Recognizing the Significance of Black History Month

Floor Speech

RECOGNIZING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH -- (House of Representatives - February 06, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. I thank the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Hodes) for that generous introduction. And I thank my good friend, Mr. Feeney from Florida, for also coming forward and robustly leading this bill forward today. We all owe thanks to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green), from whom we've just heard, who is the sponsor of this particular resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor to make, perhaps, an unusual point. During Black History Month, we should remember that black history is still being made. The best evidence, of course, is that an African American is close to, perhaps, getting the Democratic nomination for President. This breakthrough is not surprising when you consider that we are still living in a period for black history-making because the shackles of segregation and of nationwide discrimination were removed only about 40 years ago. So you will hear many firsts, many record-breakers continue to come forward for years to come.

We don't really have to go to the history books in the 19th century, and earlier, to find history makers who should be revered this month. We are literally still surrounded by living black history on which history has spoken. Now, mind you I say ``on which history has spoken,'' I mean you don't have the verdict of history until you can stand back from it. And, therefore, I want to make a few remarks about living history from the Congress of the United States.

It is probably the case that most Americans do not recognize that the first African American elected by popular vote to the United States Senate was Senator Edward Brooke, who served from 1967 to 1979. This is real living history, my friends. Now a robust 87, Senator Brooke broke more records than anybody I know. He became a Senator, '67 to '79, at a time when breakthroughs hadn't begun to occur. And he became a Senator from an overwhelmingly white State that was also overwhelmingly Democratic, and he was a Republican, a life-long Republican. Before that, he had become the State's first black attorney general.

I know Senator Brooke for reasons that are close to home. If you grew up in Washington, you will know him because, in studying black history, we studied this living history in our midst. He is a native Washingtonian. He graduated from Dunbar High School, the same high school I attended; served in World War II in the segregated 366th; went to Howard University and Howard law school, lived a segregated life his whole life. Then when he got out of the Army and got out of law school, he went to seek his fortune, not in his hometown, but in Massachusetts, where he practiced law and then had the audacity to run for office in a State where his party was pitifully outnumbered and in a State where he had to risk race when few had done so.

He tells the fascinating story of his life in his own autobiography called ``Bridging the Divide.'' It was published in 2006. And that's exactly what Senator Brooke did. He bridged the divide, brought Democrats and Republicans together, brought blacks and whites together, and became a history maker of the first order and one who served in the Congress of the United States.

I must say that the President has already understood his significance in American history because a few years ago, President Bush awarded Senator Brooke the highest national honor, the Presidential Medal of Honor. And, once more, the Senate has the jump on us. Of course, Edward Brooke was a Member of the Senate, but the Senate has unanimously voted that Senator Brooke should receive the highest congressional honor, the Congressional Gold Medal. These are the highest honors that each branch of government can offer.

I can think of no better way for the Congress to celebrate Black History Month, not in talking about black history that was made long ago, but looking inside our own ranks and finding a true historic figure, one that Democrats can be proud of, that Republicans are surely proud of, one who epitomizes exactly what everybody says our country needs today to bring us together, and one who served in our own ranks.

Many in the Congress on both sides of the aisle have already signed on to H.R. 1000, which is the bill necessary to award the Congressional Medal. That requires two-thirds of the House to sign on. Many have, once this was brought to their attention, signed on. We're going to send it again, of course, to Members, as we try to do something that I think will be history-making this very month, and that is to have the Congress of the United States, this month, this Black History Month, vote to give the Congressional Gold Medal to one of our own former colleagues, a former Member of the Senate, Senator Edward Brooke, the first African American to serve by popular vote in that body.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

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