Date: 1994-08-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I cannot reach the eloquence of my colleague. the gentlewoman who just "completed. but I think I can bring forth a little bit of understanding as to what we are experiencing also in Texas. Mr. Speaker. we sat for a number of years waiting to join the rest of this Nation for representation. It was a great day when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 came. When the census of 1970 came and the opportunity in 1972 came. Im talking about the seventies. 1972. not 1700 anything. not 1800 anything. but 1972. we were able to elect the first black American from Texas to the U.S. Congress. It was a joyous time in Texas. All of Texas celebrated. We came to the Capitol grounds and celebrated freedom and equality. Thousands and thousands of Texans came to Austin. TX. to celebrate Barbara Jordan getting an opportunity to come to the U.S. Congress. * That was not a big deal for white people. After all. they had been doing it as long as it has been a nation. and as long as it has been a Congress. However.- this was an extraordinary occasion for us. Then she was followed by Mickey Leland and CRAIG WASHINGTON. and finally. Mr. Speaker. because Dallas. with a large number. a concentrated population. could not get a seat at the same time. though we had the population to do so. we were not able to get it until after the census of It was not because the people were not voting. It was because their votes were paired off to elect others. not candidates of our choice. necessarily. but other candidates. Mr. Speaker. in 1992. there was a second opportunity in Texas. and maybe there should have been at least five opportunities. but at least there was a second one. where the voters in the primary nominated a candidate with 93 percent of the vote. and I believe that made that canridate a candidate of choice. That candidate went on to win in the general election with almost 76 percent of the vote. Mr. Speaker. the voters did not stop the person. but now one or two people want to take that right away from those voters who elected a candidate of their choice. Though the approach is not considered to be one of personal attack. as -has been explained over and over again. how can we explain this to young people? How can we explain this to the frustrated young population now. that we cannot understand why they do not want to stay in school. and why they do not want to follow all the rules of society. if they feel that the adult population in this country do not care what they think. how their parents vote. whether they have an opportunity? Do you think we can instill hope? Do you think that young people of color in this country can feel that there is a nation of which they are a real part when the representatives that they can talk with. that they know understand. they do not have to guess. they do not have to wonder. they do not have to ask "What you people want." can represent them in the bodies that they watch on television. and the threat is to take them away? I wish that we had the luxury. Mr. Speaker. to come here. vote no. and leave without thinking about it. but we do not. Most of our work takes place without coming to this floor add voting. because we are inundated with many concerns every day that become our major responsibility over and above what we were actually elected to do. We do not have the luxury of just being a Congressperson or a State senator or a councilman. We have to be the whole show of equality. freedom. and opportunity for our people. and not just confined to our districts. but all over the country. I get mail from all over this country pleading for help. especially in States where there are no black elected officials. especially at this level. Young people in this country watched Thurgood Marshall become a Justice on the Supreme Court. That was a great day. This man had been one who helped all of us break down the barriers to be a. part of the mainstream in this country. 0] 1750 He was somebody we could be proud of. We have not had that representation on that court since him. and I do not see it in the future. But that was an example of how we can encourage young people to have aspirations. to give them reason to stay in school. .to give them reason for following the law because somebody is going to help it be fair. But when it is not going to be fair. when they do not see the fairness. when they see that they get the worst of everything. hope is injured. Hope right now has less life than it had 25 years ago. because they see less progress. Yes. we have had some. but i t is being rolled back. They see the attacks. They fear the coming of a new reconstruction. just as we do. Wd do not feel safe. And we know that we work every day. day in and day out. to try to relieve some of the burden. to look for opporR7048 tunities. to. try to do it within the framework of Iaw. to try- to .do it with the rules that were written before we got here. We are trying hard. because we fought for this Nation. We have more than our share of the population in every war. We are proud to be Americans. But when we come home. it is difficult to tell our young- people that there is something- to look forward to when we never really feel that we can grab hold to a bit of equality and hold onto it. It is fleeting. If we just slacken any pace of vigilance. it disappears. That is what we are trying to convince the people. that we are an integral part of this Nation. but it is not fair unless we be an integral part of every level of what governs this Nation. We do notwant to see the negative. We are here every day worki.ng against that. But we cannot convince any young person that there is hope when there is no opportunity. We cannot just bear the responsibility without having some results. We have got to have a part of all of it. We are only looking for fairness. We have not even asked for equality. because if we had equality in. Texas. for example. we would have five Members that are black in this U.S. Congress. But we are getting attacked because we have two. I do not believe that any person In cloth with any sense of fairness can turn this clock back. I fail to see the logic. I do not think it is written anywhere in any law book. I think when they decide that we do not deserve to represent people. they will write new law that has never been written. that can neverbe validated. In 1971. the Congressional Black Caucus was founded. In 1992. there were 26 Members. But in January 1993. we went to 40. and the attacks started. There have been lots of articles written about the clout. We recognize that we do not control any major voting here. All we try to do is speak out on issues of what we consider to be right. That is what is being attacked. You cannot attack our numbers without attacking what we stand for. and all we stand for is justice and equality. We speak for voices that will not be heard otherwisei All of those voices do not live In our districts. all of them do not look like us. Sometimes I wonder. what. would public education do in this Nation without voices like mine epeaking out? Yet my people cannot even get the equality in the distribution of the funds. It is most unfortunate that this cannot be understood. I believe strongly that if the American people stopped to recognize what we are trying to say and tried to understand what we are trying to do. that every American that finds themselves in this great Nation would- agree that all of its people deserve representation. There are so many- Americans. not black Americans. not just Hispanic Americans. not just Asian Americans or native Americans- but other Americans as well that would never have their causes expressed and advanced without a very small minority of the voices in bodies like these. I believe it was- intended when the Constitution was written that all of the people in this Nation be represented. That is simply all we are asking-. We have not even asked for our fair share. We have simply asked for those that we can go to the right arenas and negotiate. whether they be in State legislatures or in the courts. We- have- not taken up arms and held guns and shot and threatened. We have- tried to go to the right arenas and use the mechanisms placed in position to govern this kind of deliberation. tG get the rights we feel we deserve. That is all we are asking.. We have defended this Nation. We will continue to do that. We are invested. We love this country.. But tell me. .how do you explain to young people the love you have for a Nation that continues to reject you? How do we continue to explain it? How do we explain to young people that. yes. it is worth going to school when their parents go and they "cannot get an opportunity even after they go? Those are the kind of messages that we need to share with our colleagues. This is the kind of representation that we bring. We bring that message with sincerity and commitment- We sincerely believe that we have a role and we feel that the attack that is going on now to eliminate us from this body is grossly. unfair and will not be tolerated. I thank you. Mr. Speaker. for this time. and I plead to the Members on both sides of the aisle to speak out against this unfairness and let this Constitution and this country be a living document.