[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6488]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE SAD CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SUPREME COURT DECISION, THE REMARKS OF 
  NEVADA RANCHER CLIVEN BUNDY, AND LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS OWNER DONALD 
                                STERLING

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my disagreement with 
last week's Supreme Court decision and at the same time I wish to 
condemn in the strongest terms, the inappropriate comments by NBA owner 
Donald Sterling and Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who owes the 
federal government more than $1 million in grazing fees that he has not 
paid in 20 years.
  America is a nation moving into a future and our diversity makes us 
better and stronger; and comments and attitudes like those expressed by 
Donald Sterling and Cliven Bundy have no place in our civic life and 
are a tragic illustration of why the Supreme Court reached the wrong 
decision at a most inopportune time in upholding Michigan's anti-
affirmative action initiative.
  With its decision in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative 
Action, the Court has weakened the precedents that protected minorities 
from ballot initiatives that suppress minority civic participation.
  This decision flies in the face of prior rulings of the Supreme Court 
that struck down laws and ballot initiatives that place extra burdens 
on the ability of minorities to participate on equal footing in the 
political process.
  Also Mr. Speaker, let me add my voice to that of the President and so 
many other persons of goodwill in denouncing the racist and offensive 
comments of Clippers owner Donald Sterling. His remarks have no place 
in our society and are beneath contempt.
  It is particularly unfortunate that these despicable remarks were 
made by an owner of an NBA franchise because the NBA has been leading 
the way in showing the world that America's diversity is its greatest 
strength and asset.
  NBA teams are comprised of athletes from every race and background 
who work hard and in common purpose to achieve the shared goal of 
winning championship and thrilling their fans, who can be found on 
every continent of the globe. As an economic engine, the NBA generates 
billions of dollars to the national and local economy.
  Americans do not disrespect or disparage African, Asian, South 
American, or European basketball stars because of their ethnicity or 
country of origin. They welcome them.
  Nigeria's Akeem Olajuwon, China's Yao Ming, Dkembe Mutombo from the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo are still revered in my home city of 
Houston.
  I am encouraged by the announcement of NBA Commissioner Silver that 
the league and its owners take this matter very seriously and I am 
confident will take appropriate action to make it clear that when it 
comes to racism, the NBA has a zero-tolerance policy.
  But last week we are unfortunately reminded that 50 years after the 
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 there is still much work to be 
done in perfecting our union.
  It is perhaps not a coincidence that the offensive comments of Donald 
Sterling and Cliven Bundy were made by persons who came of age during 
the pre-Civil Rights era and that their views are not shared by the 
vast majority of their children's and grandchildren's generation. 
Diversity in education has been indispensable in this transformation.
  That is why the decision in Schuette by the Supreme Court upholding 
Michigan's anti-affirmative action initiative is so unfortunate.
  The Court's decision perpetuates the direct harm to African-American, 
Hispanic, and Native American students and inflicts indirect harm to 
all other students, including those admitted as alumni legatees, which 
is just a disguised affirmative action program for the affluent.
  They are all harmed is because as Justice Sotomayor pointed out in 
her powerful dissent, the Court's ruling handicaps Michigan's public 
colleges and universities in providing the campus diversity that 
``ensures the next generation moves beyond the stereotypes, the 
assumptions, and the superficial perceptions that students coming from 
less-heterogeneous communities may harbor, consciously or not, about 
people who do not look like them.''
  Mr. Speaker, America is a nation moving into the future. Our 
diversity gives us the unique opportunity to compete and win in a 
globalized economy.
  But to realize that future, we must leave behind the long discredited 
beliefs and attitudes of the Donald Sterlings and Cliven Bundys of this 
world.

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