[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2454]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    IN CELEBRATION OF BLACKS WHO HAVE CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 25, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Black History Month 
and to enter into the Record an editorial from New York CaribNews for 
the week ending February 19, 2008, ``Blacks Who Helped Change the 
Course of History and Improved the Quality of People's Lives 
Everywhere.''
  This editorial makes mention of many Blacks who have contributed to 
American history, with deeds that have benefited the lives of all 
Americans. Some of these pioneers have familiar names--other names are 
not as familiar, however, their contributions are important all the 
same. They include: Oscar DePriest, the first Black Congressman of the 
20th century; Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and White House advisor; A. 
Philip Randolph, the trade union leader; and Dr. Charles Drew, the 
pioneer of blood plasma. This editorial highlights the many 
accomplishments of Black Americans in religion, the arts, education, 
and science. It would take years to complete a list of all the 
accomplishments Blacks have made in America, which have transformed our 
own lives, as well as those of people around the world.

             [From the New York Carib News, Feb. 19, 2008]

  Blacks Who Helped To Change the Course of History and Improved the 
                  Quality of People's Lives Everywhere

       ``Ask historians about Oliver Cromwell and they would 
     quickly point to the man who became Lord Protector of 
     England, Ireland and Scotland between 1653-58.
       But there was another Oliver Cromwell, who was born in 
     Burlington County in New Jersey, exactly a century after the 
     gentleman who essentially was a dictator turned down the 
     English crown.
       While the American is often ignored by the chroniclers of 
     the nation's past, the fact of the matter is that he made his 
     presence felt when George Washington crossed the Delaware 
     River on the Windy night of December 25, 1776 to attempt to 
     capture the British garrison at Trenton. Actually, the Black 
     man was among 2,400 hand picked troops who caught the 
     unsuspecting mercenaries of the British unawares. It was a 
     much needed victory that did much to lift the spirits of 
     colonists and boost people's morale. The rest, as they say, 
     is history. George Washington and his forces eventually went 
     on to victory in the battle for independence stretched over a 
     number of years after the river Crossing.
       This episode is important because what it demonstrates once 
     again is the role which Blacks played in fighting for 
     America's freedom. They were present at the creation of the 
     nation and have been working assiduously ever since. In 
     almost every major battle in America's history, whether 
     military or civil, Blacks have shouldered their share of the 
     burden and took up the challenge of defending or building the 
     country.
       They persisted against all odds.
       Today, their names litter the pages of history, covering 
     everything from religion, science, the arts, health, 
     education make such a long list of Black pioneers that it 
     would take years to complete.
       Some like the Benjamin Banneker, a mathematical wizard; 
     Prince Hall, the fraternal leader; Paul Cuffee, a late 18th 
     century ship builder and owner; Elijah McCoy and Granville 
     Wood, inventors; George Washington Carver, the savior of 
     southern agriculture; Daniel Hale Williams, the first 
     successful heart surgeon; and Charles Drew, the pioneer in 
     blood plasma. In their different ways these Blacks helped to 
     transform our lives, making them better for every one.
       But the list doesn't end there. Harriet Tubman, the 
     liberator of slaves; Sojourner Truth, a pilgrim of freedom; 
     Madame C.J. Walker, the cosmetics manufacturer; Paul R. 
     Williams the architect, and A.G. Gaston, the shining light 
     for free enterprise who showed the way forward towards 
     success in commerce are also among them.
       How about the contributions of Oscar DePriest, the first 
     Black Congressman of the 20th century; A. Philip Randolph, 
     the pre-eminent trade union leader; Edward W. Brooke, the 
     U.S. Senator from Massachusetts who represented a new breed 
     of politicians in Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the 
     great humanist and civil rights leader of the 20th and any 
     century; Mary McLeod Bethune, the cotton-picker, educator and 
     White House adviser; and Congressman Charles Rangel, the long 
     serving Democrat from Harlem and Chairman of the Ways & Means 
     Committee of the House of Representatives, an eloquent voice 
     for reason and social justice? They are but a small sampling 
     of the voices for the multitude.
       Think of the persons who helped to widen the entrance to 
     education and Carter Woodson, the father of Black History 
     Month, Arthur Schomburg, the bibliophile and antiquarian, 
     Alain Locke, the Rhodes Scholar and philosopher, and John 
     Hope Franklin, the historian spring quickly to mind.
       James Weldon Johnson, the gentleman of letters, Gwendolyn 
     Brooks, a Pulitzer Prize winner and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the 
     people's poet are among the tellers of troubled or delightful 
     tales.
       These Black American contributors helped to ease our pain, 
     bring smiles to our faces and opened human civilization to 
     new vistas.
       In the process they became worthy of the praise being 
     showered on them and many more African-Americans during Black 
     History month.

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