[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5428-5429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as you know, Black History Month drew to a 
close last week with the end of February. It was a month of much 
celebration and many lessons. For me, it was also a time for 
reflection. I want to take this opportunity to speak for just a moment 
about where we have been, where we are now and where we, as a nation--
``under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all''--must go.
  Black History Month actually evolved from Black History Week, 
established in 1926 through the tremendous efforts of Dr. Carter Godwin 
Woodson. He originally chose the second week of February because of its 
proximity to the birth dates of two great men whose role in the history 
of Black Americans are legendary: Frederick Douglass and Abraham 
Lincoln.

[[Page 5429]]

Dr. Woodson's goal was simple: to highlight the many accomplishments of 
African Americans and their history of contribution to the growth and 
success of the United States of America.
  This year, as our Nation faces challenges unsurpassed in my own 
personal memory, I would like to speak for a moment of what I hope and 
pray our--this United States Senate--contributions will be.
  The 20th century saw great strides forward in equality, civil rights 
and racial relations in America. These strides were made because 
dedicated men and women recognized what needed to be done to right 
wrongs--and then they went and did the right things--sometimes at the 
expense of their own lives.
  Recently, Darrell Green, former Washington Redskin great and future 
National Football League Hall of Famer, told a group of Senators that 
knowing the right thing to do is easy. Doing the right thing takes a 
lot of commitment and very hard work. He reminded us that we are in the 
Congress to serve--and when we are gone, the world should be a better 
place not just for a few, but for all people.
  Twenty years from now, as our replacements in this Chamber celebrate 
Black History Month, I hope they will have cause to celebrate the good 
that we accomplished. I hope they will be able to celebrate the 
progress we made in bringing people together. I hope they will 
celebrate the fact that United States Senators of the 108th Congress 
led the way in spurning activities and speech designed to infect racial 
wounds, not heal them.
  And I hope they will celebrate the fact that we, as today's leaders, 
made great strides forward in parity in education and health care for 
all Americans.
  We all know that education is the ultimate key to opportunity. Our 
public education system is an unparalleled commitment by the United 
States of America to our Nation's children. We need to make certain 
that we provide them with the tools they must have to succeed. Their 
success, after all, is vital to all of our future endeavors. If we are 
to make progress worth celebrating by future generations, we must do 
the right things.
  We must also do the right things to reduce health disparities. It is 
simply wrong that an African American male the same age as myself is 
significantly more likely than am I to contract heart disease. We need 
to provide not only research, but action in this area. Every American 
deserves the highest quality health care, regardless of race.
  I hope they will celebrate the fact that we fought an aggressive and 
effective war against AIDS, the plague of our time--and perhaps of all 
time. A disease that disproportionately affects African Americans and 
indeed, the continent of Africa.
  Mr. President, last month we celebrated the amazing accomplishments 
of African Americans throughout our history. Let us also celebrate a 
joint commitment to ensure that our contribution to Black history--
really, to American history--will be that we serve well, do what is 
right, and leave the world a better place.

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