Statement of U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek Regarding the 40th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act

Statement of U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek
Regarding the 40th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act

July 2, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC-Today, U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek released the following statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act today June 2, 2004:

"The Civil Rights Act was a historic measure that banned racial segregation and outlawed racial discrimination in hiring. At a time when our country is fighting for democracy and individual freedoms around the world, this anniversary serves as a time of celebration and retrospection for the long journey that Americans have traveled to ensure equality for all her people.

"While it's true, that progress has been made in the last 40 years, considerable areas of concern remain for African Americans. As a recent Urban League report notes, African Americans' earning power and life expectancy are significantly lower than that of whites and access to quality health care is still out of reach for a vast number of African Americans. Additionally, 13 percent of African American males in this country are ineligible to vote because they live in states, like Florida, that disenfranchise individuals with criminal records even though they have served their debt to society.

"We must remember those who made sacrifices in the struggle for civil rights in this country. We can not afford to forget that our fathers, mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers and all those who came before us lived in a society where the laws they were suppose to obey, had no benefit or protection for them, and in many instances cost them their lives.

"On this historic anniversary, I can't help but remember that as a young woman, my own mother, former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, was forced to attend graduate school in Michigan, away from her family because the state of Florida would not accept African Americans in their graduate programs.

"As I walk the halls of the U.S. Capitol in the shadows are the thousands of people who marched and protested for many of the freedoms my generation enjoys today. Their memory inspires us to keep advancing the cause and work to ensure that one day true equality will exist.

"This anniversary is an opportunity for this nation to see how far it has come and to renew our national commitment to civil rights."