[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 2008

  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to praise the contributions of 
the Caribbean-American community to this Nation's history and 
development. Since before the 1770's when Jean Baptist Pointe DuSable 
moved to what is now my hometown of Chicago this community has played a 
vital and positive role in the development of this country.
  With over 4.6 million Caribbean-Americans in this country the 
contributions of this community should not be overlooked. This 
Caribbean-American community has brought to us such notables as 
Alexander Hamilton, Sydney Poitier, W.E.B. Dubois, Malcolm X, and 
former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
  Madam Speaker, without the contributions of these individuals the 
United States would not be the country we see today. Without Hamilton, 
would we have been the Constitutional Republic that allows us to be 
here today? Without Dubois when might we have realized that ``The cost 
of liberty is less than the price of repression.'' Without Malcolm X 
would our youth understand that ``The future belongs to those who 
prepare for it today.''
  Madam Speaker, in preparing for that future I believe it is 
fundamental that we remember our roots. I thank the Caribbean-American 
community for their contributions to society and look forward to what 
is yet to come.

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