[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 2915-2917]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson 
designated the second week of February as ``Negro History Week,'' an 
opportunity for America to recognize the achievements and contributions 
made by African Americans.
  As a result of promoting our Nation's history of diversity, and 
advancing tolerance and civil rights, this week was extended into a 
month in 1976.
  Today, Black History Month serves as more than just a reminder of 
African American culture. It serves as a reminder of how far America 
has come in the areas of tolerance, civil rights, and diversity and far 
we have yet to go.
  Black History Month conjures up familiar heroes for all of us: Rosa 
Parks and her legendary defiance; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his 
historic leadership; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and his 
equitable judgment.
  There are also inventors and physicians who may be less familiar to 
some of us: Granville Woods, who was granted more than 60 patents for 
inventions including steam-driven engines and a telephone transmitter; 
and Dr. Charles Drew, a medical professor at Howard University who, 
among other things, developed a way to extend the storage life of blood 
from two days to 1 week.
  Interestingly, Elijah McCoy, the developer of the locomotive 
lubricator, is responsible for one of the most familiar expressions in 
the English language. Mr. McCoy, in an attempt to promote his product, 
coined a catchy slogan to remind railroad engineers that his original 
invention was the best: ``The Real McCoy.''
  These are just some of our national heroes and heroines who achieved 
social, political, economic, and scientific goals. By reaching their 
own goals, they also contributed their strength and innovation to the 
collective American thought.
  While the southern United States is the birthplace of many 
significant achievements in African American history, there are also 
accomplishments of note in western States, including my native Nevada.
  Among the African American men and women who hailed from or made 
significant contributions to Nevada, there are a few pioneers I want to 
introduce to you.
  At a time when black people were not invited to participate in the 
political process or the business world, there was a group of ranchers 
in Nevada who thought differently.
  Ben Palmer, who was noted as ``one of the heaviest taxpayers in 
Douglas County,'' was a hugely successful rancher and businessman.
  This may seem commonplace today. But at the time when he was 
prospering, blacks couldn't even vote, serve on a jury, testify against 
whites, send their children to public school, or marry whites.
  Mr. Palmer lived in Carson Valley, NE, which is not only one of the 
most beautiful parts of the State, but also served as an early route 
for the migration to California.
  It didn't take long for him and his sister to deduce that, by 
establishing ranches, they could turn a profit by providing care for 
weary travelers and their livestock.
  Since there was no Federal authority over much of the land at that 
time, ranchers used to just claim a spot of land and water rights; then 
they would start to sell grazing rights to emigrants and cut grass to 
provide feed during the winter.
  By the 1870's, Palmer had established himself as a prosperous 
cattleman. It was reported in the Carson Valley News that he had driven 
1,500 head of cattle from Seattle to Carson Valley to replenish his 
herd. He also introduced fine horses into the Valley, pioneering 
locally with the Bonner breed.
  Despite the legal restrictions facing African Americans during this 
time, Palmer was so highly regarded that he was invited to register to 
vote in the Mottsville precinct before the 15th Amendment to the 
Constitution was passed.
  It is recorded that in 1876 and 1878, he was selected to be a member 
of a Douglas County grand jury, and was named to the panel of trial 
jurors for that year's term of the District Court.

[[Page 2916]]

  When the residents of Carson Valley launched a short-lived political 
organization, the National Greenback and Workingmen's Party, a county 
central committee was selected and Ben Palmer was one of the committee 
members representing the Mottsville precinct.
  He couldn't read or write, but that didn't stop him; he wasn't 
supposed to vote or serve on a jury, but he did anyway; the color of 
his skin was supposed to prevent him from participating in the 
political process, but he pressed ahead.
  It is no wonder that his obituary in the Record-Courier said that, 
``He met success in every meaning of the word and leaves one of the 
finest farms in Carson Valley as a monument. He bore a man's part in 
the battle of life, bore it bravely, gently and without ostentation. He 
believed in the right and practiced the right always.''
  Treasure Hill and Virginia City are two other areas of Nevada where 
African Americans overcame restrictions to find success.
  The mining prospects in Nevada and other parts of the West attracted 
people from all races and walks of life in search of gold.
  Black people came to Nevada in hopes of securing mining jobs and 
finding prosperity for themselves. Unfortunately, most mines would not 
hire blacks, as some whites quipped that they would be too ignorant to 
tell one rock from another.
  This discriminatory perspective may explain why there were only six 
black people recorded as official miners in Nevada in 1870. Another 
reason for their widespread absence from the mining industry may be 
their exclusion from unions.
  Despite these obstacles, African Americans had considerable success 
mining in Treasure Hill in eastern Nevada from 1868 to 1870, noted as 
``probably the shortest, most intense mining rush in the history of the 
West.''
  In April 1869, a group of black miners, headed by William Hall and 
J.C. Mortimer, announced their discovery of a rich mining ledge in 
Treasure Hill and vowed that they would ``supply (their) colored 
brethren of the low countries with mines as good as any a white man 
dare own.''
  Messrs. Hall and Mortimer incorporated the Elevator Mining Company of 
Treasure Hill, White Pine, and planned to issue 6,000 shares of stock 
at $100 each.
  Treasure Hill was an economic advance for blacks and the area was 
home to several wealthy families: Samuel Wilcox, Daniel W. Cherry, John 
Maxwell, Sanford Venery, and Joseph Anderson.
  After fires and poor prospects drove many residents out, Treasure 
Hill was left with only one black resident and only eight black 
residents in White Pine County.
  Another mining district, the Comstock Mining District, was founded in 
1859 and was once considered to be one of the richest gold and silver 
discoveries in history.
  Blacks who had come to Virginia City in hopes of securing jobs in the 
industry would face discrimination; however, when their mettle was 
tested, most were resolute to become business owners. Although there is 
no documentation of a particular neighborhood or area where they lived, 
there is a scant record of the number of businesses they owned and 
operated.
  One of the most successful businesses in Virginia City was the Boston 
Saloon. In 1864, William A.G. Brown founded the Boston Saloon only a 
year after arriving from Massachusetts and initially working as a 
bootblack and street polisher.
  The Boston Saloon catered to the Comstock black population and served 
as a place to socialize and exchange information about business 
opportunities.
  Archeologists and historians discovered the site of the Boston Saloon 
in 1997 and quickly determined that uncovering the history behind the 
specific characteristics of the saloon and its patrons would help 
reveal an important chapter of African American history in the early 
west.
  Ranchers, frontiersmen, miners, business owners--all success stories 
during a time when success was discouraged or denied by ignorance and 
discrimination.
  These are just a handful of the African Americans who made important 
contributions toward the early establishment of Nevada and the early 
West. Countless others have gone unnoticed or uncelebrated.
  I commend Dr. Elmer Rusco of Reno for his tireless leadership in 
attempting to chronicle the contributions of African Americans in 
Nevada. It is due to his scholarship that much of Nevada's black 
history is preserved and presented.
  I am honored to share these nuggets of Nevada history on behalf of 
the African Americans who helped establish the great Silver State, and 
in honor of Black History Month.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, for the past month, we have been 
celebrating Black History Month.
  I believe that Black History Month is not only a time to recognize 
the contributions and achievements of African Americans to this Nation, 
but it is also a time to acknowledge both progress African Americans 
have made and the continued racial disparities in this Nation.
  We usually celebrate African-American athletes, musicians, and 
actors. While their successes have been significant, I feel it is 
important that we acknowledge some of the great thinkers, inventors, 
and discoverers who were African American.
  Some of the great pioneers include Dr. Charles Drew, who discovered 
the process for storing blood plasma; Garrett Morgan, who was the first 
to patent the traffic light and the gas mask; Granville T. Woods, who 
invented a train-to-station communication system; Astronaut Mae 
Jamison, the first African-American woman to enter space; Dr. Benjamin 
Carson, who successfully separated Siamese twins joined at the head; 
and Otis Boykin who invented the electronic control devise for guided 
missiles, IBM computers, and the pacemaker.
  These great innovators and pioneers not only blazed the trail for 
other young African Americans to follow, but they also inspired and 
contributed to American development and progress. Therefore, these 
pioneers were not only great African Americans, they were 
quintessentially American.
  During this time when our Nation's military is engaged in conflicts 
throughout the world, I would like to acknowledge the contributions 
that African Americans have made to every war in American history. 
Today, African Americans serve a vital part of the troops deployed 
throughout the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq. Almost 22 percent 
of the members of our enlisted armed services are African-American.
  Despite all of these important accomplishments, African Americans 
have yet to enjoy true racial equality in this Nation. And, in the 
absence of real equality, African Americans are being denied the 
essence of what it means to be a first-class American.
  Statistics are the clearest barometer for determining and measuring 
the quality of life in American society and far too many of them reveal 
that African Americans continue to lag behind whites in important ways.

       In January 2004, the national unemployment rate was 5.6 
     percent overall but just 4.9 percent for white Americans 
     while it was 10.5 percent--more than twice as high--for 
     African Americans.
       The national poverty rate rose, for the second straight 
     year, to 12.1 percent in 2002, from 11.7 percent the year 
     before. In 2002, the national poverty rate for African 
     Americans was 22.7 percent.
       In 1999, median income for African Americans was $31,778, 
     compared to $51,244, for the median income of white families. 
     According to one report, in 1995, average white households 
     had $18,000 in financial wealth, while African-American 
     households possessed a total of only $200.

  These statistics show the depth of racial inequality in America. In 
addition to economic disparities, the incarceration rate of African 
Americans, especially African-American males, is deeply disturbing.

       Today, black men make up 41 percent of the inmates in 
     Federal, State, and local prisons, but black men are only 4 
     percent of all students in American institutions of higher 
     education, according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher 
     Education, autumn 2003.

[[Page 2917]]

       According to a recent study, while African Americans are 13 
     percent of the population of my home State of New Jersey, 
     they represent a staggering 63 percent of New Jersey's 27,891 
     State prisoners in 2002.
       About 10 percent of all black men between 25 and 29 were 
     incarcerated in 2002, compared with 1.2 percent of white men 
     and 2.4 percent of Hispanic men

  Not only are African Americans imprisoned in disproportionately high 
numbers, they are disproportionately the victims of crimes, as well. In 
New Jersey, out of 341 total homicides by guns in 2002, 138 of those 
victims were African American. In 2000, more than 6,200 African 
Americans were killed by guns. In the 15 to 24 age group, firearm 
homicides were responsible for more than 86 percent of homicides 
suffered by African Americans. In the next age group up, 25 to 34, 
firearm homicides were more than 81 percent of homicides. In both cases 
firearm homicides were the number one cause of death for African 
Americans. The homicide victim rate for African Americans, 20.5 per 
100,000 persons, is over six times that of whites, 3.3 per 100,000 
persons.
  I highlight these statistics about our Nation and my home State 
because the problems confronting the African-American community are in 
New Jersey, and they are in every State. We all bear responsibility to 
acknowledge them, to confront them, to help remedy them.
  There are no easy answers to the problems African Americans face, but 
as Theodore Roosevelt put it a century ago, ``This country will not be 
a really good place for any of us to live in if it is not a really good 
place for all of us to live in.'' So while we take this opportunity to 
celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of African Americans through 
the ages, we should also rededicate ourselves to making America a 
really good place for all of us to live in.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, every February nationwide we celebrate the 
diverse and monumental contributions African Americans have made not 
only for the advancement of African Americans but for all people of our 
Nation.
  This celebratory month was made possible by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an 
African-American studies scholar, who proposed such a recognition as a 
way of preserving African-American history. In keeping with the spirit 
and vision of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, I would like to pay tribute to one 
courageous woman, Sojourner Truth, who lived and died in Battle Creek, 
MI, and who played a significant role in addressing injustice and 
inequality in America. Sojourner Truth was a leader in the abolitionist 
movement and a powerful voice in the women's suffrage movement, playing 
a pivotal role in ensuring the right of all women to vote. Sojourner 
Truth changed the course of history.
  Sojourner Truth was unable to read or write, but she mesmerized 
others by her speeches addressing the inhumanity and immorality of 
slavery. In 1851, Sojourner delivered her famous ``Ain't I a Woman?'' 
speech at the Women's Convention in Akron, OH. She spoke from her heart 
about the most troubling issues of her time. Her words on that day in 
Ohio are a testament to Sojourner Truth's convictions and are a part of 
the great legacy she left for us all.
  I am proud and the people of my State are proud to claim this 
legendary leader as our own. In September 1999, we honored Sojourner 
Truth with the dedication of the Sojourner Truth Memorial Monument, 
which was unveiled in Battle Creek, MI.
  Sojourner Truth was a political and social activist who personally 
conversed with President Abraham Lincoln on behalf of freed, unemployed 
slaves, and campaigned for Ulysses S. Grant in the Presidential 
election in 1868. Sojourner was a woman of great passion and 
determination who was spiritually motivated to preach and teach in ways 
that have had a profound and lasting imprint on American history.
  Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 in Ulster County, 
NY, and served as a slave under several different masters. She bore 
four children who survived infancy, and all except one daughter were 
sold into slavery. Baumfree became a freed slave in 1828 when New York 
State outlawed slavery. She remained in New York and instituted 
successful legal proceedings to secure the return of her son, Peter, 
who had been illegally sold to a slave-owner from Alabama.
  In 1843, Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth and dedicated 
her life to traveling and lecturing. She began her migration west in 
1850, where she shared the stage with other abolitionist leaders such 
as Frederick Douglass. In October 1856, Truth came to Battle Creek, MI, 
with Quaker leader Henry Willis to speak at a Friends of Human Progress 
meeting. She eventually bought a house and settled in the area. Her 
antislavery, women's rights, and temperance arguments brought Battle 
Creek both regional and national recognition. Sojourner Truth died at 
her home in Battle Creek, November 26, 1883, having lived quite an 
extraordinary life.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Sojourner Truth ``Ain't 
I a Woman'' speech be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                            Ain't I a Woman?

                          (By Sojourner Truth)

       Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be 
     something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of 
     the South and the women at the North, all talking about 
     rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But 
     what's all this here talking about?
       That man over there says women need to be helped into 
     carriages, and lifted over ditches and to have the best place 
     everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud 
     puddles, or gets me any best place!
       And Ain't I a Woman?
       Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed, and planted, 
     and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!
       And Ain't I a Woman?
       I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could 
     get it--and bear the lash as well!
       And Ain't I a Woman?
       I have borne five children and seen most all sold off to 
     slavery, and when I cried out with a mother's grief, none but 
     Jesus heard me.
       And Ain't I a Woman?
       Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this 
     they call it? (member of the audience whispers `intellect') 
     That's it, honey.
       What's that got to do with women's right or negroes' 
     rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and your holds a 
     quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half 
     measure full?
       Then that little man in black there, he says women can't 
     have as much rights as men, cause Christ wasn't a women?
       Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come 
     from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
       If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn 
     the world upside down all alone, these women together ought 
     to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! 
     And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
       Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't 
     got nothing more to say.

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