Congressional Black Caucus
"The Conscience of Congress since 1969"
www.congressionalblackcaucus.net

(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Representative Julia Carson (D-IN) will deliver the weekly CBC "Message to America" radio address this Saturday, February 4, 2006.  In honor of Black History Month, Representative Carson salutes African Americans who have contributed greatly to Black history.

The CBC "Message to America" is distributed nationwide to the American Urban Radio Network's (AURN) affiliate stations.

            WHO:        U.S. Representative Julia Carson (D-IN)
            WHEN:      Saturday, February 4, 2006; 12:06 p.m. EST
            WHERE:    American Urban Radio Network Affiliate Stations

Representative Carson is expected to deliver the following remarks:

“Hello.  This is Congresswoman Julia Carson representing the 7th District of Indiana. Thank you for listening to this week’s CBC Message to America.

“This week a woman of great stature left us behind.  A woman whom many leaned on for support and guidance. 

“Coretta Scott King left behind a legacy of compassion, love and standing for what is right.  She was a phenomenal woman who was kind to all she met and worked tirelessly for those she had not. The mark she has left on America and the world is indelible and we are all better for her having lived the life she led.
    
“However, we must remember all those who have passed and left a mark on our lives.  Today, in honor of Black History Month, I would like to pay tribute to some of those we have lost in the past year.

“Over one year ago we lost Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to serve in Congress.  Ms. Chisholm served honorably for seven terms and was never one to back down from a fight.  A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first viable African American and female candidate for President, she won 152 delegates to the 1972 Democratic Convention.  She was always Unbought and Unbossed.

“Ossie Davis was the consummate American entertainer and a paragon of integrity.  While he spent many years of his life as an entertainer he also served our country as an activist working alongside the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Jesse Jackson.

“Rosa Parks, when she sat down the whole world stood up to change America.  If it were not for her, the Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement, we may never have heard of Martin Luther King Jr.  I am proud of Ms. Parks and worked hard to ensure that she was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1999.  Rosa Parks marched to a drumbeat in pursuit of liberty, in pursuit of equality and in pursuit of justice for all people.

“Johnnie Cochran served as an attorney to the stars. He worked in court not only on behalf of African American entertainers and athletes, but championed the cause of everyday people.  He understood the law and worked hard to make sure his clients were served fairly by the courts, often taking cases in which police brutality was a factor.

“Dr. C. Delores Tucker, starting in 1971, served as the first African America Secretary of State in Pennsylvania.  During this time she worked to appoint more women and African Americans to boards and commissions.  She led the fight to move the voting age to 18 from 21, as well as started voter registration by mail.  As a younger woman she participated in the 1965 March on Selma.

“These are but a few of those who left us this past year.  I urge you to take some time to look over one of these biographies this month. Let us never forget the sacrifices of those who came before us.”

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