Congressional Black Caucus
Floor Speech
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Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted mention Mr. Horsford. He is not here tonight,
but I always associate him with Mr. Jeffries. They have been a great
dynamic duo. And they have done outstanding work with these Special
Order hours. In his absence, I want to let him know that we still
greatly appreciate him and we miss him.
Mr. Speaker, I had a John Carlos moment. For edification purposes,
John Carlos was the athlete at the 1968 Olympics who went to the
podium, along with Tommie Smith, and raised his hand in what was called
at that time a Black Power salute.
At that time, much was said about John Carlos and Tommie Smith. Many
people criticized them for taking the podium and making this gesture.
They were said to be outside of the mainstream. But I believe that
history has vindicated them because they were a part of the avant-
garde. They actually were causing many people to understand that the
Black Power movement at that time was much bigger than many thought.
I had a John Carlos moment because I saw this clip where the Rams
players came into the arena: Hands up; don't shoot. It was a John Carlos moment because this has become the new
symbol, a new statement, a statement wherein people around the country
now are calling to the attention of those who don't quite understand
that this is a movement that will not dissipate; it will not evaporate.
It is a movement that is going to continue because young people--a
new generation--have decided that they are going to engage themselves
in the liberation movement, the freedom movement, if you will, the
continuation of what happened in 1968 with John Carlos and Tommy Lee
Smith.
I want to make sure that those who participated on the Rams team,
that their names are chronicled in history. I want people who look back
through the vista of time to know who they were when they search the
Congressional Records. So I want to add their names to this Record. I
want Kenny Britt to be recognized, Tavon Austin to be recognized,
Stedman Bailey to be recognized, Jared Cook, Chris Givens, and Tre
Mason. These are persons who in the years to come will be acknowledged
as a part the avant-garde.
I want people to know also that I appreciate and support what the
President is doing with his executive action. I support what he is
doing with body cameras, and I support what he is doing with body
cameras because I believe that body cameras can exonerate, and they can
as well incriminate. They can exonerate officers who are falsely
accused. They can provide empirical evidence of what actually
transpired. There won't be ``he said'' or ``she said.'' There will be
the empirical evidence of what the camera actually saw. They can also
incriminate those who would try to perpetrate a fraud upon the American
people. Body cameras can identify those who would engage in criminal
conduct and then try to excuse their conduct with words that don't
match what the camera will reveal.
I believe in body cameras. This is why I have filed H.R. 5407, the
TIP Act, Transparency in Policing. The TIP Act would cause the Justice
Department to examine the circumstance in this country, the costs for
body cameras, and would then allow those jurisdictions that cannot
afford to incorporate body cameras into their police departments, there
would be an exemption for them, but would require those generally
speaking who receive Federal dollars to move to body cameras.
I regret that we are getting to a point now where we are getting it
right after the fact. We shouldn't get it right after the fact. This is
what is happening in Ferguson. After the fact, Ferguson is moving to
body cameras. But we don't need another Ferguson. There are other
communities around the country where after the fact they are moving to
body cameras. We don't need to have an injustice take place before we
move to a just circumstance and incorporate these body cameras.
My hope is that we will follow the President's lead and that we will
incorporate body cameras into police departments across the length and
breadth and the scope of this country, if you will. But I also pray
that this bill, H.R. 5407 will get a hearing. It is overwhelmingly
supported by members of the CBC as well as others. It is not a CBC
initiative, but it is supported overwhelmingly by the CBC, and my hope
is that this bill will get a fair hearing because we should not get it
right after the fact.
We should have an opportunity to eliminate a lot of what we see as
confusion and chaos. We need not continue to add fuel to the flame of
confusion. That flame can be eliminated if we but only had these body
cameras. They are not a cure-all, and they are not a panacea, but they
are a positive step in the right direction. I salute the President and
thank him for what he is doing, and I pray that we will get a fair
hearing on H.R. 5407.
God bless you, dear brother, and I pray that you will continue to do
what you are doing on the floor of the House in giving us this voice so
that we may reach the American people.
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