[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15666-15667]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF LGBT HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 14, 2011

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, October is LGBT History Month, and I 
rise to pay tribute to the remarkable achievements of numerous members 
of this vibrant community and to recognize some of the men and women 
whose contributions and service have made America better and greater.
  I am proud to have supported the repeal of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'' 
which was formally abolished by the military on September 20th, 2011 
after an orderly transition program prepared troops for the change 
without affecting force readiness or morale. Our nation is now stronger 
and our people are safer thanks to the sacrifices made by these brave 
Americans, who no longer need to choose between service and silence.
  There have been other changes for the better this year. In July, 
President Obama and his administration concluded that a critical 
section of the Defense of Marriage Act is no longer constitutionally 
defensible. And, on June 24th, the State of New York passed a law with 
bipartisan extending the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples.
  Just last week, history was made here in the House when our 
colleague, Congressman

[[Page 15667]]

Polis of Colorado, celebrated the birth of a baby boy with his partner, 
and became the first openly gay parent to serve in Congress.
  This chamber has been enriched by his service, as it has by that of 
Congressman Barney Frank, the first openly gay Member to serve in the 
House of Representatives, and one of this body's ablest legislators. 
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was the first openly gay non-
incumbent to be elected to Congress. Congressman David Cicilline of 
Rhode Island was the first openly gay mayor of a major city before his 
election to Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to serve with these great Americans 
and wonderful colleagues who overcame many obstacles and barriers to 
realize the dream of serving their communities and representing their 
friends and neighbors in the Congress of the United States.
  History, and progress, is also being made at the local level. 
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, one of the largest LGBT communities 
in the nation is located in the Los Angeles-Long Beach metropolitan 
area, which I am privileged to represent. This dynamic community is 
culturally diverse and economically and artistically vibrant. I would 
like to take this opportunity to recognize two LGBT leaders who helped 
to make this possible.
  Jean Harris was a lifelong human rights activist who employed her 
uncanny talent for community organizing to electing open-minded city 
officials and defeating discriminatory legislation. A true force in 
California's LGBT community, she served as chair of the California 
Democratic Party's Lesbian/Gay Caucus, president of San Francisco's 
Harvey Milk Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club, and vice president of the Long 
Beach Lambda Democratic Club. Indeed, many local leaders and public 
servants across California owe their careers to her tireless advocacy. 
Jean Harris passed away on June 15, 2011, and my deepest sympathies go 
out to her family and friends.
  In August, I rose to pay tribute to the late Paul Duncan, the 
Director of Outreach for the Long Beach Community Business Network, who 
spent the last ten years of his life working tirelessly to connect 
local Long Beach employers to business organizations from Hawaii to 
Washington, DC. An advocate for economic empowerment of LGBT business 
owners and entrepreneurs, Mr. Duncan was known around the nation and 
beloved by the Long Beach community. He died suddenly of an aneurism at 
a national conference where he was one of 70 affiliate leaders working 
for job creation and expanded economic opportunity for LGBT owned 
businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, progress is made through the efforts of courageous 
leaders like Jean and Paul; people who actively engage their 
communities and face adversity to ensure that the rights of all are 
clearly defined and protected.
  People like the legendary Bayard Rustin, a leading strategist of the 
Civil Rights Movement and trusted advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. An 
early proponent of nonviolent resistance, Rustin organized the 1947 
Journey of Reconciliation which inspired the Freedom Rides of the 1960s 
and helped Dr. King organize the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference which became the nerve center of the American Civil Rights 
Movement.
  Bayard Rustin was a driving force behind the iconic 1963 March on 
Washington for Jobs and Freedom which brought national attention to the 
civil rights struggle and spurred the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights 
Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He arranged the transportation, 
trained the marshals and oversaw all of the logistical details involved 
in putting on one of the most effective political demonstrations in 
world history and setting the stage for Dr. King's timeless ``I Have a 
Dream'' speech.
  Later, Bayard Rustin worked to integrate all-white unions and became 
heavily involved in international humanitarian development and 
peacemaking. Openly gay, he became a public advocate for LGBT causes in 
the 1970s and passed away on a mission to Haiti in 1987.
  Many great writers of the Harlem Renaissance, such as Countee Cullen 
and Bruce Nugent, were homosexual, and the contributions they made to 
literature are forever ingrained in the cultural fabric of America. 
Langston Hughes was probably the most well known, though he was an 
intensely private man and never spoke openly on the subject.
  Billy Strayhorn was a musician and gifted composer whose 30 year 
collaboration with Duke Ellington resulted in some of the most 
indispensible music of the jazz age. Openly gay, Strayhorn participated 
in many civil rights causes and arranged a musical score for his 
friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963.
  James Baldwin is one of the great literary figures of the 20th 
century. The writings of this African-American explored issues of race 
and class and gender. He rose to prominence with the civil rights 
movement and worked to bridge the gap between the competing approaches 
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, both of whom were his 
personal friends. His work and life had a profound impact on countless 
equality activists and writers.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to acknowledge the achievements of just a few 
of the countless number of Americans who defied the odds and overcame 
prejudice and discrimination, and intolerance and worked to make 
everyone including America be a more welcoming place succeeding 
generations of LGBT community members.

                          ____________________