On the recordMarch 11, 2024
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I thank my colleague, Representative Frederica Wilson from the great State of Florida, for conceptualizing, dreaming up, thinking up, and putting into play not only the opportunity for a discussion, but the tremendous work and the great record she has achieved on behalf of African-American boys and men as she continues to represent her entire district. I trust that those who are watching are in good health and good spirits because our country is facing one of its most difficult periods in the history of America. There is tremendous friction, anxieties, different approaches to doing things, and I think about that every day as I try and represent the 759,000 individuals who live in the very diverse area called the Seventh Congressional District of Illinois. Some of the wealthiest people in America live along the Gold Coast, the Magnificent Mile. Some of the most disadvantaged individuals live on the south and west sides of Chicago, areas that were devastated during the period of movement action, especially after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As an elected official, I try to balance the concerns of all these different individuals, all of their hopes, their aspirations, recognizing their issues, their problems, and their concerns.…





