Extending Authorization for National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3967, a bill to amend the National Great Black Americans Commemoration Act of 2004 to authorize appropriations through fiscal year 2015. The funds, approximately $5 million, would be used by the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in order to build a Justice Learning Center. I would also like to commend my esteemed colleague, Representative Elijah Cummings, for his dedication to the preservation of Black American history.

In 1983, Drs. Elmer and Joanne Martin opened the doors to the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum. It is the first wax museum of African-American history in the nation, and the first wax museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The facility was created to stimulate an interest in African-American history by revealing little-known and often neglected facts of history. The founders also sought to improve race relations by dispelling myths of racial inferiority and superiority, as well as use the figures of great leaders to inspire and uplift African Americans to reach their full potential.

In 2004, the National Great Black Americans Commemoration Act of 2004 was signed into law. The act directed the Attorney General to make grants available to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, in part for building a Justice Learning Center, and also for carrying out programs relating to civil rights and juvenile justice. Though the legislation passed, no funds were distributed to the museum and the museum continues to operate on funding from private donors just as it has for the past 27 years. The Justice Learning Center will serve as another venue for the museum to educate and empower citizens with information relating to Black American history. H.R. 3967 gives this Congress an opportunity to support the museum in this project.

Mr. Speaker, fellow colleagues, it is imperative that we support this bill. Should we fail to pass this legislation and appropriate funds to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, great Georgians like Andrew Bryan, founder of the first American black Baptist church, in Savannah, GA, and Julian Bond, a former civil rights leader, United States Congressman, and recent chairman of the NAACP, would go unnoticed and overlooked along with other African-American leaders. In addition to all of the war funding, foreign aid, and domestic agendas we support, I believe our goal should also be to preserve and maintain our rich history for our children and generations yet to come. I urge my colleagues to stand with me and support this legislation.

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