Black History Month

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I am so honored and privileged to be here tonight to speak on the Congressional Black Caucus, with our Special Order hour tonight specific to honoring Black History Month.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join tonight's Special Order hour honoring Black History Month, my Black history, my people, my community.

As a second vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, it is vitally important to me that we commemorate the stories and triumphs of Black Americans all year long and especially during Black History Month.

I am the daughter of civil rights leaders. My father was the Illinois branch president of the NAACP and served on its executive board for over 25 years. I grew up in the struggle. I grew up in the marches. I grew up in the rallies. I certainly learned how to sing ``We Shall Overcome'' because it is what I sang with my family all the time, for as long as I can remember.

I draw upon the strength of these experiences, the experiences and strength of my mother and my father during a time which feels not unlike the uncertainty of the 1960s. Though there are those who may feel discouraged that we are fighting the same bigotry and the same hatred, going down the same road that my parents fought against, that Dr. King fought against, that Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer fought against, that our dear friend and beloved colleague John Lewis fought against, I continue to look to the civil rights movement as a reminder that we are not powerless.

Our voices and our role as legislators in this body give us all the tools that we need to speak up, to stand up, and to fight back for Black America and for all of America.

It is what my father did and what my mother did, even during a time when diners charged him more money for a cup of coffee than the White man sitting next to him.

I can remember, as a child living in Chicago, Illinois, going into a local Walgreens. I remember standing there with my family, all of them fair-skinned, with red hair, brown hair, and freckles, and me, the brownest child in the family, being told I couldn't go sit with my family because they didn't believe I was a part of my family.

It is these kinds of experiences that I will fight for the rest of my life to make sure that no child, no individual in this country, ever feels discriminated against. It is what my father did. It is what I did as a grieving mother when my son, Jordan, was killed by a White man who simply didn't like the loud music that he was playing in his car. It is what we must do now as a Presidential administration, emboldened by hatred and vengeance, seeks to weaken and dismantle Federal programs that support our veterans, care for our seniors, and defend our Nation from public health emergencies, just to name a few.

What we must continue to do as we face threats of erasing Black history, American history, we must continue to fight from our classrooms and from our textbooks.

We must stand up. Black America must speak out. We must remember our responsibility to act--not just to react--in the best interests of all the American people. In the face of attacks on minority communities in a nation where our diversity is truly our strength, it is more important than ever that we celebrate the progress of this Nation--and Black history is part of this Nation--of every step which brings us closer to forming a more perfect Union.

We have been promised that by this Constitution. We have been promised that by this country, and I know that we will continue to fight every step of the way to fulfill that promise.

In my time in Congress, I have been privileged to represent a rich tapestry of this Nation, woven by the many threads which make us uniquely American. I have been proud to represent one of the most diverse congressional districts in America, and I am honored to represent so many talented local leaders who have blazed a trail and accomplished many firsts in their community.

In my current district, eight mayors or county executives are the first Black people to ever serve in those positions. Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom, Douglasville Mayor Rochelle Robinson, Fairburn Mayor Mario Avery, Fayetteville Mayor Ed Johnson, Mableton Mayor Michael Owens, Palmetto Mayor Teresa Thomas-Smith, and Powder Springs Mayor Al Thurman.

These leaders can be proud of the fact that they were the first, and I take pride in knowing that they will certainly not be the last.

The fact that I was elected the first Black Representative of Georgia's Sixth Congressional District, the first Democrat to hold that seat since 1979, the first person of color to ever hold that seat in 2018 is a testament to the progress in our State and to the work of leaders on the ground and Black America. I am grateful for all those who have paved the path of progress for me and all future leaders to follow in their footsteps.

Mr. Speaker, we face extraordinary and unprecedented challenges in this moment, but this month and always, we will celebrate the strength of America's diversity, the unity of her people, and our unwavering determination to leave behind a brighter tomorrow for future generations, for our children. They deserve that. Because of the celebrations of African Americans that we are talking about during this Special Order hour, I have every confidence that my people will overcome.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source