Evolution of Black Excellence Throughout History
Floor Speech
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Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Cherfilus-McCormick for diligently holding the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour. I don't know what we would do without her.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to participate in this evening's Special Order hour celebrating the evolution of Black excellence throughout history. The stories and triumphs of Black Americans deserve to be commemorated all year long, but especially during Black History Month.
The legacies of the men and women who shaped this Nation's history impact our daily lives in countless ways. It is my honor to take just a few moments to share highlights from the communities that I am proud to represent.
I grew up in the heart of the civil rights movement. I was the baby in the stroller at the March on Washington. My father was the president of the Illinois chapter of the NAACP, and my mother was a nurse. My parents' teachings and example made such a strong impression on me even as a little girl. Some of my fondest memories were watching them direct meetings in our home and prepare for marches while caring for and lifting up each and every person that they interacted with. As the daughter of civil rights leaders, I know how hard-fought our freedoms are.
In Georgia, we proudly claim two of this Nation's most prominent civil rights leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the great Congressman John Lewis, whose presence and influence this legislative body misses every single day. Georgia's legacy of Black excellence extends far beyond Atlanta and reaches every corner of our State in a multitude of ways.
In my district, Georgia's Seventh Congressional District, I am proud of the incredible transformation in Black history that has taken place over the last 200 years. In Gwinnett County, Salem Missionary Baptist Church was founded in Lilburn around 1834, when slaves constructed a meeting place to gather and worship.
Three decades later, Hopewell Baptist Church was founded by freed slaves. The original building was destroyed in a fire in 1920, but its congregation continued to grow. The current church building was dedicated in 1993.
In the early 1920s, entrepreneur Robert Livsey purchased the Maguire- Livsey House, a former plantation in South Gwinnett, and dubbed it ``The Promised Land.'' As the decades passed, this property became a thriving farm and Black business hub in the region, bringing a sense of independence and empowerment for the local Black community.
In Lawrenceville, the Hooper-Renwick School was the only Black public high school in Gwinnett County until the end of school segregation. The Hooper-Renwick School merged with the Gwinnett County school system in the 1960s. Plans are currently underway to transition this building into a library and Black History Museum.
In Johns Creek, the Macedonia Cemetery is a historical site of deep local significance. It is the resting place of dozens of enslaved individuals and their descendants.
Black Americans continue to excel and reach new heights through the leadership of notable figures in our community, whether it be in education, medicine, government, science, technology, sports, or fine arts.
Other history-makers in my district, such as Beauty Baldwin, was one of the first Black teachers at Central Gwinnett High School. She later served as the State's first Black female school superintendent.
Mr. Speaker, Baldwin Elementary and the Gwinnett Voter Registration and Elections buildings are named in her honor.
Everton Blair made history by becoming the youngest person and the first Black and LGBTQ+ person ever elected to the Gwinnett School Board. He graduated from Shiloh High School and Harvard University and was a policy fellow in the Obama administration.
Nicole Love Hendrickson is the first African American and the third woman to serve as Gwinnett County's chair. Hendrickson has issued proclamations celebrating Juneteenth and, for the first time in Gwinnett's history, acknowledging the 1911 lynching of Charles Hale in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner Jasper Watkins is the first African American in the Armed Forces in the State of Florida to achieve board certification with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' Nuclear Pharmacy Residency Program.
This region's athletes and entertainers include Alvin Kamara, a Norcross native and running back for the New Orleans Saints; George Rogers, a Duluth native and Heisman Trophy winner; and Ezzard Charles, a Lawrenceville native who is widely regarded as the greatest light heavyweight boxer of all time.
Migos, an American hip-hop trio composed of rappers Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff, was founded out of Lawrenceville in 2008. I was privileged to work with Quavo in my work to end gun violence following the tragic death of Takeoff in 2023.
Mr. Speaker, I hope it is clear just how rich and diverse the history of Black Americans in my district truly is. Each and every day, men and women are making a tremendous impact and shaping the future of our growing community. As their congresswoman, I am committed to doing my part to protect the rights that have brought us this far and advancing the progress that Black Americans continue to make every single day in America. I will march on until victory is won.
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