Tumultuous Times

Floor Speech

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Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Thank you, my friend and colleague, Congressman Rush for calling this Special Order. I have thought that I wouldn't be able to be here, but I actually changed my schedule. I want to commend you for calling this Special Order and especially for the subject which you have addressed.

As I listened to you, I thought about the fact that the day of the assassination, my friend, Frank Lipscomb, and I went through the apartment. We saw the blood on the sheets, we saw the bullet holes, and we saw the tape. We were young schoolteachers, becoming activist-oriented, caught up in what was taking place in our country. I am so grateful that you were not there because had you been, in all probability, not only would we be talking about Fred and Mark, but we would also be talking about Bobby Rush. But I do believe that the good Lord spared you and somehow or another took you in another direction at that moment so that 45 years later we could look at and appreciate the many public contributions that you have made in efforts to try and make this world a better place, a more just place, a place where all life could be considered sacred.

The location is in my congressional district, the district that I represent, the district that I serve, less than a mile away. The building that I inhabit as a district office has a mural on the wall on the side of the building of Chairman Fred. His son, Fred, Jr., Fred's mother, and members of their organization come with regularity to pay homage and tribute. Of course, Fred's mother, brother, and sister live in my district in Maywood, Illinois. Never does a year go by when they don't have some event, some activity, some groupings of progressive-thinking people who come and spend time at their home talking about progressive causes and progressive issues.

It is kind of interesting that here we are 45 years later when law enforcement misconduct and police brutality are all at the forefront of issues plaguing our society today. I think the one thing that Fred's life and legacy has taught us is that freedom is a hard-won thing. Each generation has to win it and win it again. So when we look at what is taking place in St. Louis, in Chicago, in Ferguson, in Cleveland, in New York, and in Florida, all across the country, it tells us what Frederick Douglass taught, and that is that struggle, struggle, strife, and pain are the prerequisites for change. If there is no struggle, then there is no progress. Fred taught us that struggle must continue even to the last breath of injustice.

So we commend you, just as we commend your friends, Fred and Mark, for the leadership that you have provided in trying to help make America the America that has never been but all of us know must and will be.

I thank you for calling this Special Order.

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