Date: 2011-02-28
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands. And I will join the accolades of my fellow colleagues to express my appreciation for her leadership. and as well to thank her for leading this 1hour on the celebration of African American History Month. I stand to acknowledge that all of us who have this wonderful heritageand those who do not. who count African Americans as an integral part of the fabric of American culture and societyshould really commemorate the history of all peopleand certainly. in this instance. of African Americansthe entire year because we are a very relevant and elaborate. if you will. part of American history. I stand in the United States Capitol. which was built by slaves. Today. Congresswoman. I was in Austin. Texas. this morning. at the Texas Black Legislative Caucus where some 2.000 people gathered under the leadership of the Texas Black Legislature chaired by Representative Sylvester Turner and some members. total members of the Texas Black Legislative Caucus. combined of the House and the Senate. They were there to express their commitment to the values of this country and to lobby the State legislators to do the right thing as it relates to education. And I heard a Member stand up and say that the Texas Capitol was built by slaves. Representative Thompson said that. And so. clearly. our history goes everywhere. And as I spoke. I mentioned Texans like Jack Johnson. the first African American heavyweight champion. Dorie Miller. who won the Naval Cross in World War II. a Texan. Bessie Coleman. the first African American to receive a pilots license. Heman Sweatt. who was the reason for the establishment of Texas Southern University when African AmericansNegroescould not go to the University of Texas. So we have a place in this country. a place in this society. And what we do. as we work in the United States Congress. we have become part of the fabric of this Nation and we fight for all people. And so as we begin this budget fight. it is part of our history that causes us to be part of the challenge to make the right decisions on the continuing resolution and to ask our Republicans to read what Mark Zandi has said. the economic advisor to JOHN MCCAINnot to President Obama. but to JOHN MCCAIN firstwho said clearly that we would lose 700.000 jobs if we move in the direction that they want to move in. Why do you have to have your way or the highway? Why cant you read the data that saysthe fiscal bipartisan commission said there is no value to cutting funding in 2011. that we must work together to cut the funding and work together on how it should be cut in 2012 and 2013. that you actually will lose jobs. and that you will stop the moving of the economy. the rebirth of the economy in its tracks. It doesnt make sense to simply be driven and shackled to campaign promises. It doesnt make sense to be able to speak campaign speeches and yet not understand the distinction of governing. When you come into this bodyyes. we have districts. the Senators have States. but we must realize that we come to govern for all of the people. And so if you stop us in our tracks. you deny the richness of diversity of people who are in need in this country. You deny the descendants of slaves. You deny the families of soldiers who are on food stamps and are in Iraq and Afghanistan the opportunity to be able to survive. You take some $758 million from WIC. women and infant children. You deny dollars going to economic development for minority businesses. You cut COPS by 600 or so million dollars. You take away some $2 billion from programs that would generate economic opportunity. You cut the legal services. And you are obviously not concerned about how we balance this. This is in the middle of the budget year of 2011. And so this is not befitting of the final day of African American history. a generation of people who came through the Civil War. Reconstruction. Jim Crow. the second reconstructionwhich is the civil rights movement. And now they have traveled a journey. being Americans. fighting in wars. and not yet 150 years away from slavery. and here we are fighting to equalize opportunities for all Americans. Because if you cut education. if you cut women and infant children. if you cut small business opportunities. minority and womenowned businesses. you are cutting into the future of this country. We know this is a lopsided process. 16 to 18 percent of the budget and youre trying to get a way to bring down a $1 trillionplus deficit. if you willtrillionsplus deficit. And so my plea in this process as we go forward is to remember some of our heroes. Barbara Jordan was a Member of this body. Her birthday was celebrated on February 25. Her 75th year we are celebrating in Houston. And she reminded us that the people drive the Constitution. but that those of us of African American heritage were not in fact citizens as this Constitution was written. nor did women have an opportunity to vote during that time. but now we come asking that we do work together and that we be reminded of her words. "we the people." And "we the people" includes all people. It is not the Democratic Party. the Republican Party. the tea party. Its all the people doing what is best for all of the people. Thats the message of African American history. striving to make America better as we cite these great icons who went against the odds. I pay tribute. in closing. to Ruth Carroll. who passed just a few days ago. a friend of my dear friends. Dr. Natalie Carroll Dailey and Warren Dailey. As I read her obituaryshell be funeralized tomorrowclose to 93 years old. born in 1918. born to two parents who died 1 year and 2 years after her birth. raised by grandparents. blinded at a very early age by an ophthalmologist who I guess accidentally put acid in her eyes. And then she had to go to the deaf. dumb. and blind school. She graduated magna cum laudeit might have been summa if Im recalling correctlybut she went on to become a premier educator. She went to the University of Denver in Colorado. worked at the University of Texas. places that were segregated. got her graduate degree and became involved in library science. cataloged large libraries. someone who overcame obstacles. Congresswoman. my tribute tonight is for African Americans who every day overcome obstacles. That is because they believe in the values of this country. And that is because they believe that. through any mountain or any valley. as Martin Luther King told us about the Promised Land. that we could overcome. Im asking my colleagues. as we begin to debate this CR. dont look at us as outsiders. people who are always talking of something that you might not understand or comprehend. Look at us as Americans who have a stake in this country. whose history is embedded in this country. Let us work together. Dont lopside a cut that hurts one population versus the other. Remember. 150 yearsminimallyout of slavery. African Americans. new immigrants who are working every day. who are in the United States military. So let me just thank the gentlelady for yielding. and thank you for allowing me to speak to the warriors who overcame adversity and contributed to this society. My commitment to them is that we will fight for fairness and justice in this House and a way to reduce the deficit. but fight for those who cannot speak for themselves. I salute African American History Month. and I yield back.