[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H575-H578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1945
EVOLUTION OF BLACK EXCELLENCE THROUGHOUT HISTORY
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hunt). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of
the minority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special
Order hour.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I
rise today to coanchor this CBC Special Order hour along with my
distinguished colleague, Representative Jonathan Jackson.
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For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to
speak directly to the evolution of Black excellence throughout history,
an issue of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus,
Congress, the constituents we represent, and all of America.
As we celebrate the evolution of Black excellence, I rise today to
pay homage to the significant events and trailblazers who played a
central role in shaping south Florida's history. In Fort Lauderdale,
you can find the historic Sistrunk neighborhood--what we have known to
be the heart and soul of the city. Since the very beginning, this
vibrant and beloved neighborhood has been the epicenter of Broward
County's Black culture and heritage.
Sistrunk's early days can be traced back to the individuals from
Georgia, South Carolina, and the Bahamas who migrated to the region.
Some of the neighborhood's earliest inhabitants were railroad workers
who resided in shanties prior to the beginning of the 20th century.
After the railroad tracks were finalized, some workers found other
employment and became Fort Lauderdale residents once the city was
officially incorporated in 1911.
If you take a trip down to this neighborhood, you will find yourself
on Sistrunk Boulevard, which is named after the trailblazer who changed
the trajectory of our region for the better.
Born in 1891, Dr. James Franklin Sistrunk is a pioneer to whom our
community owes a debt of gratitude.
He graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Sistrunk later served his Nation in World War I before relocating
to Dunnellon to practice medicine. He later moved to Fort Lauderdale.
Despite being a qualified surgeon, the color of his skin prevented
him from working in White hospitals.
In 1938, he joined Dr. Von D. Mizell to establish Fort Lauderdale's
first medical facility to treat Black patients, Provident Hospital. It
opened after a farm truck carrying dozens of Black workers overturned
near a Whites-only hospital. The workers were told that they could only
receive treatment outside. Once again, let me repeat that. The Black
workers could only receive treatment outside.
During his 44 years of practice, Dr. Sistrunk delivered over 5,000
babies. Throughout Broward County, Dr. Sistrunk would tend to patients
in their homes and assist those who were financially strained. After
the desegregation of public hospitals, Dr. Sistrunk became an active
member of Broward General Hospital.
This summer, I visited the Holy Cross Health Center located at the
L.A. Lee YMCA /Mizell Community Center. It sits on historic land where
Provident Hospital once stood and is building on its legacy in
providing accessible healthcare.
As we celebrate Black excellence, I am honored to pay tribute to Dr.
James Franklin Sistrunk, who transformed the health of Broward County
in more ways than one.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her
leadership in this Congress on these important Special Order hours that
the CBC has been involved in. She has done an exemplary job in making
sure she is able to rally the cattle and keep them in order, and I just
wanted to acknowledge that.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the evolution of Black
excellence during Black History Month.
I have said on this floor that the African American story is the
greatest success story in our country's history, and we are here to
highlight some of those many examples of that success.
First, I want to discuss why it is important to have this discussion.
Black excellence is a term born out of the difficulties Black Americans
have faced since the very beginning. It is a term that helps change the
historical perception of Blacks in America, and it focuses on the
millions of Black Americans that have helped change that perspective.
Since the first Africans set foot on American soil, we have fought
for everything that we have in this country. First, we had to fight for
the right to be considered people. Then we had to fight to make sure
the promises of the Constitution applied to us. We are still fighting
those fights every single day.
In essence, Black excellence is not a series of actions, it is a
state of being that evolved from struggle. It is a response to critics,
and it is a mantra that reminds millions of Black children and teens
that there are doors open to them that were closed to their ancestors.
Usually Black history and Black excellence focuses on the most famous
Black Americans, like Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Owens, Maya Angelou, Michael Jordan, and Oprah
Winfrey. However, history is filled with Black Americans who need to be
recognized more often. Americans like Bayard Rustin, who organized the
March on Washington. Bessie Coleman, the world's first licensed Black
pilot. Alice Coachman, the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold
medal. Benjamin Davis, Sr., the first Black General in the U.S. Army.
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first Black woman to earn a medical
degree in the U.S. Frederick McKinley Jones, a Black inventor who made
it possible to transport blood and donated organs across this country.
His invention alone saved tens of thousands of lives.
Today, Black Americans carry on their tradition of excellence in a
variety of fields and professions. Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett helped create
a COVID-19 vaccine. Victor Glover was the first Black astronaut to live
and work at the International Space Station for an extended period of
time. Rashida Jones is the president of MSNBC and is the first Black
executive to run a major news network.
Brian Stephenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative,
has helped hundreds of wrongfully-convicted Americans get the justice
and freedom they deserve. Tristan Walker cofounded an organization to
help minority students get jobs with the country's leading technology
firms.
Today's Congressional Black Caucus is filled with political leaders
who have triumphed over adversity. Their stories are exceptional
examples of Black excellence. Yet, these Black Americans are only a few
of the millions who have worked to help our communities and our country
every day. Their work inspires African-American school children
everywhere to find their own means to achieve Black excellence.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Donald
Payne.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).
Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Cherfilus-McCormick
for diligently holding the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order
hour. I don't know what we would do without her.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to participate in this evening's Special
Order hour celebrating the evolution of Black excellence throughout
history. The stories and triumphs of Black Americans deserve to be
commemorated all year long, but especially during Black History Month.
The legacies of the men and women who shaped this Nation's history
impact our daily lives in countless ways. It is my honor to take just a
few moments to share highlights from the communities that I am proud to
represent.
I grew up in the heart of the civil rights movement. I was the baby
in the stroller at the March on Washington. My father was the president
of the Illinois chapter of the NAACP, and my mother was a nurse. My
parents' teachings and example made such a strong impression on me even
as a little girl. Some of my fondest memories were watching them direct
meetings in our home and prepare for marches while caring for and
lifting up each and every person that they interacted with. As the
daughter of civil rights leaders, I know how hard-fought our freedoms
are.
In Georgia, we proudly claim two of this Nation's most prominent
civil rights leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the great
Congressman John Lewis, whose presence and influence this legislative
body misses every single day. Georgia's legacy of Black excellence
extends far beyond Atlanta and reaches every corner of our State in a
multitude of ways.
In my district, Georgia's Seventh Congressional District, I am proud
of the incredible transformation in Black
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history that has taken place over the last 200 years. In Gwinnett
County, Salem Missionary Baptist Church was founded in Lilburn around
1834, when slaves constructed a meeting place to gather and worship.
Three decades later, Hopewell Baptist Church was founded by freed
slaves. The original building was destroyed in a fire in 1920, but its
congregation continued to grow. The current church building was
dedicated in 1993.
In the early 1920s, entrepreneur Robert Livsey purchased the Maguire-
Livsey House, a former plantation in South Gwinnett, and dubbed it
``The Promised Land.'' As the decades passed, this property became a
thriving farm and Black business hub in the region, bringing a sense of
independence and empowerment for the local Black community.
In Lawrenceville, the Hooper-Renwick School was the only Black public
high school in Gwinnett County until the end of school segregation. The
Hooper-Renwick School merged with the Gwinnett County school system in
the 1960s. Plans are currently underway to transition this building
into a library and Black History Museum.
In Johns Creek, the Macedonia Cemetery is a historical site of deep
local significance. It is the resting place of dozens of enslaved
individuals and their descendants.
Black Americans continue to excel and reach new heights through the
leadership of notable figures in our community, whether it be in
education, medicine, government, science, technology, sports, or fine
arts.
{time} 2000
Other history-makers in my district, such as Beauty Baldwin, was one
of the first Black teachers at Central Gwinnett High School. She later
served as the State's first Black female school superintendent.
Mr. Speaker, Baldwin Elementary and the Gwinnett Voter Registration
and Elections buildings are named in her honor.
Everton Blair made history by becoming the youngest person and the
first Black and LGBTQ+ person ever elected to the Gwinnett School
Board. He graduated from Shiloh High School and Harvard University and
was a policy fellow in the Obama administration.
Nicole Love Hendrickson is the first African American and the third
woman to serve as Gwinnett County's chair. Hendrickson has issued
proclamations celebrating Juneteenth and, for the first time in
Gwinnett's history, acknowledging the 1911 lynching of Charles Hale in
Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner Jasper Watkins is the first
African American in the Armed Forces in the State of Florida to achieve
board certification with the American Society of Health-System
Pharmacists' Nuclear Pharmacy Residency Program.
This region's athletes and entertainers include Alvin Kamara, a
Norcross native and running back for the New Orleans Saints; George
Rogers, a Duluth native and Heisman Trophy winner; and Ezzard Charles,
a Lawrenceville native who is widely regarded as the greatest light
heavyweight boxer of all time.
Migos, an American hip-hop trio composed of rappers Quavo, Offset,
and Takeoff, was founded out of Lawrenceville in 2008. I was privileged
to work with Quavo in my work to end gun violence following the tragic
death of Takeoff in 2023.
Mr. Speaker, I hope it is clear just how rich and diverse the history
of Black Americans in my district truly is. Each and every day, men and
women are making a tremendous impact and shaping the future of our
growing community. As their congresswoman, I am committed to doing my
part to protect the rights that have brought us this far and advancing
the progress that Black Americans continue to make every single day in
America. I will march on until victory is won.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. McBath for her
remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).
Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Representative for yielding and
allowing me to participate in celebrating Black History Month.
Mr. Speaker, this week, I will be introducing the Frederick Douglass
Congressional Gold Medal Act, which would honor Frederick Douglass with
a long overdue expression of appreciation and celebrate his legacy with
a Congressional Gold Medal.
I am proud to offer this bipartisan legislation with my colleague,
Congressman Andy Harris, whose district includes the historic
birthplace of Mr. Douglass.
Mr. Speaker, nearly 130 years since his passing, Frederick Douglass'
remarkable life remains a beacon of inspiration to all Americans.
Born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Mr. Douglass overcame
countless obstacles to become one of the most powerful and impactful
figures in 19th century America.
Douglass was enslaved for the first two decades of his life. During
this period, he taught himself to read and write, skills which would
later play a critical role in his life as an abolitionist and civil
rights leader.
In his twenties, Douglass escaped slavery, first to New York and then
eventually settling in Massachusetts. Douglass dedicated the remainder
of his life to furthering the cause of freedom for others in America.
Beginning in the 1840s, Douglass became active in the abolitionist
movement, often utilizing his profound oratory and writing skills to
captivate and inform his audiences.
As a writer and publisher, Frederick Douglass used the power of his
written works to document the cruelty of slavery and push for
abolition. He was the publisher of The North Star, a newspaper that he
authored, and multiple autobiographies in which he shared the brutality
of his enslavement in Maryland.
Douglass exposed the oppression of enslaved Americans, speaking
powerfully at abolition conventions and meetings with civic leaders.
In 1852, Douglass delivered his famous Fourth of July address in
Rochester, New York. In his speech, Douglass asked the question: What
to the slave is the Fourth of July? While commending the ideals of the
Founding Fathers, he also noted the hypocrisy of such ideals in
relation to the treatment of enslaved Americans as he had been.
Perhaps some of Douglass' most impactful achievements came as our
Nation was torn apart by the Civil War. Douglass was a key advocate in
ensuring that the Civil War brought about the end of slavery in the
United States.
As the war began, Douglass recruited African-American men to join the
Union Army, including his own sons.
After the war, he fought for equal pay and equal treatment for
African-American soldiers. This advocacy included several meetings with
President Abraham Lincoln at the White House, to whom Douglass became a
trusted confidant.
After the war, Douglass continued his work as a dedicated fighter for
equality and the extension of the rights of the U.S. Constitution to
all Americans. He was a prominent and powerful advocate for the 13th,
14th, and 15th amendments.
One of his most powerful postwar moments came in 1876 at the
dedication of the Emancipation Memorial here in Lincoln Park in
Washington, D.C., where Douglass delivered the keynote address.
Later in his life, Douglass was also a public servant. He was
appointed to several influential government posts, including U.S.
Marshal for the District of Columbia, Recorder of Deeds, and Minister
to Haiti.
Frederick Douglass dedicated his life to furthering the cause of
freedom in the United States. Few Americans have shaped our Nation so
profoundly and permanently as Frederick Douglass. To this very day,
Douglass' message and principles remain a guiding light for our country
as we continue to seek fulfillment of our Nation's promise and
potential for justice and equality.
Although the immeasurable impact of Frederick Douglass elevated him
to the pantheon of some of the greatest Americans, he has never
received a proper, official commendation from Congress for his
contributions to our Nation.
If awarded, Douglass' medal would be displayed at the National Museum
of
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African American History and Culture right here in Washington, D.C.,
where Americans can view the medal and learn more about Douglass'
legacy.
It is long past time for Congress to bestow this honor upon an
American whose indelible impact is still felt today and will continue
to be felt for generations to come. Therefore, I urge my colleagues on
both sides of the aisle to support this bill.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Black history,
I rise today to recognize the cornerstone of Black achievement in
America: historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs.
As a proud alumna of Howard University, proud wife of a Howard Law
graduate, and proud mother of a Howard University student, I speak from
personal experience when I say that HBCUs have the transformative power
to shape the leaders of tomorrow. HBCUs have a long and illustrious
history deeply intertwined with the struggle for civil rights and the
fight for equality.
From their inception during the era of segregation to the present
day, these institutions have remained safe havens where Black scholars,
in spite of systemic barriers, can flourish intellectually,
academically, and culturally.
My own journey to Congress, firmly rooted in the halls of Howard
University, is a testament to the power of an HBCU education.
It was at Howard University that I received not only a world-class
education but also absorbed the values of community, service, and
social justice.
It was at Howard University that I witnessed how education can be a
catalyst for change and help others realize the American Dream.
HBCUs have generated half of the Black lawyers, 40 percent of Black
engineers, 80 percent of Black judges, and 70 percent of Black doctors
nationwide. They graduate 27 percent of Black Americans with bachelor's
degrees in STEM subjects, putting them at the forefront of innovation.
These figures demonstrate the undeniable impact of HBCUs in nurturing
talent, fostering academic excellence, and empowering Black students to
realize their fullest potential.
However, HBCUs are significant for reasons far beyond academics. They
are focal points for the preservation of culture, where a rich legacy
and history of the Black community are honored.
HBCUs serve as catalysts for economic empowerment, providing
disenfranchised groups with upward mobility.
As we reflect on the importance of HBCUs, let us not forget the
ongoing challenges they face. Despite their contributions, HBCUs
grapple with inadequate funding and crumbling infrastructures.
It is incumbent upon us all, as advocates for equality and stewards
of education, to ensure that HBCUs receive the support they need to
continue shaping future leaders. I am grateful that the Biden-Harris
administration has invested over $7 billion in HBCUs, unlocking
opportunities for millions of Americans.
HBCUs represent the very best of Black excellence. We can all draw
inspiration from the unwavering resilience that underpins these
institutions.
Their steadfast commitment to equality and greatness inspires us all
to tear down barriers and build a future where everyone may openly
follow their ambition, regardless of the color of their skin.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, we have heard from my distinguished
colleagues about the evolution of Black excellence throughout history
an issue of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, our
constituents, Congress, and all Americans tonight.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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