Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 352) remembering and honoring the march on Washington of August 28, 1963.

 

   The Clerk read as follows:

   H. Res. 352

   Whereas the first call for a march on Washington was initiated in 1941 by A. Philip Randolph, President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in response to the blatant discrimination that had become a constant hardship in the lives of African-American workers;

 

   Whereas in the spring and summer of 1963, more than 20,000 United States citizens were arrested and detained while nonviolently protesting the racial injustice that was widespread throughout the southern United States at that time;

 

   Whereas Randolph told President Kennedy that the African-American population was going to march peacefully on Washington to demand their full and equal constitutional rights in the face of severe civil rights violations and harsh economic inequality;

 

   Whereas in June of 1963 the ``Big Six'' civil rights leaders--Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, Whitney Young, Roy Wilkins, and A. Philip Randolph--convened to plan a mass protest that would begin at the Washington Monument and end in front of the Lincoln Memorial;

 

   Whereas the march was initially termed the ``March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom'', and aimed to advance support for a new Federal jobs program and a higher minimum wage;

 

   Whereas the Big Six expanded the focus of the march to include civil rights injustices due to the disturbing events that had occurred in the months prior to the march, such as police dogs attacking peaceful demonstrators in Birmingham, the assassination of Medgar Evers in Jackson, and the lack of congressional support for President Kennedy's civil rights bill;

 

   Whereas Government officials were concerned about the outbreak of violence, but many civil rights organizations held orientation meetings before the march that taught and stressed the intrinsic non-violent principles of the movement;

 

   Whereas on August 28, 1963, people from throughout the country arrived in Washington by plane, bus, train, and foot to express the urgent need for forceful and immediate action on the issue of civil rights;

 

   Whereas demonstrators pledged their commitment and continued participation in the struggle for civil rights;

 

   Whereas March leaders met with President Kennedy and Members of Congress to discuss the importance and consequential impact of the pending civil rights bill that aimed to end discrimination of African-Americans in the work place, voting booth, educational facilities, and all other public domains;

 

   Whereas the demonstrators peacefully marched through the streets of the capital and, at the Lincoln Memorial, heard empowering and inspiring words from the Big Six leaders, as well as Walter Reuther, Rev. Eugene Blake Carson, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Matthem Ahmann, and Floyd McKissick;

 

   Whereas police officers had their days of leave cancelled, suburban forces were given special control training, and 15,000 paratroopers were put on alert, but no Marchers were arrested or jailed and the march dispersed without incident;

 

   Whereas the March was one of the first events to be televised worldwide, and thus brought international attention to the social and economic plight of African-Americans;

 

   Whereas 15 Senators and 60 Representatives attended the rally at the Lincoln Memorial and witnessed the commitment of the demonstrators to the struggle for domestic and universal human rights;

 

   Whereas the March sparked the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965;

 

   Whereas the public display of humanity exhibited by the March educated the public and helped to correct some of their misconceptions, and demonstrated the possibility that an entire country could be changed through non-violent protest; and

 

   Whereas the 1963 March on Washington was the largest political demonstration in United States history and proved to the nation that prejudice and discrimination against African-Americans and other minorities could be successfully fought by a collective force committed to the principles of non-violence: Now, therefore, be it

 

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) honors the 1963 March on Washington as one of the largest political demonstrations in United States history;

 

    (2) recognizes the monumental importance of the 1963 March on Washington in the on-going struggle for civil rights and equal rights for all Americans; and

 

    (3) extends its gratitude to the organizers and participants of the 1963 March on Washington for their dedication and commitment to equality and justice.

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each will control 20 minutes.

   The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

 

   GENERAL LEAVE

   Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 352, the bill under consideration.

 

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Tennessee?

 

   There was no objection.

 

   Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

 

   Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 352 introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from the State of Georgia (Mr. Bishop), remembers and honors the march on Washington of August 28, 1963.

 

   Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago this summer almost a quarter of a million people gathered here in Washington, D.C. to take a stand for freedom and for equality.

 

   They came to our Nation's capital to tell America that civil rights could no longer be exclusive rights denied to millions of Americans based on nothing more than the color of their skin.

 

   Known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the event was originally planned to focus on economic concerns at a time when more than 1 1/2 million black Americans were searching for work. The march expanded, becoming a massive rally in support of civil rights legislation that had been recently introduced by President Kennedy.

   On the morning of August 28, 1963, supporters arrived at the Washington Monument. At about noon the marchers advanced as an incredible mass to the Lincoln Memorial, a memorial that honors the President who gave his presidency and his life in the name of liberty for all people.

 

   At the memorial the marchers heard speeches from the most influential leader of the civil rights movement, including the NAACP's Roy Wilkins; Whitney Young of the Urban League; my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), then of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee; and it was here that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a speech that has changed America, a speech that captured the idea that is America, asking why our country was failing to keep its promise to treat all men as equals.

 

   The ``I Have A Dream'' speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial is passionate, it is reasoned, and it has made a difference.

 

   Mr. Speaker, the march on Washington was the largest political demonstration in our Nation's history at the time. It was an awesome display by thousands of people who loved and craved freedom, and above all else, people who deserved freedom. The three major television networks aired the speeches at the memorial and the event captivated the world. Forty years later, it is appropriate that this House take time to remember what a powerful day that late summer afternoon in August 1963 was for Americans who wanted to end racism.

 

   Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) for introducing such a worthwhile measure that remembers the march on Washington in 1963. I urge all Members to support its adoption.

 

   Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

 

   Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

   Mr. Speaker, the march on Washington, August 28, 1963 marks a cornerstone in American history and especially in African American history. It was a movement towards civil rights whose purpose was to embrace freedom and justice for all.

 

   The civil rights movement has had a long and difficult journey from slavery to today. Part of this journey in history towards equal justice is highlighted with Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President of the United States. On January 1, 1863, he signed the Emancipation Proclamation document that declared many slaves to be free, but it did not end slavery. It took the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution to end slavery on December 18, 1865. It took the 14th amendment to establish Negroes as citizens of the United States on July 9, 1868, and the 15th amendment to allow blacks to vote in this country on February 3, 1870.

 

   Our citizenship and privileges were always questioned and in most situations denied until the march on Washington led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was 39 years ago that Jim Crow laws were subjugating and denying blacks the right to vote in certain southern States, the imposition of poll taxes, segregation of schools, housing, bus and train transportation, restrooms and other public accommodations.

 

   The march on Washington of 1963 was originally initiated by A. Philip Randolph, who was an activist and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He, 22 years earlier, had planned a march on Washington in 1941 with the purpose to focus the attention of the American public and the world that African Americans needed more jobs and equal protection under the law.

 

   This march was extremely close to occurring until just before the day of it. Mr. Randolph met with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and he agreed to issue an executive order declaring that ``there shall be no discrimination in employment of the race, creed color or national origin.''

 

   Executive Order 8802 represented the United States Government's most stringent civil rights action since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

 

   In return for this agreement with President Roosevelt, Mr. Randolph called off the protest march.

   Mr. Randolph and his colleague, Bayard Rustin, met with labor and civil rights leaders to plan the march on Washington that included nine demands. I think it is important that we remember those.

 

   One, passage of a meaningful civil rights legislation at this session of Congress with no filibustering.

 

   Two, immediate elimination of all racial segregation in public schools throughout the Nation.

 

   Three, a big program of public works to provide jobs for all the Nation's unemployed, including job training and a placement program.

 

   Four, a Federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in hiring workmen, either public or private.

 

   Five, $2 an hour minimum wage across the board Nationwide.

 

   Six, withholding of Federal funds from programs in which discrimination exists.

 

   Seven, enforcements of the 14th amendment, reducing congressional representation of States where citizens are disenfranchised.

 

   Eight, a broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to include currently excluded employment areas.

 

   Nine, authority for the Attorney General to substitute injunctive suits when any constitutional right is violated.

   
   Mr. Speaker I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

 

   Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

 

   Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

 

   Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), the sponsor of this resolution.

 

   Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding the time.

   I rise today in support of H. Res. 352, a resolution remembering and honoring the march on Washington of August 28, 1963. Let me first thank the Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who have worked together in the best spirit of bipartisanship in order to bring this important resolution to the floor of the House in short order: the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), chairman; and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member of the Committee on Government Reform; the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the majority whip; the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the Democratic whip; the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), Democratic leader; and the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert).

 

   I would also like to recognize from our staffs Howard Moon, Jerry Hart, Kyle Nevins, Seth Webb, Rob Cogorno, Tania Shand, Keith Ausbrook and Phil Barnett for their attention to this important resolution in working together to move it through committee and to the floor expeditiously.

 

   Mr. Speaker, in the spring and the summer of 1963, 100 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the ``big six'' civil rights leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, Whitney Young, Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph and our esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), now a Member of Congress, convened to plan a peaceful mass protest against the racial and civil rights injustices that were widespread at that time. This historic event, the largest U.S. demonstration ever assembled to that point, featured Dr. King's famous and historic ``I Have a Dream'' speech, which challenged Americans to answer the call of the United States Constitution: I have a dream that one day this Nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: that all men are created equal. These words helped to spark and fuel the movement that transformed the state of race relations and civil rights in America forever.

 

   How did it all begin? In response to the blatant discrimination that had become a constant hardship in the lives of African American workers, A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood
of Sleeping Car Porters, was the first to call for a march on Washington back in 1941. Twenty-plus years later, the event was planned in direct response to the tragic events of the spring and summer of 1963 in which more than 20,000 U.S. citizens were arrested and detained while nonviolently protesting notable injustices, including police dogs attacking peaceful demonstrators in Birmingham, the tragic assassinations of civil rights activists, the lack of congressional support for President Kennedy's civil rights bill that aimed to end discrimination against African Americans in the workplace, voting booths and schools and all other public domains.

   As a direct result of the march, Dr. King's historic speech and the movement, they spawned the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 came to fruition, effectively ending segregation and ensuring voting rights for all Americans.

 

   Title VII of the Civil Rights Act outlawing discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, interstate commerce, all of these were expanded later as a result of the march to include protections for women against discrimination and for the disabled.

 

   So we come together today, 40 years later, to celebrate freedom, to celebrate justice, to celebrate equality for all Americans for which this historic march was indeed a catalyst. Some call it an accident. Others call it fate. Some call it the human hand, some the hand of God. Which it is I will not argue, but something strange, something inexplicable, something mysterious, something almost miraculous happened on that day when Dr. King was able to stand before thousands and thousands and to articulate the aims and the aspirations of the masses, not just in these United States, but all across the world in their quest for freedom. Something happened and today we are grateful because we all are the beneficiaries of what happened that fateful day.

 

   Yes, some call it an accident. Others fate, some the hand of God, others the hand of man. Which it is I will not argue, but I will say that on this day, this Congress, in the form of this resolution, has an opportunity to say thank you, thank you to Dr. King, thank you to James Farmer, to Whitney Young, to Roy Wilkins, to A. Philip Randolph, and to our good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and all who participated in this monumental and historic event for blazing a trail of freedom and equal rights under the law that lives on today and hopefully will live on even better tomorrow.

 

   In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ``Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our Nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.''

 

   Thank God, Mr. Speaker, for that call to conscience, to morality and to action for America and the world that we benefit from today. I urge my colleagues to stand with me in support of this resolution.

 

   Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) who has been referred to as one of the ``big six'' in 1963, but he is even bigger in 2003.

 

   Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for yielding the time.

 

   I also, Mr. Speaker, want to thank my good friend and colleague from the State of Georgia (Mr. Bishop) for bringing this resolution to the floor. I think it is so fitting and appropriate to pause and take note of the march on Washington 40 years later.

 

   250,000 Americans gathered on the Mall and listened to Martin Luther King, Jr. say, I have a dream, a dream today that is deeply rooted in the American dream. This speech, this march, created the climate to make our Nation a better place. We have come a great distance since that time.

   Forty years ago, in much of the American South, racial segregation was alive and well. Blacks could not attend the same schools as whites. We could not eat at the same restaurants. We could see the signs that divide our Nation: White men, Colored men. White women, Colored women. White waiting, Colored waiting.

 

   In the spring and summer of 1963, as the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) said, people were being beaten, jailed and even killed for participating in nonviolent protest. Millions of Americans could not register to vote because of the color of their skin. In Birmingham, Alabama, the commissioner of police, Eugene Bull Connor, used attacks dogs and fire hoses on peaceful, nonviolent protestors. In the State of Mississippi, NAACP leader Medgar Evers was assassinated.

 

   We had come to Washington to say to the President and Members of Congress that America must change. We had to do something to dramatize the sense of urgency. Mr. Speaker, I can never, and I will never, forget that day as I stood and looked out on the Mall and saw a sea of humanity. It was a feeling that America was going to change and change forever.

 

   Back in 1963 we did not have a fax machine, a Web site, a cellular telephone. We did not even have a computer. We stood on the Constitution, on the Bill of Rights. We used our feet, and we put our bodies on the line. We live in a different country, in a much better country because of the march on Washington.

 

   I say today, 40 years later, we must recall the passion and spirit of that march. We must recapture the spirit as a Nation and a people. We must make this spirit part of our thoughts, our action and our lives. If we do this, we can make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream come true. We can build what we call the Beloved Community, a true interracial community, a community at peace with itself.

   All of us, 40 years later, black and white, Hispanic, Asian and Native American, must pull together for the common good. This was our mission then. This is our mission, and this is our calling now.

   If we reach the Beloved Community, where we are one Nation, one people, one house and one family, we would come to the end of a march that our Nation started some 40 years ago.

   In closing, Mr. Speaker, there was so much hope, there was so much optimism when we left Washington 40 years ago, but 18 days after the march on Washington some of that hope, some of that optimism was shattered. Forty years ago yesterday, September 15, 1963, was a terrible bombing of a church in Birmingham where four little girls were killed while attending Sunday school on Sunday morning.

 

   We did not give up. We did not give in. We did not give out. We did not become bitter. We did not get lost in a sea of despair. We kept fighting, we kept pushing, and we kept pulling to make our democracy better, to open up our democracy and let all of our people come in.

   I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me.

 

   Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), another person who was at that march and has been marching since.

 

   Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the leadership of the gentleman from Illinois and his counterpart on the other side of the aisle for her leadership in bringing forward this important resolution.

 

   I want to recognize the leadership of two gentlemen from Georgia, of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) who is the sponsor of this resolution for stepping forward with a resolution that belongs on the floor, and, of course, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) who has just spoken, who led a commemoration in Statuary Hall for the 40th anniversary of the march before recess, and who is the last remaining living leader of the civil rights march on Washington. He led us, who were then members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, as a very young, the younger leader then, and he continues in that role as one of America's preeminent civil rights leaders today.

 

   I do not think this is an occasion for doing what people around the country have been doing all through August, were you there. Of course, we were there, and people really think about being there in a way they ask where were you when John F. Kennedy was killed. They remember where they were then or where were you on September 11. The march on Washington is like that for millions of Americans, where were you, and people like to say I was there, and of course, people are very proud of having been there because it was the first civil rights march for equality in the history of the United States here in Washington.

   I was there as a law student, a staff member of the march on Washington. Frankly, this is not a time for nostalgia. I think that grand occasions like this, when we commemorate a change-making event like a march on Washington, are occasions for taking stock, the distance traveled, the distance to go.

 

   Nothing could have been more moving than the events around the 40th anniversary, our own commemoration, here in the House, the moment the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) will remember when he and Mrs. King and I unveiled that stone marker and saw for the first time the marker where Martin Luther King spoke before, now on the Lincoln Memorial. Three of Reverend King's four children were there, the very four children he spoke of in that speech on August 28, 1963.

 

   This is an occasion, if one is a Member of the House of Representatives, for looking at how the world has changed since then and how the civil rights movement has changed our world. When the march was held, essentially African Americans had carried one demand, one single demand for the more than hundred years since the civil war. It was not a plethora of issues we had before us. It was one demand: Enact into law, country of mine, equality unto law. That is all.

 

   After that march, that happened, the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Little did I know then that I would come to enforce a section of that Act, Title VII, as Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 15 years later. The 1965 Voting Rights Act, perhaps the most important because it empowered African Americans to do what they had to do for themselves; and the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

 

   Actually, much of the legislative agenda of black America has been accomplished if we think about actual laws that need to be written to say thou shalt not discriminate. We will have a hard time thinking about it. Most of our time will be spent on enforcement.

 

   There is one I hope this House thinks about and that is a law that should be attached to the Transportation Bill outlawing racial profiling.

  

   Mr. Speaker, that is the single example of overt discrimination left unattended in our laws. But while we had one challenge and I can tell Members that staff had no problem coming up with that idea at the March on Washington, today if I would ask what is the one demand of the civil rights movement, Members would say wait one moment, and then go down a whole list of demands because we can now come forward with those demands: economic parity; educational opportunities; the criminal justice system where a whole generation of young black men are being locked up for minor drug offenses, killing the black family in our community; health care.

 

   We can move on to these challenges. We have 38 African American Members, and we can move on to these challenges because the civil rights movement moved us on, the overriding challenge of equality under law. There is much to be done even to that reality, equality under law; but the resolution we honor today, the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington, should send us first into reflection about moving toward the completion of the job of laying aside our racial past and moving on into a period of full equality.

 

   Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

 

   Mr. Speaker, I know that the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) had all intended to be here to make comments on this resolution. Unfortunately, they were not able to make it, but I wanted to make sure that their hopes and aspirations were entered into the RECORD.

 

   Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) for an opportunity to work with her as we brought this resolution to the floor. As has been indicated, September of this year, as we look back 40 years ago to August on that great day, none of us who are around will ever forget that march. None of us who were alive can forget the vibrancy that there was in the air, the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations. It is a day to long remember as we continue to march, not one day but to continue to march until freedom, justice, and equality exist for all in this great Nation.

 

   Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

 

   Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

   Again, I congratulate the gentleman from Georgia for introducing this meaningful legislation, and I urge all Members to join us in adoption of House Resolution 352.

 

   Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 352, a resolution honoring the March on Washington of August 28, 1963, a turning point in the long road to justice and equality. In the struggle for civil rights, the March will forever hold a place in American history, and in the eyes of the world, as a day that showed that individuals united can affect change and progress without violence.

 

   On that hot August day forty years ago, thousands of people converged on our nation's capital to stand up for civil rights, workers' rights, voting rights, equality in education, and fair pay. They marched for equality with a unified message that they as African-Americans would no longer wait patiently for civil rights to be delivered and practiced in society, but that they were demanding that the federal government take bold steps to ensure that the Constitution's promise was delivered to all Americans; that they would no longer be second-class citizens.

 

   The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continue to resonate today and to serve as an inspiration for his generation and future generations to create a society in which all are treated equally because we are all created equal. I want to especially commend the work of Congressman JOHN LEWIS, my friend and colleague, who spoke on that day and who continues to inspire others and to fight for justice everyday.

 

   The resolve of the speakers, the sheer number of marchers, the strong commitment to nonviolence, and the intensity of the sentiment on that day created an energy that spread throughout the country in the coming months and years. It allowed all Americans to see the struggle for civil rights articulated in a manner that was uninterrupted by violence and chaos and was highlighted by peace and unity and strength.

 

   The March gave life to a Movement that continues to manifest itself today. While the March was successful in helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the fight for justice and equality is far from over. Today we are fighting to hold on to our civil liberties as the Bush administration works to chip away at our right to privacy, free speech, and freedom of religion. Immigrants, the people who bring diversity and strength to our nation, must fight to live free from harassment as the administration advocates unfair and discriminatory policies against them. People of color continue to fight for the opportunity to get a good education and to be treated fairly by the criminal justice system while President Bush opposes affirmative action. Low-income working families fight for fair treatment under the tax code as Republican Congressional leaders continue to deny them the child tax credit. And many, including elderly adults, persons with disabilities, and people of color, continue to fight for the right to have their vote count while our nation's election system has yet to catch up and meet the needs of all of America's voters.

 

   Today, we remember the people who were at the March on Washington forty years ago--their perservance, their commitment to justice and nonviolence, their courage, their hope, and their success. But we must do more than just remember; we must use their example to continue the struggle today until Dr. King's dream of equality truly comes to life for all who live in the United States.

 

   Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as Martin Luther King, III said, on the 40th Anniversary of the historic march, of the objectives of his great father, the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to eradicate poverty, racism, militarism, and violence, although we have, with Dr. King's leadership, made enormous strides, these issues are ``still very much in our midst.'' People of African-American, Latino, Asian, European, and all races enjoy benefits of the struggle endured by the Civil Rights heroes who marched in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963. The blood, sweat, and tears shed by them have given us the ability to get even closer to ``the Promised Land'' spoken of by the great Reverend Doctor. The ``I Have a Dream'' speech of that man, along with those of A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, Whitney Young of the National Urban League, James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and Congressman John Lewis then of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) still resonate in my mind and the minds of a multitude of people who share ``the Dream.'' We celebrated and commemorated that historic march by ``re-living the day'' both in Washington and in Houston, Texas; however, it was far from the celebration of a victory having been won. We still have an uphill battle to fight with respect to racism, bigotry, unemployment and disparate employment trends.

   The U.S. has an unemployment rate of 6.2%, up from 5.9% last year. African Americans have had their highest unemployment rate ever in June and July of 2003 at 12%, compared to their White counterparts at 5.6% and 5.5% respectively. This illustrates that the task of our Civil Rights heroes is far from complete. According to the Urban League Report this year, one-third of Black families are near or below the poverty line, leading to a social impasse in the 21st century until crime is minimized, political respect is had, and their economic power fully utilized.

 

   The phrase ``A voteless people is a hopeless people'' has as much relevance to minorities now as it did 40 years ago, which is amazing given the technological and social advancements that we now have. In many respect it is an embarrassment and disrespect to the great Civil Rights leader that some people now do not vote or are constrained in their right to vote in some fashion. As I'm sure you all are well aware, the redistricting dilemma which we face in the Texas legislature and in the Federal Government exemplifies that the fundamental right to vote still remains vulnerable to abuse and manipulation by those who do not truly respect it. Furthermore, language, racial, and educational barriers continue to preclude the most informed and truly ``representative'' voting process. Citizenship Workshops, which I recently introduced and plan to hold in the near future to educate and to assist the Legal Permanent.

 

   Residents in Houston in obtaining U.S. naturalization and therefore perfected voting rights, will help to bridge these gaps and open the barriers that hinder the effectiveness of our system.

 

   In the area of human rights, we must fulfill the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of a nonviolent and peaceful world in Israel. The latest news of the failing cease-fire agreement in Israel, the continued battles, and constant fear of death by sniper or suicide bombing make it clear that we have yet to ``overcome.'' Innocent people cannot enjoy their basic human right to live without terror, and children die by the masses. The Roadmap to Peace cannot perish, and neither should our efforts to maintain our journey thereon.

 

   Further evidence that we have yet to ``overcome'' can be found in Baghdad, Iraq. Our soldiers are beset by snipers and terrorists who threaten to attack them while their backs are virtually unprotected. They cannot secure peace alone, and they should not be charged with that duty. The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement dictates that we reach out and join hands with the international community to usher in peace together. Instead of having to celebrate the martyrdom of heroes such as the late U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, I would much rather we now bring him, and the other brave individuals whom we lost, home to their families in celebration of peace and a successful mission.

 

   Moreover, our brothers and sisters in Liberia, who have reached the first stage of the establishment of a democratic and humane society, must receive the assistance and manpower that are required. It is an atrocity that, in the international community, there are parties that are armed with the tools and the knowledge necessary to bring stability to that nation who have made but minimalist approaches to date. The U.N., ECOWAS troops, and other commissioned officials need help in building infrastructures of government and health.

 

   Furthermore, the suffering and death by the cruel pandemic effects of HIV/AIDS and famine in Ethiopia, Zambia, and South Africa are unspeakable. I had the opportunity to witness these atrocities first-hand on a Congressional Delegation with Congresswoman BARBARA LEE. Each child, mother, and father in these regions has a right to eat, to survive, and to see tomorrow. Severe drought and inadequate agricultural policy are not their fault. Promiscuity and prostitution without protection are begotten from hunger and suffering. Their lack of education only exacerbates their proclivity to live a high-risk lifestyle in these regions. Again, the international community can eradicate these problems by joining hands and marching forward bearing combined resources and expertise.

 

   This celebration and commemoration of the Historic March also paid homage to other great pioneers who have recently passed on. The life and accomplishments of the late Mayor Maynard Jackson, Jr. bestowed upon many minorities the opportunity to compete and succeed in building a prosperous small business. Similarly, the late Gregory Hines opened the doors for many minorities in entertainment. We see the fruits of his inspiring achievements and the level of his excellence in performances of talented individuals such as Savion Glover. The 40th Anniversary celebration was about remembering the achievements of the Civil Rights Leaders, of individuals who have shared their talents with the world, and from which we have all received gifts that enhance our enjoyment of everyday liberties. The celebration was about expanding from and extrapolating these gifts to build a better and more peaceful world. This celebration was about embarking upon a whole new journey, a whole new march that will not end until peace, unity, equality, and self-determination are achieved for all of our brothers and sisters.

 

   Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Georgia for introducing this important resolution that we are considering on the House floor today.

 

   Over 40 years ago, hundreds of thousands of citizens marched together upon Washington D.C. demanding two things, jobs and freedom. From all corners of our great nation people of all races, ethnicities and all walks of life came to participate in a peaceful demonstration that would leave a lasting legacy upon our country.

 

   The march on Washington--now forever known as just the march--represented one of those watershed moments in American history that deserves to be remembered and commemorated by all of us.

 

   Televised worldwide, the march brought to the world the continuing social and economic discrimination faced by African Americans, as well as the inspirational words of many leaders of the Civil Rights movement, like the great Martin Luther King Jr., and my dear friend and colleague, Congressman John Lewis.

 

   Looking out upon the masses gathered around the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King's delivered his now immortalized ``I Have a Dream Speech'' which proved to be the focal point of the march that day.

   Speaking of the impetus for the march, Dr. King said:

   We have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

 

   This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ``insufficient funds.'' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

   The disconnect between white America and people of color regarding the issues of social and economic freedom and opportunity that Dr. King spoke so eloquently about remains with us today, as does that same optimism and sense of urgency that pervaded his speech and the march that day.

 

   To be sure, substantial progress has been made in the 40 years since the march took place. But clearly we have a very long way to go before we can truly say that the ideals of the march have been met, particularly when we talk about economic freedom and opportunity for African Americans, the poor and people of color.

 

   This is most clearly reflected in the labor and employments statistics that are released every month. In virtually all categories, African Americans and Hispanics, have higher rates of unemployment than their counterparts.

 

   And we must equally warn that racism still very much exists in this country today. Only now it is much more subtle and insidious than the discrimination we faced in the 60's or that which our parents before that. Discrimination is still about racial profiling by law-enforcement. It is still about environmental injustice, which has become entrenched in our society by the unequal distribution of federal, state, and local funds which could provide needed healthcare, education and housing services to minority communities. And sadly as evidenced by the recent 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court ruling, it is still about voting rights--only in this case the right to have our votes counted equally.

 

   So I close today by reminding my colleagues that there is still much, much more to be done. Our march goes on, and will continue to go on until--in the words of Dr. King--we can say ``justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.''

 

   Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to express my support of H. Res. 352, a resolution to remember and honor the historic March on Washington of 1963. This 40th anniversary of the historic March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King's universally famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech is a bittersweet moment. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to take the time to acknowledge the 40th anniversary of the event that affords all of us an opportunity to rededicate and to recommit ourselves to the vision articulated by Dr. King. Like Dr. King, we can say: ``..... That in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.''

 

   Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

 

   The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 352.

 

   The question was taken.

 

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative.

 

   Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

 

   The yeas and nays were ordered.

 

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.