An Hour of Power
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege for me to rise this evening as co-chair, along with my distinguished colleague who represents the Eighth District of New York, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, for this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour, an hour of power, addressing the state of our Union, Dr. King's dream, and today's African American message.
Congressman Jeffries is a scholar, a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee. He continues to be a tireless advocate for social and economic justice, working hard to reform our criminal justice system, improve the economy for hardworking Americans, and to make college more affordable for all. Most importantly, he is someone that I am proud to follow and he is my colleague.
Today we come to educate and to discuss some of the many contributions and accomplishments in American history that African Americans etched into the cornerstone of this America, Mr. Speaker, that they helped change. The Congressional Black Caucus is and continues to be a part of that change.
As we reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose holiday we recently observed, thanks to our Congressional Black Caucus colleague, Congressman John Conyers, the dean, who worked tirelessly to have the day observed as a Federal holiday, we pause to reflect on our progress and our history not only to remember, but to acknowledge, our unfinished work.
Congressional Black Caucus members and other colleagues with constituents across the country participated in holiday services, programs, marches, and many other events last week. This was not a day off, Mr. Speaker, but a day on in the spirit of Dr. King's legacy.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to join some 4,000 constituents in my district in Columbus for the Nation's largest Martin Luther King breakfast celebration.
As I sat there, I was reminded of his words that we live by and that we are guided by: ``Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.'' Later I had the opportunity to join hundreds of folks to march in freezing weather, singing ``We Shall Overcome.''
Today we also mark the beginning of the observation of Black History Month, to celebrate giants in civil rights, in the civil rights movement, as well as labor and education, transportation, the arts, and the service movement.
As we reflect on Dr. King's dream, just a few weeks ago President Barack Obama from this House floor, Mr. Speaker, delivered his final State of the Union Address. In his address, the President delivered a speech filled with hope and optimism, reminding us that we, the people--emphasizing all people--want opportunity and security for our families. It was a message of a better future, fairness, and democracy for all Americans because we rise or fall together, Mr. Speaker.
President Obama continues to remind us that ours is a nation bounded by a common creed and that our American values of equality, fairness, and justice should be available to all, not just a fortunate few. Far too long people and communities of color continue to be left behind when we discuss equality, fairness, and justice.
In the 48 years since his death, while we have made some strides in confronting injustices and ending unequal treatment, there is still work to be done. Our Nation is still plagued by the vestiges of segregation and unequal laws and policies, evident today in Flint, Michigan, and its lack of clean drinking water; in it being harder, not easier, to exercise the constitutional right to vote through voter disenfranchisement; Black men being killed in Ferguson, Baltimore, Chicago, and my State of Ohio; inequities in health care, poverty, and in our failing schools.
But, Mr. Speaker, the time is now for us to work together to protect the most at risk among us, to defend the foundation of our democracy, and to expand opportunity for all people.
However, Republican leadership fails to act and refuses to bring up Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation, for an up-or-down vote.
Tonight, Mr. Speaker, we will hear from our Congressional Black Caucus colleagues on the state of our Union and where we go from here. I welcome the dialogue and the debate.
Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor and privilege to yield to Congresswoman Barbara Lee from the 13th District of California. We know her as a fearless advocate, fighting to eliminate poverty. We know her as someone who has a history of representing not only the people of her district but the people of America. I have had the opportunity to witness this firsthand, as I serve on her committee when she fights to end the War on Poverty. It is my honor to ask Congresswoman Barbara Lee to bring her message to us tonight.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you so much, Congresswoman Lee, for reminding us of the work we have to do to strengthen our America and for giving us those facts that clearly point out the barriers that we have and also the disparities when you look at 70 percent of our men being incarcerated, yet we don't make up 70 percent of the population.
Thank you for reminding us of all the work and the words of Martin Luther King because you are so right. To sum it up in his words: injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.
Thank you. We will continue that work.
Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor and privilege to yield to Congresswoman Karen Bass from the 37th District of California. It is a great honor for me because she is certainly not only a leader, but an advocate domestically and globally for young girls. As a matter of fact, when I think of her work across this Nation in foster care, I call her the Sojourner Truth of foster care.
When I think of her leadership, it is important for me to remind folks that she was the first African American female to be Speaker of the House of the great State of California. Today it is indeed my honor to yield to Congresswoman Bass.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, thank you again to Congresswoman Karen Bass for reminding us of all the great riches that we have in this society, but also for putting on the forefront that our work is not finished. There is hope. Because we have learned that through having a President who stands on the shoulders of another great man--Martin Luther King.
Mr. Speaker, it is indeed my honor and privilege to yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond), who hails from the Second District of Louisiana. He is someone who is fearless and not afraid to speak up, but he doesn't speak in vain. He speaks with a platform-- whether that platform is to discuss reforming our broken prison system, whether it is to talk about HBCUs, or whether it is to be a role model--and he knows a lot about that because he is a natural leader. When he took office in the State legislature, he was one of the youngest legislators to ever serve.
So it is indeed my honor to call Congressman Cedric Richmond a colleague and friend.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. I thank Congressman Richmond for reminding us that you bring hope. Your experience shows that there is opportunity. Because certainly, we know that there are fewer Black students graduating from high school. Sixteen percent of Blacks drop out, compared to 8 percent of our White counterparts.
Mr. Speaker, can you tell me how much time I have remaining.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor and privilege to yield to my colleague from the 10th District of New Jersey (Mr. Payne). He is someone who is a great example of a committed public servant. He is someone who puts others before himself. When you want to call on him, he is someone that will sit and quietly listen to you, and then a few minutes later he will give you probably one of the most profound answers that one could look for. I am proud to not only call him my colleague, but I am also proud to call him my classmate.
It is my honor to ask Congressman Donald Payne to bring his reflections.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you, Congressman Payne, for bringing us those words of wisdom and reminding us of the epidemics that face us, the failures that we have experienced, but leaving us with the hope of pushing forward and helping to realize Martin Luther King's dream.
Mr. Speaker, it is indeed my honor now to yield to the freshman of our group, someone who may be a freshman by our description, but someone who is not a stranger.
Whether it is advocating for jobs for veterans, whether it is looking at economic development and opportunities for those who are in struggling economies, she comes to us as a lawyer, she comes to us as a mother and a public servant.
She is someone who stands tall in her words of wisdom and someone's voice that we have learned to listen to.
She hails to us as the Delegate from the Virgin Islands. Join me in welcoming Congresswoman Stacy Plaskett for her words of wisdom.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands. Let me just say thank you for making us have a better understanding that we cannot do this alone and we have so much more work to do.
Mr. Speaker, tonight's Special Orders hour hopefully will share with this institution the amount of work that we have yet to do. But I believe in hope and opportunity for all.
So when I listen to the great legacy that those who have come before us, whether that is Dr. Martin Luther King, whether that is Rosa Parks, we have members of this Congressional Black Caucus who stand united to provide opportunities for all.
We are often referred to as the conscience of the Congress. There is a reason for that: Because we are the voice of the voiceless.
And when I think of voices, I think of my co-anchor. I think of a man who came as my classmate, someone stellar, someone who is a scholar and a profound lawyer, someone who stands tall in stature and in his words, someone that I actually enjoy sitting and listening to as he so often brings the message.
It is my honor to yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries) to talk to us about the state of our union, Dr. King's dream, and African Americans in this great Nation.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you so much to my colleague. As I stood here and I listened to you walk us through that rich history, it reminded me of all of the bad actors that caused many of those bad things. I reflect on someone in my family being a part of that chattel slavery as a slave, I think about Jim Crow, and I think about the things that my grandmother was asked to do when she had walked far just to try to vote and was asked to recite things that probably the people asking her could not have done.
Then when I think about all of those social reforms and all the things that happened 50 and 55 years ago, it made me think, Congressman Jeffries, when we think about Martin Luther King and his dream, so often people say, ``What would he think today?'' But I guess for me the question is a little different that I would like to discuss with you. Do you think history is repeating itself?
As I listened to you talk about slavery, and today when I go into some parts of my community with the War on Drugs I have had Black men say to me that they feel like they are living during a time of slavery. When I talk to young, single moms who are fighting for their own existence or to feed their children, they feel that they are held captive by poverty.
So are we looking at still bad actors, bad actors in the Chambers that I stand in, bad actors who want to take away SNAP, bad actors who don't want to give us a voting rights bill, bad actors that don't want to ban the box?
What do you think? Are we seeing history repeat itself?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BEATTY. Thank you so much.
Let me just end by saying, Mr. Speaker, what you have witnessed tonight is that our past that we have talked about is our experience, our present is our responsibility, and our future is our hope.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source