Congressional Black Caucus

Floor Speech

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Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and my privilege once again to anchor this CBC Special Order where, for the next 60 minutes, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus will have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people on the important issue of race in America. Where do we go from here?

The events of the last several weeks have startled many throughout this country; most recently, the verdict down in Florida where Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted and the result that shocked many all across this country, a verdict that was viewed by many as unjust.

A few weeks prior to that, the Supreme Court struck down an important provision of the Voting Rights Act, an act that had been the most effective piece of civil rights legislation in this country which has helped to bring our democracy to life and is designed to make sure that all Americans, regardless of race, have an opportunity to participate in our democracy in a meaningful way.

The debate over the farm bill that has left many people troubled by the fact that the SNAP program, in an unprecedented fashion, was left out; and if we don't come to an agreement here, our failure to step up and help those who are hungry will disproportionately have an effect on many in the African American community.

These are just some of the recent events that have come together to put us in a position where, as the President has recently indicated, it's time for us to have a meaningful conversation on race--a direct conversation, a forthright conversation, an honest conversation. That's why the members of the Congressional Black Caucus are here today.

We have made tremendous progress in America. We've come a long way in this great country, but we certainly still have a ways to go. The road to equality is still under construction, and we're here today to try and lay out a roadmap for how we can get closer to a more perfect union here in America.

I'm pleased today that we've been joined by the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the distinguished gentlelady from Ohio (Ms. Fudge), who has been such a tremendous, eloquent, forceful leader in her position as chair of the CBC.

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Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished chair of the CBC.

Our objective here today, as part of our mission in the Congress, is really just to make sure that all Americans, regardless of skin color, have access to the American Dream, have an opportunity to pursue life and liberty and happiness here in America, unencumbered by any barriers connected to the color of their skin. That's our hope in America. That will make America all that it can be, this great country even better, in the quest toward a more perfect Union.

I am pleased that we've been joined by the distinguished gentleman from New York, the lion of Lenox Avenue, a legendary Member of this great institution, Congressman Charles Rangel.

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Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished gentleman from New York for his very insightful, passionate, and wonderful remarks as they relate to the situation that we in America find ourselves in today, the way forward, as well as an understanding of why we have arrived in this position.

Before I turn the floor over to the distinguished gentlelady from Texas, I just want to thank the Congressman from Harlem for mentioning the fact that we here in America do have a capacity, I think, to address multiple problems at the same time. We can multitask.

It's wrong when a child is killed in the inner city. It's wrong when a child is killed, 17 years old, walking home down in Sanford, Florida. We have an ability to address all of these problems, but there are some in this country that criticize those of us who raise problems of injustice in America by immediately pointing out that in inner cities all across this country--in Brooklyn, in Harlem, in Houston, in Chicago--there's Black-on-Black violence. We understand that it is our children who are dying. That is why the CBC, this Friday, will be in Chicago convening a summit to discuss the problem of violence in the inner city communities in places like Chicago, Illinois. But that doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to injustices that exist in other parts of the system.

We are pleased that we've been joined by the distinguished gentlelady from Houston, Texas, who has been working hard on this issue, on many issues of concern and injustice here in America. So let me now yield to Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.

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Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished gentlelady from Texas for her very thoughtful and eloquent remarks.

We in the CBC simply want a justice system that is color blind. That should be our goal, our objective, our mission here in America. We can't have a set of laws unequally applied--over-enforced with one group that looks a certain way and under-enforced with another group that looks a different way. That's not the type of America we want.

One of the reasons so many folks were troubled with the verdict down in Florida was that it appeared that the stand-your-ground defense seemed available for a self-appointed vigilante who shot down a 17-year-old in cold blood but, apparently, was not available for a battered woman who simply fired a warning shot against someone who had had a history of abusing her. We just want a set of laws equally applied to everybody.

We are pleased that the distinguished gentlelady from New York--my neighbor back at home--who has been a fighter for justice here in the Congress over the last 6-plus years, has joined us. Let me now yield to Representative Yvette Clarke.

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Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished gentlelady from New York.

The conversation on race is not an easy one, but certainly is a necessary one here in America and one that should be embraced because the diversity of our society, as the gentleman from New York, Congressman Rangel, pointed out, is one of our greatest strengths here in America.

We've been joined by a classmate of mine, the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey, Representative DONALD PAYNE, not only one of the sharpest dressed Members of Congress, but he's got one of the sharpest minds. And so I'm pleased to yield to him such time as he may consume.

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