Congressional Black Caucus--The Work Continues: Why Voting Matters in the African American Community

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening for tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour: The Work Continues--Why Voting Matters in the African American Community.

I am so proud to join my classmate, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries from the Eighth District of New York. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee. He continues to be a tireless advocate for social justice, working to reform our criminal justice system and to eliminate the overcriminalization of the African American community.

Mr. Speaker, we are here to discuss the current state of voting rights in America, which, unfortunately, are under assault. The freedom to vote is one of America's most fundamentally, constitutionally guaranteed rights. It was 51 years ago this month, Mr. Speaker, that over 600 peaceful, orderly protesters set off to march from Selma, Alabama, to the State capitol in Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the State.

Last week, our Congressional Black Caucus chair, Chairman Butterfield, stated at the first in a series of CBC hearings about the current state of voting rights in America and that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is probably one of the most significant pieces of legislation that was ever passed in the United States Congress.

Certainly, Mr. Speaker, as we know, in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down this crucial provision of the Voting Rights Act in the Shelby County v. Holder decision. Our work continues because by invalidating section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court opened the doors for ways to reduce the voting power of minority communities and it put in place new voting restrictions in an effort to make it harder for millions of Americans to vote.

Our democracy has far too many missing voices, particularly those who are already at a disadvantage due to deep-rooted racial and class barriers in our society. By exercising our right, we can do great things. We can hold this country accountable. We can advocate for legislation that supports social and economic progress, equality and fairness for all Americans. We can champion policies that create and sustain jobs and that protect against cuts to social and economic programs that are vital to our most at-risk populations. We can move forward on efforts to address the school-to-prison pipeline and criminal justice reform. We know that the inequalities in access to quality health care still exist between races and that more and more Black children are victims of failing schools.

Mr. Speaker, I am calling on all citizens, including on our community and national leaders, to join the Congressional Black Caucus to work to eliminate voter suppression and to restore what so many people fought for, marched, and died for--yes, the Voting Rights Act. It is up to all of us to protect the most at-risk among us and to expand opportunity for all people. That begins with passing a voting rights act. Our work still continues, Mr. Speaker.

This week, we are celebrating Women's History Month, and I must note the powerful impact that African American women are having at the polls. In the past two Presidential elections, Black women led all demographic groups in voter turnout. That is why voting matters to African American communities. Black women make up the most dynamic segment of the rising American voters. A great civil rights leader said that women are among the greatest leaders of social reform, and they are fighting, literally fighting, for their political rights.

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to be with the mothers of the movement. We know who they are. They are the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Dontre Hamilton, Jordan Davis, Sandra Bland, and Hadiya Pendleton; and we have all heard what happened to their children.

As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, we are calling for action on gun control. We need to do more than just stand up on this floor for a moment of silence. We need to make sure that we are passing gun control legislation, commonsense legislation, that keeps the guns out of the hands of the most dangerous individuals. It is time for us to protect our children.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to give you some examples of what we should include in our call for action.

I go first to my good friend and colleague and classmate who brought it to my attention that we stand up for a moment, and then we sit down. Then we come back to this floor, and it is business as usual. We talk about wanting to keep our families safe, and we talk about the mental health issues. That is all we do, Mr. Speaker. We talk about it.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly of Illinois' Second District has legislation, H.R. 224, which would require the Surgeon General of Public Health Services to submit to Congress an annual report on the effects of gun violence on public health. This bill has 140 Democrat cosponsors. I am asking my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to step up and do more than just stand up for 30 seconds.

I am calling on Congress to act on Congressman James Clyburn of the Sixth District of South Carolina's legislation, H.R. 3051, the Background Check Completion Act, which would guarantee that no gun is sold by a licensed dealer until a background check is completed.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that I am a cosponsor of both of these bills.

I will go on and tell you about Chairman Butterfield, the chair of our Congressional Black Caucus. He understands that our work continues, because he has focused his efforts on promoting anti-poverty programs and on expanding economic development and job creation. There are a number of things that have happened in his State.

For example, the Moral Mondays are protests in North Carolina that are led by religious progressives. These protests are in response to several actions by the government of North Carolina, which was elected into office in 2013. These events, which spread throughout the South, helped bring attention to voting rights, criminal justice reform, and workers' rights. I think it is very important for us to note that.

Mr. Speaker, tonight my coanchor and I will talk about a number of issues that explain why our work continues. We are going to talk about why in African American communities it is important for us to understand, if we don't diversify those who are going to vote, we don't represent the diversity of this great America that we are here to protect and to serve.

It is not just members of the Congressional Black Caucus who value and understand the importance of us coming together, the importance of us celebrating our rich history, all tied to the Voting Rights Act, all tied to the movements that we have had of the past.

Let me give you a great example because I am so proud that I am going to have the privilege to yield time to my good friend, Congressman John Larson from the First District of Connecticut.

He is here, Mr. Speaker, tonight to join with us as we talk about our rich history. He is going to share with us information about the 51st anniversary of President Johnson's ``We Shall Overcome'' speech, which was given on March 15, 1965.

I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut.

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman John Larson.

As I was listening to him reflect on the wonderful program that we are all going to be able to participate in at the Library of Congress-- as I listened to his words, 51 years ago the President of these United States could recognize what the Nation needed.

It disappoints me, as I stand here on this House floor and I think about voting rights and I think about the condition of this Nation today and where we are when we talk about casting our votes and who we are going to cast our votes for. I say thank you for Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Sam Johnson.

As I was listening to the gentleman, I thought about so many of the things that Congressman John Lewis has said to us not only on this floor, not only in private moments, but in our Congressional Black Caucus meetings.

He represents that sense of history of why we come to continue our work, why we come to continue to stand up for the voting rights.

Because he has said to us on numerous occasions, Mr. Speaker, that the vote is the most powerful and most nonviolent tool that we have in a democratic society. We must not allow the power of the vote to be neutralized. We must never go back.

So I thank Congressman Larson for taking us forward, for taking us on March 15 on a journey that we will remember for a lifetime, because, you see, we stand on the shoulders of those individuals who came before us.

Now our voters stand on our shoulders. Our voters, Mr. Speaker, are wanting us, are thirsty for us, to stand up for them so that their vote counts.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my coanchor to share some thoughts with us on why our work continues, why it is so important in the African American community for us to stand up for not only African Americans, but for our citizens who are discriminated against, those who, when we talk about social and economic programs, we see the disparities in what happens to them in education, in health care, in housing, the juvenile justice system, the criminal justice system.

I could not think of any better coanchor or colleague, someone who is such a great orator, someone who, when he stands up, we listen.

Please, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, share with us some of your thoughts.

I yield to the gentleman from New York.

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Mrs. BEATTY. Congressman Jeffries, you have given us a lot to reflect on tonight. You have given us the roll call of how President after President has reauthorized the Voting Rights Act.

As I was listening to you, it appears that there is an uncommon denominator that we now have in this great America: a Black man as President of these United States.

I want to stand here and say, Mr. Speaker, that I am very suspect when I listen to how eloquently my colleague walked us through the history and shared with us how 51 years ago our colleague, John Lewis, was putting his life at risk with other great leaders as a very young Black man, that it was because he understood what was at stake.

He was probably ahead of his time. But when you think about that, everyone in this Chamber should want to have that experience.

I can remember a year ago, almost to the date, that I took that journey to Selma, Alabama. I took that journey with Congressman John Lewis and some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who stood there and locked and latched hands and talked about how we should overcome.

For a moment, Congressman Jeffries, it gave me that hope that I came here for, that hope that one person can make a difference and change the lives of others.

It wasn't 48 hours later that we came back to this institution, to this House floor, and all of that was washed away. It was back to business as usual.

There were no hearings, whether it is a budget hearing for funds to fund things from our infrastructure, things to educate and take care of our infants and children, mental health that we have all come to an agreement on with all the things that have happened during the time you and I have been here, Congressman Jeffries, with the number of lives that have been lost.

I think about the Emanuel Nine. We talked about that commonality of putting more money into mental health. Yet, the President puts dollars in the budget and we can't get a hearing.

So why does our work continue? Our work continues because it is so important for us, as African Americans, to make sure we protect those who are most at risk.

Mr. Speaker, we have a huge job to do. We are 46 members strong. While we focus on the lives of African Americans and the African American community, we stand here and fight for all children of all races, all ethnicities, because that is what we do because we care.

But as I stand here today and reflect on Congressman Jeffries' outline of history, outline of the number of lives that have been lost, outline of the legal process and what we have gone through, it made me recall, Mr. Speaker, that a week ago I decided to write an editorial to my local newspaper, and it was published. Mr. Speaker, that editorial was titled: ``Work to improve voting rights.'' [From The Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 29, 2016] Work To Improve Voting Rights (By Rep. Joyce Beatty)

As Black History Month closes, I am reminded of Martin Luther King Jr., who famously said, ``We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.''

We have come a long way since the era of Jim Crow. Indeed, our nation has laws on the books protecting people from discrimination based on sex, age, race, religion, national origin and ethnicity. Moreover, each February, we collectively reflect on the important contributions and accomplishments African-Americans etched into the cornerstone of America.

Yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same. What do I mean?

Every year, without fail, we celebrate Black History Month and honor the many leaders, heroes and ``sheroes'' of the black community. However, we rarely discuss the systemic and pervasive bathers still preventing African-Americans from achieving the American Dream.

Our nation is still plagued by the vestiges of segregation and unequal laws and policies. Today, it is more difficult to exercise one's constitutional right to vote, not easier. Inequalities in access to quality health care still exist between races, and more and more black children are victim to failing schools.

As opposed to getting bogged down in the numbers and reciting a long list of statistics and historical grievances, I am calling on all people, including our community and national leaders, to join me in working to eliminate voter suppression I and to restore what so many people fought, marched and died for: the Voting Rights Act.

It is up to all of us to protect the most at-risk among us, to defend the foundation of our democracy and to expand opportunity for all people. It begins with the Voting Rights Act.

In Congress, I am working tirelessly to rebuild the very foundation of the Voting Rights Act undone by the Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision. As an original cosponsor of the Voting Rights Empowerment Act of 2015 (H.R. 12), I believe we must ensure every American has equal say and the opportunity to vote. This legislation would do just that by expanding access and putting in place common sense protections for our nation's electorate, no matter the color of one's skin.

It takes a village. So, let's work together in our neighborhood, at work or with family and friends to make this change possible and to help guarantee every American has fair and equal access to the ballot box.

Black History Month should be about the progress that has been made and the journey that awaits us. Remember, the past is our experience, the present is our accountability and the future is our responsibility.

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Mrs. BEATTY. It is 2016. I am writing an article that sounds like I was sitting in 1955. That gives me great concern.

So when I think about our topic tonight, our work continues. What matters in the African American community I think we have answered tonight.

Whether it was from Congressman John Larson, who is not a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, whether it is from Congressman Sam Johnson or Congressman John Lewis, Mr. Speaker, I say to you that we stand here as members of the Congressional Black Caucus because we are the conscience of the Congress.

Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Jeffries, as I listen to you talk about the rich history and what we are dealing with today, I think about you serving on the Judiciary Committee.

I think about how, as Members of Congress and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we often talk about our broken prison system.

We often talk about what happens to young children who go to college and then find themselves in that pipeline of education to prison.

I would like to ask you how you think the decrease in Black voters will affect that broken system.

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Jeffries, I paused for a moment as I was listening to you, and you are so absolutely right; the vehicle, the power of casting that vote, the power of making a difference.

Mr. Speaker, I think one of the things that is so significant about the Congressional Black Caucus, that is our history. It is our fortitude to have the courage to always continue to fight and never give up, because we actually have members of the Congressional Black Caucus who were there during that time.

When you think about Members like Congressman John Lewis, when you think about Members like John Conyers, John Conyers, a Black man, will go down in history as the longest-serving man in this Congress. Just think about it. A man that shared an office for almost 2 decades with Rosa Parks, the modern civil rights leader who decided that she was going to sit down that day because she realized one person could make a difference.

So, Mr. Speaker, we have gone through our whole history of the Voting Rights Act, we have gone through the sections of the Constitution, we have gone through what the Supreme Court has done, and yet we can't get the reauthorization of our Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Speaker, I say this to you tonight. The Congressional Black Caucus will not give up. We are holding field hearings, as I speak, so we can collect the information to come back here and tell you that the vehicle for American people, that vehicle is the ballot box.

Mr. Speaker, as I stand here today, we have resolved. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus don't come just to complain and put issues out there. We are scholars. We like hearing that we are the conscience of the Congress, but we are the scholars. We are Howard, and Morehouse, and Spelman, and Harvard, and Princeton, and Yale. We are the whole spectrum of this America that you and I serve.

So I ask you today, Mr. Speaker, to consider that when we stand up the next time on this House floor, why Members are sitting down. We are sitting down because I think you and Congressman Jeffries and all the rest of my colleagues in this Chamber, we have an obligation to do more.

Innocent lives are being taken, and there is something we can do about it. We could start with something that has been bipartisan. Congressman Jeffries mentioned it a number of times, and that is something as simple as passing a Voting Rights Act. That would make a difference.

I guess my question is: What are we afraid of?

Are we afraid if we increase the number of those who have been disenfranchised, those who have been discriminated against, that they will actually vote, they will actually have a voice to make a difference in the way they live in this wonderful America?

I am asking you to go to your Republican colleagues and ask them to stand with us that we can leave a great legacy in history, because history will be written. When the first Black President leaves these United States, we will read of all the wonderful things that President Barack Obama did.

But we will also have those who will write part of that history of us failing to do our job. And I will reflect back on this day when Congressman Jeffries and I stood at this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour and we said, the work continues, and why it matters in African American communities that we vote.

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