[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1145
                   THE COURAGEOUS LADY FROM BALTIMORE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mooney of West Virginia). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, within the last hour or so, there was a 
decision by the Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby in the 
investigation of the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died under 
questionable circumstances; circumstances that kind of made us all 
wonder where the truth lies; circumstances that cause young people and 
others to take to the streets across this Nation; circumstances that 
brought into a sharp, bright light the question of justice in America, 
the question of police misconduct in America, the question of mayhem in 
America, the question of poverty in America, and the question of bias 
in America.
  Freddie Gray's murder, Freddie Gray's death, and the questionable 
circumstances around his death brought into sharp relief all of these 
issues of race and living in an urban center--brought into sharp 
relief, Mr. Speaker, 50 years or more of abject, determined, and 
callous disinvestment in our urban areas, 50 years or more of 
joblessness, bad schools, bad housing, bad health care, and 50 years of 
hopelessness.
  In the last few minutes, Mr. Speaker, this brilliant, young, African 
American woman, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, made a 
decision; and she decided that, yes, notwithstanding all the 
differences of opinion, the changed stories, the moving target, 
notwithstanding all of these things that happened, she decided that 
Freddie Gray was murdered--Freddie Gray was murdered--and that she 
would indict the police officers who were responsible.
  By indicting the Baltimore City police officers who were responsible 
for Mr. Gray's murder, she made a giant, enormous step for justice for 
young people, young African American men and women, young people who 
live in our urban areas.
  By her decision today, just a few moments ago, she has done this 
Nation an invaluable service, especially for young people, especially 
for the African American and other minority youth. These young people 
have, for decades now, sought and yearned for justice as it relates to 
police misconduct, police brutality, and, yes, police murder.
  This new standard for justice is a standard that now transcends 
Baltimore and transcends even the entire State of Maryland. It 
transcends and it reaches to other points all across this Nation--
Ferguson, New York City, Chicago, Cleveland, and other places all 
throughout this country.
  Mr. Speaker, as an African American male who represents the South 
Side of the city of Chicago, I know firsthand about police misconduct, 
police mayhem, and police murder.
  I must say, Mr. Speaker, that, in my 68 years living mostly in the 
city of Chicago, I have never seen the wheels of justice move so 
profoundly, so pointedly, and so purposefully as I have witnessed with 
Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's actions.
  She has raised all kinds of standards. She has captured the 
imagination of all of us who fight for justice, who want to see justice 
delivered in the true American way, and who want to see an end to all 
the machinations, excuses, turning away, and closing our eyes to police 
misconduct in our urban areas.
  This wonderful, courageous, young city State's attorney has raised 
the standard for prosecutors all across our great Nation. She has 
raised the standards for mayors, chiefs of police, and other law 
enforcement officials. She has raised the standard for even those who 
are in this body. Open your minds, open your eyes, and see the truth.
  Let me just say right now, Mr. Speaker, that the police officers of 
this Nation, the overwhelming majority of them, are good, hard-working 
defenders of the community. They are not lawbreakers. They are there to 
serve and protect.
  We honor them, and we lift them up; but there are a few who think 
that they can get away with all kinds of illegal actions just because 
they can get away with it because the system has a tendency and a habit 
of rising to protect even those who violate not only the laws of the 
Nation, but the spirit of the laws of this Nation, these laws that keep 
this Nation together, these laws that make us have an identity as one 
nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
  These police officers, this minority of those on the urban police 
forces across this Nation, these are the ones that abrogate the 
Constitution, short-circuit our Constitution, short-circuit our quest 
for justice, our appeal for justice, our right for justice, and short-
circuit those just for their thrill of the moment.
  Can you imagine, Mr. Speaker, being handcuffed and leg-cuffed, laying 
down facedown in the back of a paddy wagon driven not accidentally 
recklessly, determined by those police officers who were driving, who 
had him in custody, to maim, harm, and brutalize him, different speeds 
driven by the driver of that van, tossed about because of sudden stops?
  You are in the back of a paddy wagon, handcuffed and leg-cuffed, and 
these police officers are getting a thrill out of tossing you around in 
a steel-encased paddy wagon, not caring about the broken parts of your 
body that might occur, not caring about whether you really live or die, 
not even caring about their oath that they were sworn to when they were 
hired and when they took that oath to serve and protect.
  All those things became secondary to their thrill of seeing how much 
havoc and harm they could cause to this Black man in Baltimore. Yeah, 
they thought they would get away with it, that no one would even think 
to question their decisions, their thrill-seeking, their conduct.
  Thank God there is a woman in Baltimore who said to them, to all the 
police officers who are like minded such as them, said to this Nation: 
No more. No more, not this time. You are going to be indicted, and you 
are going to be charged, and that is the way it is.
  Grieving mothers, Mr. Gray's mother, his father, his relatives, his 
loved ones, his friends, and his neighbors can all now say that there 
will be justice for Freddie Gray. I said, in Chicago, there will be 
justice for Freddie Gray. From this Nation's borders, young people are 
rejoicing now. The day is soon to be justice for Freddie Gray.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Mosby's actions, her courage, her dedication, her 
commitment, and her decisiveness have spoken to the idea that is 
creating this movement for justice all across this Nation.

                              {time}  1200

  She has very clearly and profoundly and without hesitation spoken to 
all of us, to this Nation. Her actions have shouted out that Black 
lives do matter, that Black lives do matter, that all lives in America 
matter, and that Black lives matter also.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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