Date: 1997-02-11
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in recognition of Black History Month. Since 1976. Americans have celebrated. in the month of February. the accomplishments and heritage of AfricanAmericans. Brought here as slaves. shackled. and beaten. AfricanAmericans now represent 12 percent of the U.S. population. approximately 30 million. Despite many obstacles and hurdles. this large group has made significant. achievements in the building and shaping of America. Most AfricanAmericans have on their list of movers and shakers Crispus Attucks. the first man to die in the Boston Massacre of 1770. Harriet Tubman. the leader of the Underground Railroad. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.. a drum major for justice. and Rosa Parks. the mother of the civil rights movement. And. the list goes on. But. if we stop and reflect on where we have gone since the marches and sitins and boycotts of the 1960s. have we really gone far? Despite AfricanAmerican contributions to society. AfricanAmericans are still not fully recognized for their worth and potential to this Nation. This is ironically portrayed by the title "Black History Month." the time set aside to learn the history of a people. One month cannot capture the infinite historical treasures that AfricanAmericans have embedded into the fabric of this society. A more appropriate title would be "Black Emphasis Month" symbolizing that black history should not be a separate course taught only in February. Rather. we should make daily efforts to correct the history that is taught to our children. Our children deserve to know that their forefathers and foremothers had the creative minds and intellect to make important contributions to this society that we may .sometimes take for granted. such as the inventions of the light bulb filament and the traffic light. Importantly. we should use this month as a time to reflect not only on recognizing the contributions of AfricanAmericans to the American society. but we must also think of February as a month in which we ponder the travesties suffered by an entire race of people. The battles are not over. Hopwood versus Texas was a blow to many individuals hoping to further their educations. This decision. which rendered admission criteria which take race into account unconstitutional. shattered the hopes and dreams of wouldbe legislators. attorneys. and teachers. To be sure. the decision did not raise standards. the intellectual capacity is everpresent. Rather. it took away the incentive. that extra push needed by someone that may be from a broken home or a firstgeneration college student. This measure tried to kill the aspirations of our Nations youths. Affirmative action gives those less fortunate than others the initial opportunity to prove themselvesnothing more. nothing less. We will not need racebased criteria once we have the initial opportunity. In 1996. the Supreme Court. the highest court in the land. struck another blow to minority voters. Bush versus Vera. which declared unconstitutional congressional redistricting plans that gave black and Hispanic voters more clout was a setback because it could ultimately mean that those constituents may have a harder time gaining representation in Congress. Rising to the challenges they faced. many U.S. Representatives. including myself. were not defeated. However. you must take note that we won reelection because we first had the chance to serve. Affirmative action is that opportunity. Affirmative action is what is needed to first prove yourself. It is needed as a corrective action to change disparities from the past. When such corrective action is taken away. we may not have any more initial opportunities for success. We got the message out to our constituents. and I want to get the message to you today. to see that now more than ever it is a time to stand up for what so many others have died for--our freedom. our rights. In light of these abhorrent things that are going on today. we must reevaluate. reappraise our civil rights gains. Glass ceilings are not being removed. Affirmative action is being challenged from every angle. We have the opportunity to use these stumbling blocks and make them stepping stones. But we must be active in order to be instrumental in this struggle. What underground railroad are you leading? Are you a drum major for justice. for peace. for equality? We must look the grim facts in the face. We must not be passive. We must stand up and take charge of our own destinies and take someone else with us. Then. and only then. can we. as a people rise up and fight the injustices that have plagued our people since we stepped foot on American soil.