploration of the past, it is about how 
we forge our future. We will be tackling the importance of diversity, 
equity, and inclusion.
  Mr. Speaker, across every field and sector, we are seeing a retreat 
on this promise, and we are going to stress why it is so vital that our 
education system is inclusive, recognizing and celebrating our racial 
diversity, rather than suppressing it. We see a future where 
understanding our collective past enables us to shape a more equitable 
society.

  Remember, this conversation isn't just about us or Congress. It is a 
conversation for every single American because together we can make a 
difference.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from the great 
State of New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Illinois for 
the opportunity to discuss this term that was used in this very Chamber 
just last week: colored people. It is a term used to describe African 
Americans during a debate that was negative.
  Colored people is a term that we hadn't heard in quite some time. 
Colored people are what the signs above water fountains outside of 
bathrooms in train stations and in bus stations said. It was a part of 
life that African Americans had to deal with to show the separation, 
the inequality, and the second-class citizenship that we were relegated 
to for so long.
  Was it a mistake?
  I am sure the gentleman from Arizona feels it was now, but sometimes 
the truth comes out. It was during a discussion on diversity in the 
military and how we don't want to spend--or the loyal opposition 
doesn't want to spend--military dollars on diversity and inclusion. 
Let's separate the Armed Forces again: Whites over there, colored 
people over there.
  Let's go back and let's Make America Great Again. That is what that 
is all about. It is going back to someone's good old days when they 
were comfortable, when they felt they were supreme, and when they 
thought that they had the upper hand. We don't want equality, we want 
to go back to the good old days. Let's Make America Great Again. We 
don't want diversity in the military. That is not for the military to 
decide. Let's go back.
  It is an insult. I was here, Mr. Speaker. I was on the floor when the 
gentleman was discussing this. I rise today to discuss the derogatory 
term colored people. I support the need for diversity in programs 
nationwide.
  Last week, a MAGA House Republican from Arizona used the term colored 
people to describe African Americans and other minorities. He used the 
term very comfortably, although I think it slipped out.
  He used it when he discussed his amendment to reject diversity 
initiatives in the military. He said that this amendment would prohibit 
discrimination in the Armed Forces. Clearly, he needs to enroll in one 
of the diversity courses that he wants to ban.
  Discrimination has a long history in our country, including hiring in 
the Armed Forces. His amendment rejects the success of diversity hiring 
initiatives in the military, and it could return our country to a time 
when race was the only factor in who got hired and who got promoted in 
the military.
  Let me return to his use of the term colored people. Historically, 
the term colored has always been used to separate the races into two 
classes and justified the discrimination that would follow such a 
separation.
  It made it legal to have that discussion. It made people comfortable 
because someone has to be on the top, and someone has to be on the 
bottom in this country.
  We have been used against each other for years. The ruling class, the 
rich, have always pointed to people on the bottom at each other so they 
fight for the crumbs while they stay aloof and get the riches.
  Colored was also a way to describe African Americans, and it has its 
roots in slavery. Laws and official documents defined slaves as 
negroes, mulattos, and other colored people.
  After slavery, Southern States enacted the Jim Crow-era segregation 
to deny African Americans their rights. Stores and institutions used 
the term colored to identify bathrooms, water fountains, and other 
facilities, as I stated, and these facilities were always inferior and 
usually unsafe.
  However, the Arizona Republican and his colleagues did not want to 
talk about the past--this past. They want to live in a fantasy where 
such discrimination never happened, and it didn't exist. However, it 
did happen, and discrimination like this is still happening to me, my 
colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, and millions of African 
Americans nationwide. Even the floor of the U.S. House of 
Representatives is not safe from it.
  This is why diversity programs are so vital to our national 
interests.
  Mr. Speaker, I could continue on. I could go on forever, but I know 
there are other Members who would like to express their outrage on this 
issue.
  We cannot go back.
  We are not going back.
  To people who live in that space, just know that you need to be very 
careful because that is a slippery slope.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable   Donald 
Payne, Jr. from the great State of New Jersey for his remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Nevada 
(Mr. Horsford), who is the honorable chairman of the Congressional 
Black Caucus.

                              {time}  2000

  Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. 
Congressman Jonathan Jackson, I commend you and Congresswoman Sheila 
Cherfilus-McCormick for co-chairing tonight's Special Order hour.
  I rise today with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to 
address the recent comments made on the House floor by Representative 
Eli Crane of Arizona during last week's debate on the National Defense 
Authorization Act.
  While offering an amendment that would prohibit the Pentagon from 
participating in race-based concepts in hiring, promotion, or retention 
in our military, Representative Crane stated that the military was 
never intended to be ``inclusive,'' adding that the military strength 
is ``not in its diversity.''
  Representative Crane would go on to refer to Black servicemen and 
servicewomen who defend our country with their lives as ``colored 
people.''
  These words harken back to a dark and racist time in our country's 
history and should not be tolerated. Representative Crane's comment on 
the House floor was unprofessional, wholly inappropriate, and 
unbecoming of a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
  Furthermore, to have a word like that spoken anywhere but here on the

[[Page H3634]]

House floor in the year 2023 actually speaks to the very need for 
diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  Sadly, in the days since, we have heard from Members on the other 
side of the aisle who have tried to provide cover for Representative 
Crane. We need to be absolutely clear here tonight. For a Member of 
this body to use the words ``colored people'' in this Chamber in 2023 
is unconscionable, and it calls for nothing short of full condemnation.
  From the Speaker of this body to the leadership on the other side of 
the aisle, to those who claim to be allies of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, your silence is deafening.
  Representative Crane has publicly stated that he misspoke during 
debate. However, he has yet to formally apologize directly to his 
colleagues, including our former chair, the previous chair of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, Representative Joyce Beatty, who was 
handling debate on the very amendment before this body, or to the 
servicemen and servicewomen who deserve far more respect than the 
indignity of being reduced to a racial slur on the House floor; to our 
veterans, our veteran servicemembers who have had to deal with the 
consequences of segregation in our military, of being referred to as 
colored, even on the battlefields while fighting for our freedom and 
our justice.
  What Representative Crane said last week while defending his 
amendment was shocking, but it was not unsurprising, given what the 
Republicans have shown us every single day on this issue.
  Right now, in fact, the U.S. Marine Corps is without a confirmed 
commandant for the first time in over 160 years. Why? All because one 
Senator believes his political agenda is more important than the 
servicemembers of our military. That same Senator went on to say he 
thinks that White nationalists aren't racist. Well, what are they, 
then?
  MAGA Republicans have made it their entire political agenda to fight 
against ``wokeism.'' Every time they use the word woke, I think they 
mean Black.
  They want to ban diversity. They want to ban equity and inclusion 
programs and erase Black history from the classrooms. Ironically, what 
Representative Crane's comments made clear is that the very diversity, 
equity, and inclusion programs that they fight against are necessary. 
They are necessary in boardrooms, in our schools, in the halls of 
Congress, and, yes, in our military, which grows more diverse every 
day.
  In fact, more than 40 percent of our servicemembers today are 
servicemembers from a broad array: African American, Latino, Asian 
American, and Pacific Islanders who are serving our country and do not 
deserve to be called anything other than honorable.
  Instead of prioritizing military readiness and the needs of our 
servicemembers, MAGA Republicans are more concerned with stoking 
culture wars to appease their base, which will only make it more 
difficult to recruit servicemembers from diverse backgrounds.
  In fact, I am a member of the Armed Services Committee, and when we 
were discussing this in committee, I put into the Record a report from 
the Gold Star families who conducted a survey of our servicemembers and 
their families who expressed the very concerns around racial tolerance 
and discrimination as a factor of whether or not people wanted to join 
the military.
  If you are so concerned about recruitment, you might actually want to 
focus on eliminating the issues of hate, discrimination, and white 
supremacy in the military.
  My message here tonight, along with my colleagues, is not only will 
the Congressional Black Caucus continue to call for Representative 
Crane to make a formal apology to this body, as well as to the 
servicemembers that were disrespected, but we also want to state in no 
uncertain terms that his views on diversity in the military are 
misguided.
  Representative Crane, Representative Gaetz, and Senator Tuberville, 
we are not going back. We are not going back to the days of the 1950s. 
We are not going back to when our communities were segregated. We are 
not going back to when the term colored people was normalized. We are 
not going back here on the House floor, and we are not going back in 
America, and we will not be silenced. Our military is stronger when it 
reflects the entire American experience.
  Now, it is unfortunate, and, in fact, it pains me that this must be 
said in 2023, but diversity is our Nation's strength, not its burden. 
Instead of using it as a culture war issue, a wedge issue, I hope that 
the Speaker of this body will condemn the remarks of Representative 
Crane and anyone else who would try to bring that type of divisive 
language to this body.
  I commend my colleagues for being here tonight. I know that this is 
an issue that strikes to the core of who we are and who we represent.
  We understand that when we lift up the Black community, we lift up 
everybody. The Congressional Black Caucus may stand for the 80 million 
people across the country, but we stand for all Americans, and, yes, we 
stand for our servicemembers in the military. May God bless them, and 
may God bless the United States of America.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the honorable chairman 
of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman   Steven Horsford, from 
the great State of Nevada.
  It is now my privilege to yield to the Honorable Congresswoman Joyce 
Beatty from the great State of Ohio.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, first, let me say thank you to the chair of 
the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman   Steven Horsford, for 
shaping our message tonight and reminding us so eloquently of what our 
role is to be here as a Member of Congress, as a member of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, representing some 80 million Americans and 
some 18 million Black Americans.
  To our Special Order hour chairs, the gentleman from Illinois and the 
gentlewoman from Florida, thank you for your leadership role. Thank you 
for your opening remarks reminding us that words matter, reminding us 
that as leaders, we are elected to represent diverse bodies across this 
wonderful America that we live in. Thank you to my classmate, 
Congressman   Donald Payne, for giving us a history, for setting the 
record straight.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here today because we want America to know how 
important our work is. We want them to know when we say we are woke, we 
are proud. We are speaking to constituents across America.
  Somehow, my colleagues have started with that, turning that into a 
negative. Well, we are very clear that we are very woke. We are woke 
about what is needed to all constituents, and we are fighting for 
everyone, but, yes, we clearly stand up and represent Black America.
  I rise today to join my colleagues in shedding light on the deeply 
derogatory term that has perpetuated the pain and suffering endured by 
Black Americans throughout history; the term that was used by a Member 
of this Chamber just a few days ago--colored people.
  It was equally as disturbing, Mr. Speaker, that he made reference to 
DE&I as lowering standards, getting less than. Well, today I rise as a 
strong supporter of DE&I.
  Through the bold leadership of then Chairwoman Maxine Waters, chair 
of the prestigious Financial Services Committee, I was appointed by her 
as the first-ever D&I chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and 
Inclusion under the powerful Financial Services Committee.
  Now, I mention this for a reason, Mr. Speaker. We brought in the 
largest financial institutions in this Nation, CEOs of companies like 
J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and the 
list goes on and on.
  Each one of those CEOs under oath testified that they were committed 
to DE&I because it was a good business thing, and it would make a 
difference in this country.
  They hired DE&I corporate executives across America not because it 
was lowering standards, not because they were employing people who were 
less than, but because they had an understanding in this America that 
we live in that that makes us more united, and it helps us avoid the 
culture wars that I am sadly seeing on this floor.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I stand here as a Black woman, proud to serve all 
of my constituents, but, today, it is very personal and somewhat 
emotional for me

[[Page H3635]]

because I am standing here in the same spot that I stood in last week 
where I am now reminded that I was faced to deal with in 2023 what I 
heard on this floor.
  On this floor, Mr. Speaker, the people's House, I am forced to deal 
with what for centuries Black Americans have been subjected to: 
systemic oppression, denied human rights, and treated as lesser human 
beings, simply because of the color of their skin.
  Phrases like this have no place on the House floor in Congress or 
anywhere else. This term, more commonly used in the Jim Crow years, is 
a phrase that is deeply offensive and considered as a slur to delineate 
Black Americans as less than, and it carries the historical burden of 
pain and violent discrimination, widespread inequality, and 
segregation.
  Mr. Speaker, as I come to a close, let me just share with you that we 
live in a world where the United States of America is a superpower on 
the global stage because of our rich diversity, something that is to be 
celebrated, not used as a tool to shame not only us but those 
servicemen who signed up to put their life on the line for this 
country.

                              {time}  2015

  I am sitting here and thinking what John Lewis would say because so 
many of my Republican colleagues proudly quote him: See something, say 
something. I am feeling like what Shirley Chisholm must have thought 
when she was the only female to be one of the founders of the 
Congressional Black Caucus and to stand on this House floor as a Black 
woman having to deal with the things that we are having to deal with 
now.
  Certainly, I could go on and on and do a roll call of many other 
Black Americans, White Americans, and Brown Americans who have stood on 
this floor defending this House.
  This word should not be allowed to be used as a tool to shame or 
admonish those who are systemically marginalized or oppressed.
  I know well the consequences that have come as a result of systemic 
discrimination, whether by policy or by everyday hate speech. Each of 
us, Mr. Speaker, in this body is responsible for challenging and 
dismantling systems of discrimination that have perpetuated throughout 
our society.
  I am going to offer a resolve. We have heard our chairperson say no 
apologies, seen a few statements on social media, but since the Speaker 
of the House issued a statement that there was no place for this, the 
leader of the House supported that the words be taken down, there is an 
issue that can help me with resolve.
  You see, several of us, as Democrats and members of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, have a piece of legislation that says Black history is 
American history. If we really believe in bipartisanship, if 
Representative Crane, as he said, wanted to amend his words because he 
did not mean that, and somewhere on social media he invoked God and 
what this was causing him with his team, then let's have all of our 
Members recognize that there are so many things that Black Americans 
did because Black history is American history.
  If we had the time, I could rattle off a list of things that we are 
allowed to do because a Black person invented it or a Black person 
designed it. If we really meant to say ``people of color,'' then let me 
say people of color have led and continue to lead this Nation.
  A Black man served as President of these United States. A Black woman 
serves as Vice President of these United States. Right here in the spot 
that you are standing, Mr. Speaker, a Black man, for the first time in 
the history of this country, became sworn in by this body as the 
minority leader in this House and held that most sacred gavel to put in 
the hands of the Speaker.
  As I end, I will use my voice and my platform to make the world a 
better place for my children--for all the children and grandchildren--
and my grandchildren, so Spencer and Leah will know that they, too, 
will be valued as strong Black Americans. I charge all of my colleagues 
to do the same.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable 
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty for her remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, for centuries, Black Americans 
have been denied the right to define our own existence. How we live, 
how we work, and how we raise our children have been judged, appraised, 
scorned, and dismissed. To this day, we must fight back against harmful 
stereotypes and brutal discrimination.
  There are forces that seek to maintain the status quo that 
discriminates against Black Americans, and these forces don't just wear 
white hoods. Racism can be subtle. It persists because too many people 
fail to notice or don't want to notice how bias and discrimination 
infect the systems in which we live our lives.
  They claim color blindness and deride wokeness when, in actuality, 
they fail to look out and see the world around them for what it is.
  This is the failure that leads a Member of Congress to utter such an 
offensive phrase on the floor of this body, to insult me and my 
colleagues on the floor of this sacred Chamber.
  This is why we refuse to back down when Republicans propose cutting 
programs that promote diversity and educate us on our history because 
it is not just about history. Black women are three times more likely 
to die in childbirth. Black Americans are more likely to be victims of 
gun violence. Black Americans are more likely to be denied the right to 
vote. Black Americans are more likely to be saddled with crushing 
student debt.
  We face these disparities because of systems that were built to 
exclude us. When Republicans oppose diversity and inclusion, they are 
not just denying our history; they seek to resurrect the worst impulses 
of our history. We cannot and will not let them. Nothing less than the 
fate of our democracy is on the line.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable 
Congresswoman Robin Kelly from Illinois for her remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. 
Cherfilus-McCormick).
  Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my coanchor, 
Representative Jonathan Jackson from the great State of Illinois.
  Last week, a colleague of mine on the other side of the aisle 
referred to Black servicemembers as ``colored people'' on the very 
floor we stand on today.
  I, like many of my esteemed Congressional Black Caucus colleagues, 
could not believe what I was hearing. As a person of color, it was 
jarring. Not only was the Congressman's comment beneath the office he 
was elected to serve, but it was a stinging reminder that racism is 
very much alive in today's day and age. We see it everywhere, from the 
highways we drive on to the neighborhoods plagued with disinvestment. 
As we have learned, we can see it even here on the congressional floor 
and in the Halls of Congress. Despite the progress we have made as a 
nation, a dark cloud of racism looms directly over our heads. We hear 
about it and see it every single day.
  Unfortunately, Congressman Crane is not alone. Republican Senator 
Tuberville has struggled to denounce white nationalism.

  Let me be clear. The term ``colored people'' is a racist and 
antiquated term and is simply beyond the pale. In no place should it be 
tolerated and certainly not on the floor of the United States House of 
Representatives.
  It was Maya Angelou who once said, ``When someone shows you who they 
are, believe them the first time.''
  Last week, Congressman Crane showed the Republican Party's true 
colors and their agenda. It is plain as day to see that their roots and 
what they are trying to push us back to is a day and age when racism 
and white supremacy actually led the way.
  Their attacks on DEI are astonishing and are an attempt to roll us 
back to the dark and gloomy days of the United States when we did not 
embrace and see each other as equals.
  As we stand here today, not only should these words be stricken, but 
every Member of this body should stand in alliance with the 
Congressional Black Caucus to denounce these terms and vow to never 
return back to the day and age where we saw Black people or colored 
people as less then.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Sheila 
Cherfilus-McCormick from the great State of Florida for her remarks.

[[Page H3636]]

  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank both the gentleman from 
Illinois and the gentlewoman from Florida for their consistent and 
determined presence to bring to the American people truth and, of 
course, inspiration. I thank them both for their great leadership. I 
also thank Mr. Horsford, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, 
for his leadership.
  I think we are noted around the Nation and around the world for this 
outstanding presentation of great information every single week that 
enlightens people's minds and hearts.
  Let me take just a moment to honor the Reverend Dr. Jesse Jackson, 
who this past weekend made a stupendous effort, as he always does, with 
Rainbow PUSH Coalition for its outstanding national convention, the 
many people who have come over the years.
  This will not be a moment that I will take to completely pay tribute 
to Reverend Jackson, but I could not come to the floor without 
expressing my deep and abiding admiration for him. I have always said 
that Reverend Jackson, when no one else would be there to comfort those 
who are deprived, depressed, and simply outraged because of 
discrimination in this Nation, it would be the Reverend Dr. Jesse Louis 
Jackson who would be present and would be in the most difficult of 
situations. It is amazing that for decades he has consistently been 
doing this, over 50 years, being the first African American to run for 
President.
  Frankly, I will say that I am in public service because of Reverend 
Jesse Louis Jackson. My first run was in 1984. I would not have won way 
down in Houston, Texas, had it not been for the unbelievable, positive 
uprising of voters who were moved and energized, rushing to the polls, 
excited.
  For those of us who happened to be on the ballot for the first time, 
a young African-American woman seeking to be a judge in the county of 
Harris, I could not have made those steps without the unbelievable 
leadership and courage of not only Reverend Jackson but his wife and 
his family because they were doing it together.
  Let me again express my appreciation. I know it was a stupendous 
conference, and I know that he has selected and given the anchor to a 
great leader. It is a great leader who can make choices of greatness, 
and he has done so.
  I will very quickly touch on gun violence prevention and public 
safety. Excuse my raspy voice, and I will not take long, but I will 
just say that--do we need to say it?--every day, 120 Americans are 
killed with guns, and more than 32,000 people die from gun violence 
annually, including 2,677 children under 18 years of age.
  In our respective communities, we see toddlers being shot, 10-year-
olds being shot, senior citizens being shot.
  Let me, in particular, give credit to the Houston Police Department, 
as they have worked very hard to bring down homicides, investigate 
homicides, and the numbers have gone down. However, it is very clear 
that they are desperately in need of Federal action. They desperately 
need the universal background check, which we have not been able to do. 
They desperately need, in many instances, the ban on assault weapons. 
They desperately need requirements for gun storage.
  My bill, H.R. 52, the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act, 
named in honor of Kimberly Vaughan, a student at Santa Fe High School, 
who was just 17 years of age when a student entered her art class with 
a stolen gun and killed 10 people--stolen from the home. These guns 
were laid out and were owned by a family member. Firearm injury is the 
leading cause of death, as I said, of children.
  Is it difficult to require the manufacturer to say to store guns and 
provide storage devices? Is it difficult for the retailer to provide 
storage devices? Is it difficult to be able to say as a nation that we 
believe in the Second Amendment, but life is so much more important?
  When children as young as 9 and 10 are the victims of drive-by 
shootings intended for someone else, but it doesn't matter--I am 
reminded of children from Chicago to Houston who have been shot 
innocently, shot in their beds, or a woman who was shot in her house as 
the bullet whizzed close to her.
  I am rising today to say that not only must we stop the gun violence, 
but we must also draw together, as the Congressional Black Caucus has 
done, to support funding for gun violence intervention. That is an 
important piece. We must expand responsibility to ensure that we give 
tools to the community to stop violence.

                              {time}  2030

  Workforce programs, as well, are very important. We must do it with 
our cities and do it with our law enforcement. Now is the time to stop 
gun violence in America and save lives.
  Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I 
must shed light on the growing public safety concern regarding gun 
violence.
  Every day, 120 Americans are killed with guns.
  More than 32,000 people die from gun violence annually, including 
2,677 children under 18 years of age.
  And each year, hundreds of law enforcement officers lose their lives 
to gun violence, having been shot to death while protecting their 
communities.
  Gun violence affects us all, but our government's continued lack of 
proactivity towards preventing gun violence has led to countless 
unnecessary, preventable deaths.
  We cannot continue to allow countless lives to be lost to guns, when 
we can instead work together to save them.
  It is for this reason that I, once again, stand to advocate for my 
bill, H.R. 52, the Kimberly Vaughn Firearm Safe Storage Act, named in 
honor of Kimberly Vaughn, a student of Sante Fe High School, who was 
just 17 years of age when a student entered her art class with a stolen 
gun and killed 10 people.
  Firearm injury is the leading cause of death for children and young 
adults in the United States.
  American children are twice as likely to be shot and killed as they 
are to die drowning. And still, there are more safety regulations for 
pools than gun storage.
  An estimated 4.6 million minors live in homes with at least one 
unlocked, loaded firearm.
  One in three U.S. households with children have firearms, and 
firearms accounted for nearly 19 percent of childhood deaths in 2021, 
which is a 50 percent increase since 2019.
  My Bill, H.R. 52, establishes best practices for safe firearm storage 
to protect Americans, especially children, from improperly stored or 
misused firearms, to ensure that tragic deaths, such as the one of 
Kimberly Vaughn, do not happen again.
  H.R. 52 will require labeling for weapons that says ``Safe Storage 
Saves Lives'' to spread awareness of the importance of storage to those 
that purchase firearms.
  My bill will also provide grants and tax incentives to incentivize 
safe-storage devices to those that purchase weapons.
  Gun storage will save countless lives by ensuring that weapons do not 
end up in the hands of the young.
  We must work together to secure firearms and protect children, by 
passing legislation such as H.R. 52 to help prevent unintentional 
shootings and ensure that tragic stories such as Kimberly Vaughan never 
happen again.
  Furthermore, despite affecting all communities, gun violence affects 
all communities differently, with a disproportionate effect on Black 
communities.
  Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die 
by gun homicide.
  Black Americans are three times more likely than white Americans to 
be fatally shot by police.
  And while Black Americans made up 12.5 percent of the United States 
population in 2020, they were the victims in 61 percent of all gun 
homicides.
  According to the American Progress, ``this is due to a combination of 
weak gun laws; systemic racial inequities, including unequal access to 
safe housing and adequate educational and employment opportunities; and 
a history of disinvestment in public infrastructure and services in the 
communities of color most affected by gun violence.''
  Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by gun violence and 
experience gun homicide at 10 times the rate of white Americans.
  Nonfatal shootings, most of our nation's gun violence, impacts Black 
Americans at an even higher rate.
  They experience gun assault injuries at 18 times the rate of White 
Americans.
  Despite not directly causing these horrific events, our government 
shares in the blame.
  Our role as executives in municipal government is to ensure we 
utilize every tool available to us and those provided by the state and 
federal government to keep our cities safe.
  We need to reimagine public safety by holding law enforcement 
officers who violate the public trust accountable, using public health

[[Page H3637]]

resources to address mental health crises, and ensuring all communities 
are not overpoliced, well-resourced with access to job opportunities, 
affordable childcare, and capable social services to improve the 
quality of life.
  We need to increase the use of civilian responders deployed to 
incidents involving mental health concerns and disturbances or 
disputes.
  We need to strengthen governmental agencies dedicated to violence 
intervention and neighborhood safety.
  We need to pass legislation, such as H.R. 48, the Gun Violence 
Reduction Resources Act of 2023, which will work to hire additional 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive agents and 
investigators to enforce gun laws.
  We need to pass legislation such as H.R. 46, the Mental Health Access 
and Gun Violence Prevention Act, which will authorize funding to 
increase access to mental health care treatment to reduce gun violence. 
Being that:
  Suicide is the leading cause of gun related deaths in America;
  more than 60 percent of deaths by guns in the country are the result 
of individuals using these weapons to commit suicide;
  approximately 1 in 4 American adults have a mental illness and nearly 
half of all adults in America will develop at least one mental illness 
during their lifetime; and
  less than half of children and adults with diagnosable mental health 
problems receive the treatment they need.
  Gun violence is a nonpartisan issue with bipartisan solutions.
  We act as though as hands are tied behind our back, despite the 
countless options at our disposal.
  I join my CBC colleagues in advancing their bills that work to 
prevent gun violence.
  Protecting our communities and protecting our family's need to be a 
priority.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable 
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from the great State of Texas for her 
comments.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois 
and the gentlewoman from Florida for holding this Special Order hour. I 
give my deep appreciation to the Congressional Black Caucus for always 
using this time for us to talk about timely and relevant issues.
  Last week, the gasp heard around the world came after a colleague 
from the other side of the aisle was talking about the National Defense 
Authorization Act, about the military, about veterans, and decided to 
call Black people colored people, something you haven't heard in 
decades.
  I thought to myself, we are beyond this. Haven't we gotten beyond 
this? Well, I guess we have not.
  The response was, the person misspoke, so I am going to pause after 
saying that because I still don't understand how that could be.
  It is not an ignorant slip of the tongue. You do not misspeak. If you 
are going to say that, that is because it is front of mind. It is 
because that is how you see Black people. It is probably because that 
is what you have called Black people.
  What is also interesting is that they are not here in the Chamber to 
hear this, to reflect on that kind of ignorance.
  I know we are in a period of time where we want to be aggressive, 
hyper-aggressive, we want to push the envelope, we want to stoke fires, 
but I am here to tell you that we are not going to take the bait.
  Black people are not going to be used as bait in these culture wars, 
and we are also not going to stand by and let you demoralize us, 
dehumanize us.
  What is important to note is that the majority of the people who are 
in these Chambers every single day, helping us do this work, keeping us 
safe, running this floor, are Black. How shameful is it, while they are 
making sure that we are doing the people's business, to then be called 
that; men and women who could be our grandmothers, our parents, who 
fought in the civil rights movement to make sure that democracy was 
here in these Chambers for all of us.
  It is fear and cowardice and ignorance that would allow those words 
to come out of your mouth.
  It is important that you know Black people are not going anywhere. We 
are here. We are in these Chambers. We are in these committees. We are 
in your districts. We are your constituents.
  Show some respect. Show some respect. In my community people like to 
say, you need to put some respect on my name. I didn't think that we 
were going to have to say that in these Chambers, but I see we do.
  This is why we should not be banning books. This is why reading is so 
fundamental. This is why history is important because if we remove 
ourselves far enough from it, we start to make the same mistakes over 
again, and no one wants that to happen.
  We are celebrating this year the March on Washington. We are fighting 
against forces that want to keep us from voting, that want to take away 
our votes, our voice, our children, our presence, our futures. That is 
a lot.
  So on top of that, don't be disrespectful and call us out of our 
name. Colored is for crayons, not to name a person, not to name a race. 
Let's not get it twisted.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable 
Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove from the great State of California 
for her remarks.
  I would like to take a point of privilege and speak to the Record. 
Mr. Speaker, may I make an inquiry about the time remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has consumed 47 minutes.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heart 
burdened by the weight of history and a spirit ignited by the promise 
of the future. We gather here in these hallowed halls of power, where 
words bear the weight of action, and action shapes the destiny of our 
Nation.
  But the words uttered by our fellow Congressman--and I have waited 
for a sufficient response for him to apologize to the Honorable 
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and to other Members that seek truth and 
justice--but he has remained silent, and he says he has misspoken.
  Misspoken means to also not have been made clear, so if he could 
clarify his remarks on who is a colored person--as the grandson of two 
soldiers that fought in U.S. wars, I would like to know what he was 
speaking about for colored.
  When my grandparents could not go on the first-class car after 
returning from Europe, at the Union Station had to go sit in the 
second-class car for colored people, behind Nazi POWs that were allowed 
to go in the first-class car, we are trying to overcome a horrid racial 
past.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you 
a little history. When we hear, as African Americans, our brothers and 
sisters referred to as colored people in the year of 2023, it doesn't 
just make us uncomfortable, it transports us back through centuries of 
struggle, resilience, and a pursuit of justice often denied.
  I stand here before you today, not just as a Member of Congress, but 
a freedom fighter. Our fight as Americans started before the country 
was even born. It has been over 400 years when the first persons that 
were imported from Africa had been enslaved.
  Nearly two centuries after, in 1787, our Nation held a Constitutional 
Convention. It was there that the infamous Three-Fifths Compromise was 
struck. Three out of five Americans that had been enslaved were counted 
as representation for taxation, not for votes. The humanity of a person 
was whittled down to a fraction.
  Can you imagine the audacity, the horror?
  Just 2 years later, in 1789, we stand witness to a profound paradox 
that happened; the same 1789 that gave birth to this illustrious 
institution, the United States of House Representatives, founded in 
1789.

  On the one hand, we celebrate the inauguration of our first 
President, President George Washington--his picture stands proudly in 
this Chamber--a milestone in our Nation's narrative.
  Yet, let us not overlook the uncomfortable truth that this esteemed 
leader was himself a holder of Americans enslaved; a chilling reminder 
that our Nation's foundation was laid with the sweat and blood of those 
in chains.
  In the years that followed, from 1740 to 1834, Southern slave States 
employed another insidious tool to maintain the oppressive status quo, 
the anti-literacy laws. I have not been able to find any other nation 
that had instituted or enacted anti-literacy laws.

[[Page H3638]]

  Imagine a system so threatened by the enlightenment of its subjugated 
people that they made it illegal for the enslaved and free people of 
color to learn to read and write.
  In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, transforming ordinary 
citizens into accomplices for the slavery system. A free territory was 
no longer a sanctuary. It could transform into a hunting ground for 
those seeking freedom. Aiding the enslaved, a profound act of humanity 
was suddenly a criminal act punishable by fine and imprisonment.
  This Act didn't just target the enslaved. It cast its nefarious 
shadow over the entire Nation, implicating all in the perpetration of 
this abhorrent institution.
  In the wake of this Act, 7 years later, in 1857, the Supreme Court 
reached a decision in the Dred Scott case that shook the very 
foundation of freedom and human dignity.
  The Court ruled that all Black people, regardless of their status as 
free or enslaved, were not and could never become citizens of the 
United States. This wasn't just a judicial ruling; it was a 
heartrending affirmation of the racial prejudice deeply rooted in our 
society, a prejudice that permeated even our Nation's highest courts.
  In the year 1863, we saw a light, the Emancipation Proclamation. 
Freedom--after 246 years, freedom, it seemed, was finally within our 
grasp. A bloody Civil War, fought over the right to keep human beings 
in bondage, ended 2 years later, our Nation's deadliest war, and we 
dared to dream of a new dawn for our people.
  Yet, as the sun of liberation rose, the shadows of oppression 
heightened. In a bitter twist of irony, freedom unveiled a new face of 
subjugation. The Black Codes of 1865 were enacted.
  Though the iron chains of slavery had been shattered, this new set of 
manacles were fastened around us, chains woven with legal threads and 
tightened by the grip of racial bias. They were not as visible as the 
shackles of old, but they were no less oppressive, no less real.
  A century later, in 1963, at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, the 
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., gave voice to the bitter truth: ``One 
hundred years later, the colored American is still not free.''
  A hundred years after emancipation, the struggle was far from over. 
We had been unshackled, yet we remained bound by the chains of systemic 
discrimination, segregation, and marginalization.
  The term ``Jim Crow law'' surfaced in 1892. Just 4 years later, there 
was Plessy v. Ferguson. The verdict cemented the doctrine of ``separate 
but equal,'' which inherently meant being unequal.
  Despite these oppressive circumstances, our ancestors fought with 
courage and determination. They fought for the Civil Rights Act in 
1866, and fought in 1964, 1965, and 1966.
  Our ancestors fought for the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. Our 
ancestors fought for the 14th Amendment to have equal protection under 
the law and guaranteeing citizenship. They fought for the 15th 
Amendment so that we could have the right to vote for African-American 
men.
  These victories did not come easy. They were bought with blood, 
sweat, and tears of our forebears.
  Today, we find ourselves in 2023, but the echoes of our past are 
loud. Our colleague, Mr. Crane, has evoked the ghost of a very painful 
past by addressing us in this Chamber as colored people.

                              {time}  2045

  We have served in every war, Mr. Crane. It is a term as archaic as 
the prejudices it represents.
  In doing so, he blurs the line between past and present, reminding us 
of an era we have struggled to move beyond. His words are not just a 
singular lapse in judgment but a symptom of a much larger disease--a 
disease that seeped into the highest courts of our land, where the 14th 
Amendment--the very symbol of our freedom--has been twisted into a 
weapon against affirmative action.
  This very amendment, a cornerstone of liberty and equality, has been 
misused to dismantle a policy intended to level the playing field that 
has been historically skewed against African Americans.
  Our attention is then drawn to the targets of this regressive 
decision: Harvard University, founded in 1636, and the University of 
North Carolina founded in 1789. The Supreme Court in 2023, cited the 
14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, in the name of Make America Great 
Again.
  Now, we have our colleague (Mr. Crane) using the words ``colored,'' 
the words that my mother and father had to see growing up in South 
Carolina and Florida and Virginia for colored water fountains, colored 
schools.
  Can we please move forward? Can we please demand an apology to this 
great body of distinguished men and women from Mr. Crane?
  I ask: Is it truly a coincidence that these specific institutions 
have been targeted as the battlegrounds for the dismantling of 
affirmative action, or is it an insidious reminder of our painful 
history, a pointed jab at the very heart of our struggle for equality 
and access in opportunity?
  The African American community has been in bondage longer than we 
have ever been free. Our exclusion has lasted longer than our 
inclusion. Even half a century after the Civil Rights Act of 1965, we 
ask ourselves: Are we truly free to meritocratically grow?
  This timeline, this history is a testament to our resilience. It is a 
reminder of our past, a measure of our progress, and a marker of the 
journey ahead. We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before 
us, those who have struggled, and those who have sacrificed. We owe it 
to them and to ourselves to keep the flame of justice burning bright.
  This journey has been long, and it is not over, but we will not 
falter, we will not tire, we will not rest until we can unequivocally 
say that we are free--until justice is not just a word in our Pledge of 
Allegiance but a reality in our lives.
  Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Illinois has consumed 58 
minutes and 47 seconds.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.

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