Sanford Bishop: “I rise tonight to speak on the principles of democracy, of representative government, of justice, and of fairness. In…”

“I rise tonight to speak on the principles of democracy, of representative government, of justice, and of fairness. In 1894, the question before the Nation was whether freed slaves, 30 years after emancipation and the 15th amendment, could retain their newfound political power in State legislation, city halls, and the Halls of Congress, whether reconstruction would strip them of all their gains. The answer is clear and unequivocal. In 1994 the question before this Nation is whether the grandsons and granddaughters of freed slaves, 30 years after the civil rights movement and the Voting Rights Act, will be able to retain their newfound political power in State legislatures, in city halls, and in the Halls of Congress. The answer is not yet clear, but if those traitors of democracy, conspirators against representative government, assassins of justice, and murderers of fairness have their way, the answer will be yes, and once again, 100 years later. Shaw versus Reno is reconstruction revisited. It has taken 100 years to get to this point, only to be told that we have come far enough, or really, that we have come too far. Let there be no mistake about it, Frederick Douglass said it so eloquently, "Power concedes nothing. It never has and it never will".”