Date: 2014-12-01
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. I wanted mention Mr. HORSFORD. He is not here tonight. but I always associate him with Mr. JEFFRIES. They have been a great dynamic duo. And they have done outstanding work with these Special Order hours. In his absence. I want to let him know that we still greatly appreciate him and we miss him. Mr. Speaker. I had a John Carlos moment. For edification purposes. John Carlos was the athlete at the 1968 Olympics who went to the podium. along with Tommie Smith. and raised his hand in what was called at that time a Black Power salute. At that time. much was said about John Carlos and Tommie Smith. Many people criticized them for taking the podium and making this gesture. They were said to be outside of the mainstream. But I believe that history has vindicated them because they were a part of the avantgarde. They actually were causing many people to understand that the Black Power movement at that time was much bigger than many thought. I had a John Carlos moment because I saw this clip where the Rams players came into the arena: Hands up. dont shoot. It was a John Carlos moment because this has become the new symbol. a new statement. a statement wherein people around the country now are calling to the attention of those who dont quite understand that this is a movement that will not dissipate. it will not evaporate. It is a movement that is going to continue because young peoplea new generationhave decided that they are going to engage themselves in the liberation movement. the freedom movement. if you will. the continuation of what happened in 1968 with John Carlos and Tommy Lee Smith. I want to make sure that those who participated on the Rams team. that their names are chronicled in history. I want people who look back through the vista of time to know who they were when they search the CONGRESSIONAL RECORDS. So I want to add their names to this RECORD. I want Kenny Britt to be recognized. Tavon Austin to be recognized. Stedman Bailey to be recognized. Jared Cook. Chris Givens. and Tre Mason. These are persons who in the years to come will be acknowledged as a part the avantgarde. I want people to know also that I appreciate and support what the President is doing with his executive action. I support what he is doing with body cameras. and I support what he is doing with body cameras because I believe that body cameras can exonerate. and they can as well incriminate. They can exonerate officers who are falsely accused. They can provide empirical evidence of what actually transpired. There wont be "he said" or "she said." There will be the empirical evidence of what the camera actually saw. They can also incriminate those who would try to perpetrate a fraud upon the American people. Body cameras can identify those who would engage in criminal conduct and then try to excuse their conduct with words that dont match what the camera will reveal. I believe in body cameras. This is why I have filed H.R. 5407. the TIP Act. Transparency in Policing. The TIP Act would cause the Justice Department to examine the circumstance in this country. the costs for body cameras. and would then allow those jurisdictions that cannot afford to incorporate body cameras into their police departments. there would be an exemption for them. but would require those generally speaking who receive Federal dollars to move to body cameras. I regret that we are getting to a point now where we are getting it right after the fact. We shouldnt get it right after the fact. This is what is happening in Ferguson. After the fact. Ferguson is moving to body cameras. But we dont need another Ferguson. There are other communities around the country where after the fact they are moving to body cameras. We dont need to have an injustice take place before we move to a just circumstance and incorporate these body cameras. My hope is that we will follow the Presidents lead and that we will incorporate body cameras into police departments across the length and breadth and the scope of this country. if you will. But I also pray that this bill. H.R. 5407 will get a hearing. It is overwhelmingly supported by members of the CBC as well as others. It is not a CBC initiative. but it is supported overwhelmingly by the CBC. and my hope is that this bill will get a fair hearing because we should not get it right after the fact. We should have an opportunity to eliminate a lot of what we see as confusion and chaos. We need not continue to add fuel to the flame of confusion. That flame can be eliminated if we but only had these body cameras. They are not a cureall. and they are not a panacea. but they are a positive step in the right direction. I salute the President and thank him for what he is doing. and I pray that we will get a fair hearing on H.R. 5407. God bless you. dear brother. and I pray that you will continue to do what you are doing on the floor of the House in giving us this voice so that we may reach the American people.