[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 395]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  VOTING RIGHTS ACTIVIST SHEYANN WEBB-CHRISTBURG JOINS CONGRESSWOMAN 
      SEWELL AT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FINAL STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Ms. Sewell) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on Restoration 
Tuesday to honor my guest to tonight's State of the Union Address. Ms. 
Sheyann Webb-Christburg of Montgomery, Alabama, will be joining me as 
my special guest to President Obama's final State of the Union Address.
  Sheyann was 8 years old and was one of the youngest foot soldiers who 
marched from Selma to Montgomery. I believe that Sheyann is the 
embodiment of the struggle for voting rights equality in Alabama and in 
America.
  On this Restoration Tuesday, it is my sincere hope that her presence 
will remind us of the modern-day fight for ensuring that every American 
citizen has access to the ballot box.
  At an early age, Sheyann recognized that America had failed to live 
up to its own promise by depriving African Americans of their sacred 
right to vote. Sheyann's bravery reminded those around her that they 
are fighting for the next generation--her generation--as fervently as 
they were fighting for their own. Her courage also made it possible for 
me to represent our hometown of Selma in Congress.
  On a personal level, I am thankful to call Sheyann my friend and 
mentor. She was my childhood babysitter, so I literally grew up in her 
shadow.
  Her presence at President Obama's final State of the Union should 
once again remind us of the gravity of our responsibility to protect 
the vote for all Americans. Since the civil rights era ended, there are 
now modern-day barriers to voting. Since the Supreme Court struck down 
section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in 2013, my office has made 
restoring this critically important section one of our top priorities.
  For the past 3 years, my State of the Union guest has represented a 
different aspect of the voting rights movement:
  In 2014, my guest to the State of the Union was Selma's mayor, George 
Evans. As mayor of the birthplace of the Voting Rights Act, he 
represented the dynamic role Selma and her leaders have played in the 
fight for voter equality.
  In 2015, I invited the 104-year-old Amelia Boynton Robinson as my 
guest to the State of the Union. As the matriarch of the voting rights 
movement, Amelia challenged an unfair and unjust system that kept 
African Americans from exercising their constitutionally protected 
right to vote. I will always cherish the time we spent together when 
she honored me as my special guest.
  I think it is befitting that since last year my special guest was the 
oldest living foot soldier, that my guest this year would be the 
youngest living foot soldier--Sheyann Webb.
  All of these individuals have paved the way for me to accomplish all 
that I have today, and I am forever grateful. Their legacy should 
inspire us not to take for granted the very sacred vote, and that is 
the right to vote. Their sacrifices remind us that there is much more 
work to be done, and my hope is that this Chamber will take on the 
challenge of doing that work.
  We should try to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think that 
our work begins even today. I hope that Sheyann Webb, as my special 
guest to the State of the Union, will remind all of us that it is 
really important that we protect the sacred right to vote.

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