Black Lives Matter

Floor Speech

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise, as I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to speak the truth about the circumstance as it relates to African Americans in the United States of America.

I rise to say, Mr. Speaker, that Black lives do not matter as much as White lives. If Black lives matter as much as White lives, Mr. George Floyd would still be breathing. If Black lives matter as much as White lives, Ahmaud Arbery would have finished his jog. If Black lives matter as much as White lives, Christian Cooper wouldn't have been falsely accused.

Black lives do not matter as much as White lives. Why? Because we tolerate hatred, bigotry, and invidious discrimination. We tolerate it. And because we tolerate it, we allow it to be perpetuated.

We in this country have the power to do something about the racism that exists as it relates to Black people. We have tolerated it since 1619 and the arrival of Black people in the Americas. But it is time for us to do something about it.

We have had the opportunity to do something.

When the Chief Executive Officer of this country is a racist and a bigot, we should do something about that. And we had the opportunity to, but we did not. We tolerated it. And there were some who went so far as to almost justify it with some of their commentary about the comments that were being made: Oh, he is just a jerk.

Black lives matter, and we ought not tolerate it to the extent we have.

I believe that we in the Congress of the United States of America have a duty to do what has been done in the past. We declared a war on poverty. We declared a war on drugs. Why not declare a war on racism? Why not decide that, here and now, we are not going to allow racism to continue in this country to the extent that people lose their lives?

What happened to some of the persons who have lost their lives as of late is almost predictable, because we have seen circumstances similar occur and we have not taken aggressive action.

The officers in the Floyd case should not only be arrested; they ought to be prosecuted. I was a magistrate. I know probable cause when I see it, and there is probable cause to arrest and prosecute those officers.

Black lives matter. And those who have not allowed the Black Lives Matter movement to continue, to become the movement that could make a difference in the lives of people in this country, have some responsibility because they fought the very movement that was going to make a difference in the lives of people, may have saved some lives of people.

So I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to say that we in Congress have some responsibility to the people we serve; and a part of that responsibility is to assure them that they can go jogging and return home, that if they are arrested by the police, they won't be suffocated to the extent that they lose their lives. We have to make sure that we tell this country, in no uncertain terms, that Black lives do matter.

And, finally, this: It is not about Democrats and not about Republicans. I am not blaming the Republicans for what is happening. I am not blaming the Democrats for what is happening. I am blaming people who hold public trust and tolerate hate and invidious discrimination.

We are the people who can make a difference, and we ought to make a difference. We ought to demand that the people running for public office make public statements about how they plan to end invidious discrimination, not how they plan to tolerate it, how they plan to manage it.

How do you plan to end it?

How do you plan to end it in banking?

How do you plan to end it in hiring and promotions?

This is our time. If we don't do it now, when will we do it? No candidate should be off limits. Every one of them ought to have to tell us what they plan to do.

And, finally, as my final comments: I love my country. And because I love my country, I feel that I have this duty, obligation, and responsibility to speak up when these kinds of injustices occur.

I love my country, Mr. Speaker.

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