[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12447]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CAUCUS ON BLACK BOYS AND MEN

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this time to thank 
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for pulling together yesterday the 
first meeting of the Caucus on Black Men and Boys. Trayvon Martin's dad 
also participated with us yesterday. We need to do something about the 
violence that occurs all too often, particularly with many young 
African American boys, in our communities.
  Black boys in our community face daily obstacles, including run-ins 
with the police, high rates of unemployment, racial profiling, and 
extreme prosecution that leads to over-incarceration in the community. 
As a black man, I can attest to what President Obama said in his recent 
speech:

       Trayvon Martin could have been me.

  African American men have lived an experience of being stereotyped 
and profiled in other ways that most people have never had to endure 
and can never understand.
  Mr. Speaker, it is our job as legislators to create policies that 
create a level playing field so everyone can succeed.

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