Ronald Dellums: “as we remember our former colleague, the Honorable Barbara Jordan, it is particularly fitting that the theme of this…”

“as we remember our former colleague, the Honorable Barbara Jordan, it is particularly fitting that the theme of this special order in observation of Black History Month is ``African- American Women: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.'' This institution has benefited greatly from the contributions of Congresswoman Jordan, as well as our other strong African-American female members. So, too, has America benefited from the presence of African-American women in her midst over the past almost 400 years. During slavery the blood, sweat, and tears of African-American women became literally and figuratively a part of the very foundation upon which out great Nation is built. Throughout her story in America, the African-American woman has played an integral role in the survival of the family, community, and country. Women such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune, and countless others, struggled to obtain freedom and racial equality for African-Americans and all Americans, and to make America a Nation true to its principles and ideas. African-American women embody the pride and strength of a people who have experienced and survived great oppression. The tradition of leadership and struggle continues today among African-American women as evidenced by Marian Wright Elelman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Dorothy Height, Myrlie Evers, and others.”