[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 3088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        36-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MARCH ACROSS EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, on the 36th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, 
I stand to say thanks to the Members of Congress from both sides of the 
aisle, the Republicans and Democrats, who came this past weekend to 
Alabama to participate in the reenactment of the march across the 
Edmund Pettus Bridge.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. Speaker, this journey was begun some 36 years ago. The journey 
for freedom and for the right to vote is still going on. It will not 
stop until every facet of our lives are free from prejudice and 
discrimination. But in order for that to take place, Mr. Speaker, each 
one of us must rededicate our lives to the proposition that all men are 
created equal and that they have certain inalienable rights.
  Mr. Speaker, we as Members of Congress must make sure that we join 
the common man not only in rededicating himself to the principles of 
democracy, but we must make sure that our laws are in accordance with 
our democratic principles.
  Mr. Speaker, the reenactment of the march across the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge is not just a celebration but it is a cause celebre. It is a 
time to remember and to reflect upon those persons who 36 years ago put 
their lives at the mercy of others who were opposed to them taking such 
action for the principle that everyone in our country should have the 
right to vote. It was an honor to participate in that reenactment with 
such greats as the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and Bernard 
Lafayette, and others who participated at that time.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us have our Edmund Pettus bridges to cross. We 
still discriminate in this country against the disabled, against gays, 
against people who may not speak in our native tongue. We still have a 
long way to go in our society to make sure that everyone has the 
opportunity to vote and to make sure that every vote is counted.
  So it is not just remembering what took place; but, Mr. Speaker, we 
have to do something about the inequities that still exist in our 
society. The reenactment keeps the public aware of the past atrocities 
in our history. It keeps them reflecting on the fact that we still must 
fight for those things that are dear to our democracy. We hope that the 
reenactment will cause all of us to learn from the past but also to 
cause us to be able to profit from the mistakes of the past, to correct 
those problems of the past, to correct the problems of the present so 
that the future will be safe and secure for all to enjoy.

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