Date: 2014-02-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I assure you. Mr. GRAYSON. that I will have time for you. I would like to now move forward to 19651965 and persons who assembled at a church near the Edmund Pettus Bridge. If you have not seen the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I would beg that you take an opportunity to see the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Remember now. we are talking about civil rights in the United States of America. We talked about the Voting Rights Act of 1964. I am moving forward to 1965. I have mentioned persons assembled at a church. I have mentioned the Edmund Pettus Bridge. These persons assembled at this church because they were going to march from Selma to Montgomery. a peaceful march. When they approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge. they knew that on the other side of that bridge were men with clubs. some on horses. They knew that their fate was uncertain. but they marched on. and when they approached these menI can remember the Honorable JOHN LEWIS. a Member of Congress from Georgiahe tells this story: He says that they were beating them. and he thought that he was going to die. They were beaten all the way back to the church where they started. This was in 1965. a year after the 1964 Voting Rights Act was signed. Well. Dr. King came to Montgomery. Alabama. to Selma. Alabama. and Dr. King proceeded with the march. This was after the time that we call "Bloody Sunday." Dr. King came. and they marched from Selma to Montgomery. But now. this is where the story gets interesting because there is a person that I have labeled "the greatest unsung hero of the civil rights movement." barring none. the greatest unsung hero of the civil rights movement. a person who is known to very few people. a person who made it possible for Dr. King and the marchers to move from Selma to Montgomery without having to confront the constabulary that engaged in a brutal act previously and may have done a similar thing. This man. the greatest unsung hero of the civil rights movement. was a Republican. This man was not of African ancestry. He was an Anglo. This man was appointed to a Federal judgeship by President Eisenhower. This man signed the order for them to march from Selma to Montgomery. Now. you might say: Well. signing an order is no big deal. It was then. Remember the times. It was a big deal to sign that order. In fact. for more than a decade. he had to be protected by U.S. marshals. the Honorable Frank M. Johnson. a district court judge. But the story of Frank M. Johnson doesnt really start with the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It actually starts with Rosa Parks. When Rosa Parks took that seat and ignited the spark that started the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks went to jail that night. There is a White side to Black history. Rosa Parks bail was posted by Ms. Virginia Durr and her husband. A White woman posted the bail to get Rosa Parks out of jail. There is a White side to Black history. But lets get back to Frank M. Johnson. They decided that they would not ride the bus. and for over a year. they provided alternative transportation. and they boycotted. And in so doing. in boycotting. they brought this to the attention of not only the United States. but also to the world. But here is the other side: The boycott was effective. It was an order from Frank M. Johnson. as a part of a threejudge panel. concluding that that segregation was unconstitutional based upon Brown v. Board of Education. which had been decided about a year earlier. Frank M. Johnson signed the order along with two other judges. Frank M. Johnson went on to sign orders integrating schools. voting rightshis history is replete with orders that he signed to change the face of the South. Paraphrasing Dr. King. Frank M. Johnson gave meaning to the word "justice." a White Republican Federal judge. I mention these things tonight because I want people to know that Black history is American history and that it includes people of all hues and genders and persuasions. and it is a history that. quite frankly. we cannot forget. There are some aspects of it that we are not proud of. but it is a history that is ours. and we can never. ever ignore our history. Just as we cannot ignore what happened at Pearl Harbor. just as we cannot ignore what happened on 9111. we cannot ignore many of the things that happened in the history of African Americans. So with Frank M. Johnson having allowed the marchers to move forward by signing this order. later on. the same President. Lyndon Johnson. signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I am probably in Congress because of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it provided a means by which districts could be drawn with consideration given to population. as opposed to geography. That Voting Rights Act. section 5. is what allowed a good many people who are right here in this Congress today to be here. the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and section 5 of it. As you know. section 5 has been made impotent by the evisceration of section 4. Section 4 was declared unconstitutional. One of the things that I have learned in my years on the planet is that while I dont always agree with the judiciary. I do respect the judiciary. I didnt agree with the decision to declare section 4 unconstitutional. but I respect the opinion. and. as a result. I will do what I can to correct it here in the Halls of Congress. I think that we have a great opportunity here to do something to strengthen the Voting Rights Act. the same Voting Rights Act that Mr. JOHN LEWIS marched to bring into being and that people lost their lives to bring into being. That same Voting Rights Act can be strengthened and be made useful and viable for a good many people. So I will conclude with this. But I do want one more evidence of how much time I have remaining. Mr. Speaker. can you give me one more count on the time? And I will come to my conclusion.