Voting Rights Activist Sheyann Webb-Christburg Joins Congresswoman Sewell At President Obama's Final State of the Union Address

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on Restoration Tuesday to honor my guest to tonight's State of the Union Address. Ms. Sheyann Webb-Christburg of Montgomery, Alabama, will be joining me as my special guest to President Obama's final State of the Union Address.

Sheyann was 8 years old and was one of the youngest foot soldiers who marched from Selma to Montgomery. I believe that Sheyann is the embodiment of the struggle for voting rights equality in Alabama and in America.

On this Restoration Tuesday, it is my sincere hope that her presence will remind us of the modern-day fight for ensuring that every American citizen has access to the ballot box.

At an early age, Sheyann recognized that America had failed to live up to its own promise by depriving African Americans of their sacred right to vote. Sheyann's bravery reminded those around her that they are fighting for the next generation--her generation--as fervently as they were fighting for their own. Her courage also made it possible for me to represent our hometown of Selma in Congress.

On a personal level, I am thankful to call Sheyann my friend and mentor. She was my childhood babysitter, so I literally grew up in her shadow.

Her presence at President Obama's final State of the Union should once again remind us of the gravity of our responsibility to protect the vote for all Americans. Since the civil rights era ended, there are now modern-day barriers to voting. Since the Supreme Court struck down section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in 2013, my office has made restoring this critically important section one of our top priorities.

For the past 3 years, my State of the Union guest has represented a different aspect of the voting rights movement:

In 2014, my guest to the State of the Union was Selma's mayor, George Evans. As mayor of the birthplace of the Voting Rights Act, he represented the dynamic role Selma and her leaders have played in the fight for voter equality.

In 2015, I invited the 104-year-old Amelia Boynton Robinson as my guest to the State of the Union. As the matriarch of the voting rights movement, Amelia challenged an unfair and unjust system that kept African Americans from exercising their constitutionally protected right to vote. I will always cherish the time we spent together when she honored me as my special guest.

I think it is befitting that since last year my special guest was the oldest living foot soldier, that my guest this year would be the youngest living foot soldier--Sheyann Webb.

All of these individuals have paved the way for me to accomplish all that I have today, and I am forever grateful. Their legacy should inspire us not to take for granted the very sacred vote, and that is the right to vote. Their sacrifices remind us that there is much more work to be done, and my hope is that this Chamber will take on the challenge of doing that work.

We should try to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think that our work begins even today. I hope that Sheyann Webb, as my special guest to the State of the Union, will remind all of us that it is really important that we protect the sacred right to vote.

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