[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 23, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H3557-H3558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RACISM INFUSED IN TEXAS POLITICS

  (Mr. Green of Texas was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise, a liberated 
Democrat, unbought, unbossed, unafraid; censured, but not silenced.
  I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to address the topic of racism infused in 
Texas politics.
  Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand a letter from the Justice Department. 
It is a letter that has as its reference Unconstitutional Race-Based 
Congressional Districts, and then it cites the districts: Texas 
District 9, occupied by a person of color; Texas 18 was occupied by a 
person of color, who is deceased, to be filled soon; District 29, 
occupied by a person of color; District 33, occupied by a person of 
color.
  Now, this letter goes on to infuse race into the conversation. The 
last sentence in the last paragraph reads: ``If the State of Texas 
fails to rectify the racial gerrymandering of TX-09, TX-18, TX-29, and 
TX-33, the Attorney General reserves the right to seek legal action 
against the State, including without limitation under the 14th 
Amendment.''
  Race has been infused into this letter. It was sent to the Honorable 
Greg Abbott, the Governor of the State of Texas, and the Honorable Ken 
Paxton.

  Dear friends, at the end of the day, if they can fulfill what they 
proclaim in this letter, there will be more White representation in 
Congress from Texas and less Black and Latino representation. This is 
nothing more than an attempt to silence many of the voices that are 
emanating from communities of color in the State of Texas. It is 
racist.
  Now, in this country there seems to be a problem with people saying 
``racism.'' It is okay to say ``anti-Semitism,'' but don't say 
``racism.'' Racism has not received the same amount of

[[Page H3558]]

acclaim when it comes to dealing with racist issues that anti-Semitism 
has received when it comes to dealing with things that are anti-
Semitic.
  Well, I am not afraid. I am going to speak truth to power and about 
power. Here is the truth: Under this President, Republicanism is 
eroding and devolving into racism. This President has declined to allow 
persons from countries of color to come into the country when he has 
opened the door to Anglos from South Africa. This President has found a 
way to circumvent what would ordinarily be a society that appreciates 
and respects people of all colors, and he is turning society against 
people of color.
  This letter, if they succeed with this, will be the equivalent of 
having a mid-decade redistricting without the empirical evidence 
necessary to do it with a sense of justice. They will do this, and in 
so doing, it is comparable to having the halftime at a basketball game, 
and one team decides, because they have the power to do so, to remove 
two players from the other team and let that team proceed with three 
players, and they will now proceed with five. Oh, no, wait, you have to 
have 10 players on the floor, so what they will do is they will just 
take those 2 players and add them to their team. They will play with 
seven, and the other team will play with three.
  They are diminishing the amount of representation that people of 
color will have in the State of Texas. Republicanism is being equated 
to racism too often in this country, and that is not the case. 
Republicanism has always been about conservative policies, but now they 
are about racist policies.
  This President is infusing, injecting racism into Presidential 
policy. It is unconstitutional. I am going to fight it, but more than 
that, I am going to tell the truth about it. If I happen to be one of 
those who is extricated, who is removed, evicted, I will be bloodied 
but unbowed.
  Mr. Speaker, nobody is going to silence me. You can come after me, 
but you won't stop me. You won't silence me. I refuse to allow 
Republicanism in the form of racism to dictate the policies in the 
State of Texas without my voice being heard.
  Finally, this: I say to my friends that I have on my Texas tie. I am 
proud to represent my State. I am proud to say I stand against 
Republicanism as racism.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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