Evolution of Black Excellence Throughout History

Floor Speech

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Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Representative for yielding and allowing me to participate in celebrating Black History Month.

Mr. Speaker, this week, I will be introducing the Frederick Douglass Congressional Gold Medal Act, which would honor Frederick Douglass with a long overdue expression of appreciation and celebrate his legacy with a Congressional Gold Medal.

I am proud to offer this bipartisan legislation with my colleague, Congressman Andy Harris, whose district includes the historic birthplace of Mr. Douglass.

Mr. Speaker, nearly 130 years since his passing, Frederick Douglass' remarkable life remains a beacon of inspiration to all Americans.

Born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Mr. Douglass overcame countless obstacles to become one of the most powerful and impactful figures in 19th century America.

Douglass was enslaved for the first two decades of his life. During this period, he taught himself to read and write, skills which would later play a critical role in his life as an abolitionist and civil rights leader.

In his twenties, Douglass escaped slavery, first to New York and then eventually settling in Massachusetts. Douglass dedicated the remainder of his life to furthering the cause of freedom for others in America.

Beginning in the 1840s, Douglass became active in the abolitionist movement, often utilizing his profound oratory and writing skills to captivate and inform his audiences.

As a writer and publisher, Frederick Douglass used the power of his written works to document the cruelty of slavery and push for abolition. He was the publisher of The North Star, a newspaper that he authored, and multiple autobiographies in which he shared the brutality of his enslavement in Maryland.

Douglass exposed the oppression of enslaved Americans, speaking powerfully at abolition conventions and meetings with civic leaders.

In 1852, Douglass delivered his famous Fourth of July address in Rochester, New York. In his speech, Douglass asked the question: What to the slave is the Fourth of July? While commending the ideals of the Founding Fathers, he also noted the hypocrisy of such ideals in relation to the treatment of enslaved Americans as he had been.

Perhaps some of Douglass' most impactful achievements came as our Nation was torn apart by the Civil War. Douglass was a key advocate in ensuring that the Civil War brought about the end of slavery in the United States.

As the war began, Douglass recruited African-American men to join the Union Army, including his own sons.

After the war, he fought for equal pay and equal treatment for African-American soldiers. This advocacy included several meetings with President Abraham Lincoln at the White House, to whom Douglass became a trusted confidant.

After the war, Douglass continued his work as a dedicated fighter for equality and the extension of the rights of the U.S. Constitution to all Americans. He was a prominent and powerful advocate for the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.

One of his most powerful postwar moments came in 1876 at the dedication of the Emancipation Memorial here in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C., where Douglass delivered the keynote address.

Later in his life, Douglass was also a public servant. He was appointed to several influential government posts, including U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia, Recorder of Deeds, and Minister to Haiti.

Frederick Douglass dedicated his life to furthering the cause of freedom in the United States. Few Americans have shaped our Nation so profoundly and permanently as Frederick Douglass. To this very day, Douglass' message and principles remain a guiding light for our country as we continue to seek fulfillment of our Nation's promise and potential for justice and equality.

Although the immeasurable impact of Frederick Douglass elevated him to the pantheon of some of the greatest Americans, he has never received a proper, official commendation from Congress for his contributions to our Nation.

If awarded, Douglass' medal would be displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture right here in Washington, D.C., where Americans can view the medal and learn more about Douglass' legacy.

It is long past time for Congress to bestow this honor upon an American whose indelible impact is still felt today and will continue to be felt for generations to come. Therefore, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.

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