[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SLAVE MEMORIAL IN OCALA, FLORIDA, AND OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 23, 2002, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, as many Members did this weekend, I am 
sure, I spent the Fourth of July back home with the people of the Sixth 
Congressional District. I had the privilege of joining others in my 
hometown community at the unveiling of a slave memorial in Ocala, 
Florida. The local community leaders believed that ``Florida could not 
have existed and grown as it did without the hard work, courage, 
sacrifice and sometimes genius of black men and women.''
  For this reason, a monument was erected to honor the lives of the 
slaves who bear great responsibility for the prosperity we enjoy in the 
State of Florida. However, this is not only true in Florida; but, Mr. 
Speaker, I think it is true across this country. Lest this connection 
continue to go unrecognized, I along with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Hall) introduced the Slave Memorial Act. Both of us and many of our 
colleagues have long been involved in efforts to heal the legacy of 
slavery. This is the latest incarnation of our desire to contribute to 
the healing of our Nation. This bill would authorize the process for 
establishing a national slave memorial to honor the nameless and 
forgotten men, women and children who were slaves. It will hopefully 
enjoy a position of prominence in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial.
  Papa Stewart, a former slave, once said, ``I want you to promise me 
that you're going to tell all the children my story.'' This is a 
conjecture, but I believe that what Papa Stewart is asking for is not 
that the children be told just so that the horrors of slavery could be 
avoided in the future, but I also believe he was earnestly asking for 
the recognition of the humanity of these individuals. We need to 
believe that there is something more meaningful than just our physical 
being. He is asking that this story, their humanity, be valued and 
told. In the telling of his story, we communicate our respect, our 
compassion and sensitivity to it. Papa Stewart's is a story that we are 
indeed in need of telling and hearing in this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, in this new world that we have entered since September 
11, it is becoming easier to remember that evil is an ever present 
reality. It is now easier to remember that hatred and bigotry are 
always and everywhere wrong. We gather to remember that the commission 
of monstrous sin requires not our consent but only our indifference. Of 
these things many of our ancestors are guilty. We can certainly say of 
slavery that it was ``one more wrong to man and one more insult to 
God.'' And as a means of ensuring that we never see the same, we 
propose a memorial in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. We do this as 
a testament to slavery's ``many thousand gone.''
  Each slave was an individual and a child of God. Not only do they 
deserve our remembrance, we owe them our respect. The legacy of our 
Nation includes many people, including those who were victims but chose 
not to be victimized. As Americans, we naturally understand this 
universal story of resilience and strength; and with this memorial we 
have the opportunity to thank the people who so greatly contributed to 
an American cultural understanding of perseverance and, of course, 
independence.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my earnest desire that a slave memorial will play 
a part in healing the legacy of slavery. It is said that symbols are 
the natural speech of the soul, a language older and more universal 
than the words that we use every day. Hopefully, this memorial will 
speak in a language more easily understood than simple words. We stand 
here today to honor the slaves themselves and the men who fought to end 
their slavery. This discussion cannot stop with the troubles of those 
who were enslaved, but must continue on to celebrate their deliverance.

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