[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 14, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING CHARLOTTE KING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the Member from 
Delaware (Representative McBride) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. McBRIDE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an incredible 
Delawarean whose impact has long shaped the work of racial justice in 
Sussex County and across Delaware.
  Charlotte King, who founded the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial 
Justice in 2015, has committed decades of her life to fighting 
inequities across health, education, and public policy.
  As we celebrate a decade of work by the Alliance, we honor and 
celebrate Ms. King's continued impact, her tireless commitment to 
neighbors, and ceaseless devotion to the betterment of Delaware.
  Charlotte King has long been a barrier-breaker. During her time at 
St. John's University in the 1950s, she was one of the Magnificent 
Seven, a cohort of seven Black students who enrolled at the university 
amid the civil rights movement.
  In 2000, she moved to the greatest State in the Union, settling in 
Lewes, where she began volunteering with the League of Women Voters and 
was struck by the lack of Black representation in Sussex County.
  The weight of the untold stories and unheard voices of our Black 
neighbors is what drove Charlotte to found the Alliance.
  The organization's primary purpose has been to showcase Delaware's 
history, identify how to support Black Delawareans, and how to empower 
all Delawareans to be stronger, better advocates for racial justice, 
and equality.
  During her 8 years leading the alliance, Charlotte developed an 
organization that offered townhalls with civic servants, from local 
leaders and police chiefs, hosted educational seminars, and supported 
the development of both the Black Voices Magazine and the African 
American Film Festival.
  I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Charlotte in her 
living room to hear the stories of her trailblazing life and discuss 
the ongoing need for progress in Delaware and nationally.
  She is a bold leader, a bridge builder, and she continues to serve as 
a conscience for our State of neighbors.
  In the last year alone, her work and impact has been honored. She was 
inducted into the Delaware Women's Hall of Fame, honored by the 
Delaware Times with the Mitchell Award, and recently named one of the 
most influential people in Delaware.

  At a moment when a coordinated attack on Black political power is 
unfolding before our eyes across the country, it is citizen leaders 
like Charlotte who embody that charge from the late Congressman John 
Lewis to get into good and necessary trouble in order to redeem the 
legacy and reclaim the story of this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize her in this Chamber today and 
applaud her years of service to Delaware and the powerful work she has 
done to move the First State toward justice for all.


                   Remembering Congressman John Lewis

  Ms. McBRIDE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark both the anniversary 
of a profound loss and the reminder it serves at this moment in our 
Nation's story.
  Six years ago, Congressman John Lewis passed away. He was a titan of 
the civil rights movement, who worked tirelessly to deliver justice, 
expand equality, and secure the right to vote for every American, 
including Black Americans.
  Today, however, we are navigating a moment where the work he devoted 
his life to is increasingly under threat. We have seen executive 
actions that would make it harder for Americans to vote. We have 
witnessed renewed attempts to undermine confidence in our elections and 
intimidate those who administer them.
  Right now in this very Congress, we are facing a renewed push to 
establish what amounts to a modern day poll tax on Americans.
  Most recently, the Supreme Court has facilitated the dismantling of 
Black political representation in this Chamber and green-lit racial 
discrimination in voting so long as the proponents simply say it is for 
partisan purposes.
  Congressman Lewis often spoke of his hopefulness for the future 
because he was adamant that tomorrow could be better and more just than 
today.
  It is our job to pick up that mantle and continue that work.
  In 2020, while commemorating the anniversary of Bloody Sunday on the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Congressman Lewis reminded us of his 
important rallying call, to get into what he called good trouble, to 
help redeem the soul of America.

                              {time}  1045

  Throughout his miraculous life, he never lost faith in the central 
ingredient of change, the necessary foundation of democracy, his belief 
in the capacity for other people to change, and, therefore, for our 
country to change.
  He reminds us that hope is not reserved for moments when progress 
feels inevitable or easily attainable. We must harness it, most 
especially in moments like this one. When the reasons for hopelessness 
seem greatest, that is when the legacy of good trouble, necessary 
trouble, is most essential.

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