| As we honor Black History Month, let us remember a woman who died just a few short years ago -- Barbara Jordan. Barbara Jordan was the first African American from the South to be sent to Congress since Reconstruction, and her leadership must never be forgotten. Her accomplishments reinforced the need for Americans to pursue a democracy where all voices are heard and not just a few.
Barbara Jordan once said, "My presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American dream should never be deferred." I like to think that my presence in the U.S. House of Representatives says the same thing.
I still think it is a miracle that I have the opportunity to represent the Third District in Congress. But I wouldn't have this opportunity if it had not been for the sacrifices of those great leaders before me. This year as we observe Black History Month, I want to reflect on the men and women who used their lives to fill ours with opportunity and hope.
The progress we have made could not have occurred without the groundwork having been laid by great African Americans like former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, educator Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, tennis great Arthur Ashe, poet Zora Neale Hurston, Gwen Cherry, Mary Singleton, and James Weldon Johnson, composer of the Negro National Anthem.
Let me share with you a little information about Florida's first Member of Congress. In 1879, Josiah Wells was first elected to the United States House of Representatives from Gainesville, but his election was challenged and he lost his seat after only 2 months in office. However, by that time, he had already been reelected to a new term. Believe it or not, his next term was challenged after ballots were burned in a courthouse fire. And that was the end of the Congressional career of Florida's first Black Representative.
Once Reconstruction began, 21 Black Congressmen were elected in the South between 1870 and 1901. Following 1901, Jim Crow tightened his grip and it took over for 70 years before another Black person would be elected to Congress in the South.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and numerous others sacrificed their lives to have the Voting Rights Act passed into law in 1965. It has, however, taken almost 30 years to implement in the South. And once again we are under attack.
The initial reason majority-minority districts were redrawn was because of a long history of violations of the Voting Rights Act. But the highest court in this country has declared war on majority-minority districts, striking them down at almost every opportunity.
And the South is once again threatened with voting boundaries that silence the disenfranchised, and ignore those who look like me. The Third District was redrawn after a federal court said that the make up was unconstitutional. And it didn't stop there. My colleagues Congresswoman Meek and Congressman Alcee Hastings in South Florida are also under attack.
Keep in mind it took 120 years before Florida elected another African Americans to Congress. As African Americans continue to make progress in education, business, and government, there will continue to be attacks. It is important that we continue to press ahead because there are still people who would like to turn back the hands of time and return African Americans to the back of the political bus. Congress now more closely resembles America than it has in the past.
It is always an honor to remember our ancestors, whose work has made it possible for us to achieve our goals. And in particular, I am blessed with the memories of those whose lives made it possible for me to be here today.
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