Honoring and Praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the Occasion of its 97th Anniversary

HONORING AND PRAISING THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 97TH ANNIVERSARY -- (House of Representatives - March 01, 2006)

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Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. I especially thank him for his kind words with reference to the NAACP and his indication that he will lead the charge, in fact be a part of the avant garde, with reference to extending the Voting Rights Act. I thank you for this.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored that the House leadership has chosen to bring House Concurrent Resolution 335 before this august body. This resolution honors the 97th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and as I rise to the occasion, I would like to thank those who have made the occasion possible.

First, I would like to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner, chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee. He has spoken eloquently. I thank you for your kind words again; and I also want to, for the record, say you did what you did not have to do, and for this, I thank you.

I would like to thank ranking member John Conyers, who is now the dean of the conscience of the Congress. I thank you for helping us to bring this piece of legislation to the floor of the House.

I would also like to take an opportunity and thank my good friend Congressman Henry Hyde, who was the first to sign on to this resolution. He gave his word, and I have learned that Henry Hyde's word is his bond; and I thank Mr. Hyde.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks go out to all 67 of my colleagues who cosponsored this resolution, as well as all who will support it, both Democrats and Republicans alike.

Mr. Speaker, because I do not know where we would be but for the NAACP, I cannot help but say thank God for the NAACP and the many other persons of goodwill who have fought racial injustice, because, Mr. Speaker, in our lifetime we can recall a time when racial injustice, as someone has said, was accepted by the masses and expected by the classes.

It was commonplace. It was every place. Politicians campaigned on it; judges decreed it; lawyers practiced it; policemen enforced it; preachers preached it; parents believed it; teachers taught it; and children learned it. We were all consumed by it.

However, the NAACP and others of goodwill helped to change this, and I am honored to say that this change has brought about significant progress in this country for African Americans and other minorities.

Hence, it is desired that this resolution not only honor the NAACP as an entity, but also the entire NAACP family and extended family, including the many people of goodwill who were not black, who put themselves in harm's way to end racial injustice.

We should never forget that the NAACP has not been, is not now, and never shall be a black-only organization. The NAACP has always been a multiracial organization. Yes, in remembering some of the great names associated with the organization, we should remember that Dr. Louis T. Wright became the first black board chair of the NAACP in 1935. However, as we remember Dr. Wright, we ought not forget Oswald Garrison Villiard who was not black, who in 1911 became the first chair of the board of the NAACP. Before the NAACP had its first black board chair, it had two that were not black.

We should remember James Weldon Johnson, who became the first black executive secretary director of the NAACP. However, we should not forget Francis Blascon, Mary White Ovington, Mary Nurney, Royall Nash. All of these persons we might remember were not black and served before James Weldon Johnson.

We should remember the brilliant black lawyer and Supreme Court Justice, as the chairman has mentioned, Thurgood Marshall. However, we should never forget Arthur Singarn who was not black. Arthur Singarn donated money, he raised money, and he headed the NAACP Legal Redress Committee. It has been said that Thurgood was a great litigator in part because Singarn was a great donator. The NAACP annually awards its highest honor in the name of Singarn.

We should remember Medgar Evers, the black NAACP field representative who was assassinated in his front yard in 1963; but, please, let us not forget John R. Shillady, the NAACP executive secretary who never recovered from a mob beating in Austin, Texas, in 1919. He gave his life in the fight for justice for all, and he was not black.

The point is, we did not get here by ourselves; and we thank God for the many who were not black who helped us in our quest for justice.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman who I have announced earlier is the conscience of the Congress and that, of course, is Congressman Conyers. We thank you for being with us, Congressman.

(Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Thank you, Mr. Green, for yielding just briefly to add to your remarks. I am pleased to join with you and with the chairman of Judiciary, James Sensenbrenner, in this 97th anniversary remembrance of the greatest civil rights organization that we have in this country. I can say to Congressman Green that your initiation of this resolution recognizing the 97th anniversary of the NAACP could not be more timely.

I just want to add one name. We are all mentioning all of these names in the course of 97 years. We are dealing with the most serious social problem in America that has never yet been resolved that we have been working on. We have a voter rights extension bill in the Committee on the Judiciary about to come forward.

We are bringing people together. We are working as hard as we can.

And I was just at a meeting yesterday in which I was reminded that we have the likes of Ted Shaw of the Legal Defense Fund; Greg Moore, the executive director of the National Voter Fund; and in Detroit we have the largest branch in the United States, with a current membership of more than 45,000 people, led by Reverend Wendell Anthony of Fellowship Chapel. So all of this makes such a rich history.

And I am glad, now that we have done Black History Month, that we have come along with this 97th anniversary resolution, because this issue has to be studied every month. We have to examine where we are and where we are going. And I am so pleased at all the Members on the floor here and many others that will be submitting statements which recognize the depth, the importance and the significance of a resolution recognizing nearly 100 years of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in this long struggle, hard-fought struggle that has promoted goodwill and tried to make America live up to the promise of our constitutional democracy.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for his leadership and for the leadership of Chairman Sensenbrenner, and to all who celebrate the 97th anniversary of the NAACP.

Mr. Green earlier said that there were so many people who gave their lives, gave their blood, sweat and tears, and he mentioned Medgar Evers. But I just want to talk about another member of the NAACP, and his name was Harry Moore. He was a devoted husband, father, educator, and one of the first civil rights martyrs of our time. His tireless efforts and unselfish sacrifice in the name of social justice continues to inspire and empower Americans of all stripes, even now, over 50 years after his death.

Harry Tyson Moore was born in Houston, Florida, on November 18, 1905. After his father's death, his mother sent her only son to live with his three aunts in Jacksonville, Florida. In the prosperous and intellectual community of Jacksonville, Mr. Moore cultivated his intelligence and excelled. After graduating from Florida Memorial College in 1925, he moved to Cocoa, Florida. He settled in Brevard County teaching fourth grade at the only African American elementary school in the area.

While there, he went on to meet his future wife, Hariette Simms. In time, Mr. Moore became principal of the Titusville Colored School, which taught children from the fourth to ninth grade. In March 1928 and September 1930, the Moores welcomed two daughters into the world. With his family and professional life in place, Mr. Moore began an additional career in political activism.

In 1934, Mr. Moore founded the Brevard County branch of the NAACP. In 1937, by working with the Black Florida State Teachers Association and NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, he was a catalyst towards the movement of equalizing salaries of black and white teachers. Although he lost the court battle, he would ultimately win the war. Make no mistake, his actions inspired many others, and ultimately Mr. Moore helped achieve pay parity among teachers of color with their white counterparts.

I wish I had time to tell the entire story, but on one Christmas Eve Mr. Moore and his family were blown to pieces because of his work in the NAACP.

So many people never hear the name Harry Moore, but he was another tireless fighter, lifting up the rights for all people, and he is one of the people who make it possible for the Congressional Black Caucus today to number some 43.

I thank the NAACP on its 97th anniversary and I urge all Members to support this resolution.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for one final statement.

In summary, Mr. Speaker, I would like to restate to a certain extent some of what the chairman has said: that the NAACP has accomplished great things for this country. The NAACP was involved in passing the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964. The NAACP was there to fight and help pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and the NAACP filed and won Shelly v. Cramer, as well as Barrows v. Jackson, outlawing restrictive covenants. The NAACP filed and won Brown v. Board of Education, integrating schools and, to a certain extent, integrating society.

And, Mr. Speaker, if truth be told, we are schooled where we are schooled, we work where we work, we sleep where we sleep, we eat where we eat, and we live where we live in great measure due to the NAACP.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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