Walter Tucker: “I rise in support of this resolution for many reasons. First and foremost is the fact that I believe we must speak out…”

“I rise in support of this resolution for many reasons. First and foremost is the fact that I believe we must speak out against racism. There are those who have alluded to me that this is a first amendment matter, and that the gentleman who made these remarks has his first amendment rights to speak out even if we are not in agreement with those remarks. But by the same token, I think it is the responsibility of those of us who are well-thought and conscientious leaders of this society to exercise our first amendment rights and to speak out and to denounce such racism. The prior speaker indicated that this Congress is certainly poised to deal with very important matters and should not take time out for some minutiae such as this. But I think that this is an important matter. It is not minutiae because the coalitions that we need in order to do things in this country between the black and Jewish communities and other communities would be jeopardized if we do not address the fact that we cannot continue to attack one another. We cannot live with one another and turn to one another until we respect one another, and certainly even Mr. Farrakhan came out and rebuked and reprimanded and repudiated his minister for these remarks. I do not think there is any gainsaying the fact, Mr. Speaker, that these remarks were repugnant and vile.”