Date: 2015-05-18
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today along with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus. in support of todays Special Order Hour: "The Urgency of Now: Addressing Reform. Accountability. Equality and Diversity." As the conscience of the Congress since 1971. these issues are of paramount importance to the Congressional Black Caucus in the 114th Congress. There is a crisis in Americaone that centers on criminal justice reform and law enforcement accountability. Just over a month ago. Freddie Gray lost his life at the hands of the police in a city plagued by a weak economy. high levels of crime. and a lack of goodpaying jobs. While Baltimore is a city with a unique set of issues. its problems are common to many of Americas inner cities. The pressure to address. not only the police accountability and criminal justice issues. but the context in which those issues arise. grows exponentially with each new tragedy. As we watch American cities battered. bruised and burned during demonstrative outcries against injustice. I am reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history. there "is" such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action." These words are just as true today as they were when Dr. King delivered them at the 1963 March on Washington. Far too often. unarmed African American men die at the hands at police officers with little or no accountability. This reinforces the painful narrative that black life is not valued in this country. It is sad. yet very telling. that Americans celebrated when state officials announced that criminal charges were being brought against the Baltimore police involved in Freddie Grays death. For too long. AfricanAmerican communities nationwide felt as if no one could hear its cry. But the cries are not just the result of pain caused by police brutality. They are the result of a nation divided: one that grants access to quality healthcare to some. while denying it for others. one that provides economic security for a privileged few. while denying opportunities to the poor and the middle class. one that seeks justice for the unwarranted taking of a human life. while ignoring the rising death toll of American youth at the hands of police officers. We cannot view the situations in Baltimore and Ferguson as limited incidents. instead. we have to look at the toxic environments that birthed these situations of unrest. If we do not comprehensively address the systemic issues that plague cities like Baltimore. relations between the people and its government will only grow worse. It is time that we honor the sacred truth of this nationthat all men are created equal. and demand equal justice. As we strive to become a more perfected union. it is imperative that the commitments of the American system be applied to AfricanAmericans. just as it is to every other American. Madam Speaker. the urgency of addressing these issues has reached its pinnacle. Congress must act. We must act swiftly. and we must act now.