Giving Voice to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Principles
Floor Speech
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the time, and I thank my colleagues for their presence today.
At this time, Mr. Speaker, I rise at this moment and in this Chamber to give a voice to the tens of millions of Americans who do not believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion is an offense to the spirit of America.
Nor are they under the impression that intentionally including the talent and abilities of qualified Americans who have been historically and systematically locked out of the promises of America is anything other than the right thing to do.
In fact, there are millions of Americans who understand that it is impossible to remunerate 300 years of oppression with only 62 years of inclusion. However, that is why we are here, and that is why we find ourselves here today, making sure that this voice is given airtime.
Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, it is also where we begin because we will let the word go forth from this time and in this place: If the Government of the United States had simply honored the 14th and 15th Amendments ratified in 1868 and in 1870 respectively, there would be no need for diversity, equity, and inclusion today because we would have fulfilled our promise and our obligation. There would be no need for affirmative action had we simply gone forward and honored the 14th and 15th Amendments.
There would be no need for civil rights legislation had we honored the 14th and 15th Amendments. To state the matter with even greater clarity, if the government of this country had honored its own laws, then this country would have never needed a civil rights movement.
That is because we would have fulfilled that obligation in our 14th and 15th Amendments. Unfortunately, it was not honored, and here we are. We will continue this fight to make sure that America fulfills its promise and its destiny.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be joined by my colleague and good friend, the Honorable Congressman Cleo Fields, who hails from the great State of Louisiana. Congressman Cleo Fields is the co-chair and founder of the DEI Caucus.
Congressman Fields has led an incredible career in public service my entire adult life, over the last 35 years and counting. All the while, he was championing voting rights issues on behalf of his constituents in the face of relentless opposition.
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Congressman Cleo Fields, representing the Sixth District of the great State of Louisiana, who has a remarkable story. He expanded democracy, not only asking for the opportunity but for equity and inclusion for the voice of all members of Louisiana to be included in what will go down as one of the most shameful acts in American history, the decision of Louisiana v. Callais, where they stripped the voting representation of African Americans in the great State of Louisiana.
I thank Congressman Cleo Fields for his magnanimous service to this great country, for continuing to expand democracy, and for having made America better.
He is a person we hold in high esteem, a voice that is fearless and confronts injustice.
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Tonko so much for his clear voice and analysis. I thank him for the update as we confront the resurgence of the confederacy. We need the abolitionist's voice.
We have gone from the veiled attempts of the segregationists now to the overt racism carefully wrapped up and disguised and repackaged saying that DEI, the program that expanded opportunity, is exclusionary. No.
Mr. Speaker, we have had a long history of racism, segregation, and discrimination. Now that we have put some ointment on and had some healing, now this is being called the cause of division. It is not, and we continue to stand. We will fight until America is right.
Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege and honor to introduce a colleague of mine from the great State of Illinois, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who has been here, who has championed fearless amounts of deals to make sure that the Nation is made stronger. She is a national voice on gun violence, also a doctor of medical sciences and public health, who represents the great Second District of the State of Illinois.
Kelly).
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Congresswoman from the great State of Illinois for her remarks. It has been truly an honor to serve with her, to admire her from afar, and to work with her up close. I thank her for her work and her commitment to justice for us all.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be joined by the Honorable Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of the great State of Michigan. She is a true advocate and freedom fighter for those that have been marginalized, a determined advocate for Detroit's working poor and working families, and one of the first Muslim women to serve in the United States House of Representatives. It is an honor to be her colleague.
Tlaib).
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it would have been my privilege and pleasure to introduce the Congressman from the great State of Maryland, an outstanding advocate for justice for all, a modern day abolitionist, a man who has been committed to equal opportunity and equal justice for all, the incomparable, the Honorable Congressman Jamie Raskin from the great State of Maryland, but he is not here yet.
Stansbury), an outstanding woman from the great State of New Mexico. The Honorable Congresswoman is a modern day abolitionist from the great State of New Mexico, Ms. Stansbury, my colleague.
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stansbury for her remarks. It has been a true honor to serve with her and to continue to serve with her.
Mr. Speaker, I now take the privilege to introduce the Honorable Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, the first Latino to represent her State in the United States Congress--carrying forward a legacy of her father, her family, as she molds and shapes her own. She came in here not as a freshman, but as a leader, carrying forward the fighting legacy, and I am honored that her father worked with my father. She has been working for families and environmental justice.
I now yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Grijalva).
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield the floor to the Honorable Congressman from the great State of Maryland, a modern-day abolitionist, a man who has risen to the height of this hour to combat the spirit of the Confederacy that also lived in this Chamber that has found a resurgence; a man who is fearless, who is keenly articulate and persuasively analytical and instinctively intelligent, who leads this Democratic voice on justice, the Honorable Jamie Raskin.
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Congressman Jamie Raskin. We would like to see fewer DUI Secretaries and more DEI candidates, persons who are simply looking for equal opportunity to be included in serving our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and my privilege to introduce the Honorable Congressman from the great State of Texas, a career prosecutor, a fighter for justice, a champion for the least of these, those who have been left behind, the Honorable Congressman Menefee from the great State of Texas.
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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank Congressman Menefee for his time, his talent, and his contribution to this country.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell you that the history of the United States has been replete with so many examples of the resilience of minorities having to overcome hostilities.
We do not find in the pages of American history over and over again that the government of this country has continually been complicit in the systematic disenfranchisement, specifically of African-American citizens and Native Americans by denying, as a matter of both law and custom, the legal privileges of both law and custom and the protections enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.
Whereas the problem of racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, anti- Semitism, anti-Islamophobia continues to be prevalent in the cultural, political, and economic life of this country. And as the cofounder of this DEI Caucus, I must rise to declare that with respect to the issue of equal access, equal opportunity, and equal protection under the law that the government of the United States, as it is currently configured, cannot be trusted unless we have explicit laws and codify these programs to ensure a greater America.
Nor should the economic and democratic future of over 13 million African Americans be left to the meandering and whimsical generosity of people who recently came to terms with the idea that all of us are created equal. The country is not there yet.
We have been moving toward a more perfect Union, and this administration amongst all administrations has been the most hostile towards inclusivity. To echo the words of Congressman Jamie Raskin, we have had more DUI hires in this administration's Cabinet than we have had DEI hires of those that have been qualified.
When we think of what happened to General CQ Brown being replaced by Mr. Pete Hegseth, who was then denied the opportunity to stand guard over the inauguration of President Joe Biden because of his ties to white nationalist organizations. That is something that we cannot look past.
I would tell you, Mr. Speaker, we are moving toward a more perfect Union. This administration seems to be an echo, a revision of the book ``1984,'' an Orwellian vision. Everything this administration says is the exact opposite. It says they are moving towards meritocracy, but they have hired some of the most incompetent people.
Look at our Nation. This country says they want to stand up for farmers. This administration, Mr. Speaker, I tell you, has been the most antifarming administration this Nation has seen. It has attacked the immigrant community that the farmers have relied on. It has entered a war that has been unnecessary and that has made the cost of fuel and fertilizer rise.
This administration has attacked the open markets so that the Chinese Government could not afford to purchase our soy and our corn because they could buy it cheaper from Argentina and from Brazil, although Brazil is further away from China than California. Why? It is because they have been hand-tied.
When we look at how do we make Canada, one of our oldest and longest and greatest political allies become a trade war partner. How have they simply enriched all the members of the administration?
If the President would make deals as good for the American people as he has made for himself personally, America would be doing better, and the country would be more affordable for the least of thee.
We have heard my colleagues, and I have discussed, the problems we have had with the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion and civil rights protections across our government and across many aspects of our society. We will continue to stand up to defend these relentless attacks.
Finally, it should be clear to all of us that the executive actions and the bureaucratic assault on this government's commitment to diversity is not a passing phase. It will have long, enduring consequences. And it should be obvious to all of us who believe in the possibility of a diverse and a more composite nation that prosperity is in our realm if we uphold the ideals of our values.
Mr. Speaker, even as our companies, universities, and public institutions are incentivized to walk away from the commitment to inclusion, I challenge every institution to remember that history is recording your action. Have the courage and the character to stand up now for what you believe in.
The stars shine brightest in the dark, and I would tell the CEOs: History will record your action and your inaction. I challenge every institution to prove that their devotion to diversity need not come from the force of law, but rather from the natural consequences of their understanding of the things that make for peace.
We can only hope that the illegality of discrimination will one day fall from the body politic of this Nation like scales falling from our eyes. But until that day arrives, we must continue to stand up for what is right. We must continue to stand up for what is just. We must continue to stand up for what is equitable.
And what is the promise to every American in the Constitution? It is independence in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I want to tell my colleagues and my friends: Do not cower in the face of this administration. History is recording us, and it will ask: Where did you stand? What did you do for justice?
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