Date: 2011-02-28
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you very much. the Honorable DONNA CHRISTENSEN. I appreciate greatly your organizing this opportunity for us to speak this evening on something that is exceedingly important to this country. and that is the history of African Americans in America. African Americans are no different than any other Americans. We are all the same. There is only one racethe human race. To a certain extent. I always have some degree of consternation whenever we have a black history celebration or occasion such as this. I have this degree of consternation because I really think we should just have one history. and it really should be American history. but we have these occasions because some of the accomplishments of some Americans have not been properly acknowledged. and as a result. we want to make sure that American history includes the history of all Americans. So we talk about the history of African Americans. the history of Africans in the Americasin the United States of America. if you will. Many names come to mind. We always mention Thurgood Marshall. We always mention Rosa Parks. We always mention the great heroes and heroines who have been on the forefront of making America great. Today. I would just like to mention nameless faces. persons who have never made headlines. who work full time. who take care of the family. who pay taxes. who have never complained by way of a protest. a march. They have done their duty as citizens in this country. and I want them to know that there are those of us who pay attention to the fact that they. too. have made America great. They are nameless faces in the crowd. but they have made a great statement by being honorable. hardworking. lawabiding citizens. To those who continue to do their duty as citizens. we thank you for what you have done. We want you to know that we who have been honored to serve in the Congress of the United States of America will not allow the rollback of the clock on many of the programs that are of benefit to all Americans. This will include. of course. those of benefit to African Americans. We will fight to protect the Department of Education. It means something to have a Department of Education in this country. especially to persons who at one time were lawfully denied the right to get an education. We will fight to protect laws that fight discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear involved an Anglo lady. but that case had implications far beyond any given ethnic group. We will fight to make sure all persons are treated equally on jobs. and this includes African Americans. So. to those of you who work in the trenches. who never or who rarely. if ever. complain. I want you to know that there are people in this Congress who are working every day to make sure that your status as an American is always protected and will always be honored. You. too. deserve the rich and noble history associated with you that we associate with Rosa Parks. that we associate with Dr. King. that we associate with Thurgood Marshall. You are as much a part of this history as they are. We honor you and we love you. God bless you and God bless all Americans. God bless the United States of America.