[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12746]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REFORM OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM

  (Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I came to the 
floor and said it felt like open season on Black men in America. People 
around the country agree that the police killings undermine the efforts 
of good police and break the trust between police and their 
communities.
  Black women and girls face the same threats and many more. Unsettling 
video of a police officer in Texas manhandling an unarmed 15-year-old 
girl in a bathing suit served as a wake-up call to all of us.
  The arrest and death of Sandra Bland reminds us that the fight for 
equal justice under the law continues.
  Black women also face a unique and, too often, unreported violence: 
sexual assault. In Oklahoma, an officer is on trial for sexually 
assaulting eight Black women. Tragically, this story is not unique. The 
challenges Black men face are real, but I was humbled to learn how 
unequal justice affects Black women.
  Black women are the fastest growing prison population, and their 
stories must be told if we are going to break this trend.
  Mr. Speaker, it is open season on all Americans.

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