    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
    [Extensions of Remarks]
    [Page E157]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                              BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                     ______

                                   speech of

                              HON. STEVEN HORSFORD

                                   of nevada

                        in the house of representatives

                           Monday, February 24, 2025

      Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues in the
    Congressional Black Caucus to honor my history--our history--American
    history . . .
      I'm here to honor Black history during Black History Month.
      This is a time to honor our elders, and the struggles they endured
    bringing us to this moment.
      My home of Las Vegas is rich with contributions, milestones and
    heroes that advanced equity in our society.
      People like Hattie Canty--who led the Culinary Workers Union Local
    226 to fight for better wages and job security, including the longest
    strike in American history against unfair labor conditions--six and a
    half years.
      Places like West Las Vegas, which became the heart of the city's
    Black community during segregation.
      Black-owned businesses and venues along the Black Strip on Jackson
    Avenue allowed culture to thrive . . .
      . . . while entrepreneurship and homeownership helped local community
    members begin to accumulate wealth.
      And breakthroughs, like the Sands Hotel allowing Nat King Cole to
    stay and perform there in 1955, challenging racial segregation to its
    core at the time.
      Las Vegas is one of so many, pillars of progress--progress made over
    generations--and progress that is under threat right now by forces who
    want to take our country backwards.
      . . . Denigrating civil rights . . .
      . . . Undermining racial diversity . . .
      . . . Eroding opportunities to grow wealth and better oneself with an
    education.
      What the forces against progress don't seem to realize, is the spirit
    of progress is alive and well today--every bit as much as it was for my
    parents' generation, and the generations before them.
      I mentioned Hattie Canty--I stand on her shoulders to this day.
      I spent a decade leading the Culinary Training Academy of Las Vegas
    that she helped found in 1993.
      It trains thousands of people every year with vocational skills that
    help local youths, adults, and displaced workers find work in the
    hospitality industry.
      The spirit of Black History Month is the spirit of progress--it's a
    flame that cannot be blown out.
      I am grateful for all of the leaders who came before me.
      And my commitment is to stand steadfast for future generations in
    this time of need, just as past generations did for me.

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