[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 148 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5570-H5571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SOJOURNER TRUTH POST OFFICE

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 3851) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 90 McCamly Street South in Battle Creek, Michigan, 
as the ``Sojourner Truth Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3851

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SOJOURNER TRUTH POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 90

[[Page H5571]]

     McCamly Street South in Battle Creek, Michigan, shall be 
     known and designated as the ``Sojourner Truth Post Office''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Sojourner Truth Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3851, which names a post office 
in Battle Creek, Michigan, for Sojourner Truth.
  Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in New York State as Isabella 
Baumfree. She escaped slavery in 1827 and took her new name, Sojourner 
Truth, in 1843.
  After meeting Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1850, Truth began to 
passionately advocate for women's rights and courageously fought 
against racial injustices.
  In 1851, Truth gave her famous ``Ain't I a Woman?'' speech to 
criticize race and gender discrimination at a convention in Akron, 
Ohio.
  In 1857, Truth moved to Harmonia, a former utopian community that was 
later incorporated into Battle Creek, Michigan, where this post office 
is located.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3851.
  Sojourner Truth's life and legacy have profoundly shaped our country. 
Born in 1797 in Ulster County, New York, with the name Isabella 
Baumfree, she spent her childhood enslaved. In 1826, she courageously 
and historically escaped the shackles of slavery when her enslaver, 
John Dumont, refused to honor the State of New York's law declaring the 
freedom of all enslaved human beings.
  In 1843, she adopted the name Sojourner Truth as a testament to her 
faith and her pilgrimage of freedom and hope. She then committed to 
speaking around America about the truth of conditions for enslaved 
people and the rights of African Americans. Sojourner Truth worked with 
key figures in the abolitionist movement. After meeting with the 
esteemed Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1850, she, herself, became a 
passionate advocate for women's rights.
  In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered her landmark ``Ain't I a Woman?'' 
speech at a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio. She declared that 
women and Black Americans deserved equal rights and dignity, and her 
speech was met with roars of applause and tears from activists who were 
united in calling for a woman's right to vote and for equal rights for 
all Americans.
  She was one of the first Black women to win a court case against a 
White person, successfully freeing her son from slavery and bringing 
him back to New York in 1828.
  In 1857, Sojourner moved to Harmonia, Michigan, and later to Battle 
Creek as a member of President Ulysses S. Grant's reelection campaign. 
She died in Battle Creek at 86 years old.
  She was inducted in the National Women's Hall of Fame as a pioneer of 
social justice and became the first Black woman to be honored with a 
bust in the U.S. Capitol's Emancipation Hall.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to honor the memory of Sojourner Truth 
by naming a post office in Battle Creek, Michigan, after this great 
American.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 3851.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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