Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I also take this moment to thank the Congressional Black Caucus for making this happen. And I thank Representatives Horsford and Jeffries for leading this. It is quite encouraging--and I know that our chairman, Marcia Fudge, agrees with me--when we see our new Members come to the forefront and lead. That's why our constituents sent us here. I just want you to know that we are very, very, very proud of you, as we are of our other new Member, Mr. Payne, who just spoke. We are certainly glad that you are here and leading. We all know our Nation's disgraceful history in this area of voting rights. I've often said that if we did not have the Voting Rights Act, these past few years have taught us that we would have to invent it. For decades and decades, racist and exclusionary voting practices kept minorities from accessing the ballot box. I'm reminded of my great-great-grandfather, Mr. Scipio Rhame. In the South Carolina of 1868, he overcame tremendous hardships and life-threatening dangers just to register to vote, only a few years after he had come out of slavery. Sadly, this country has witnessed very slow progress toward equality in voting. The reality is that in the year 2013, we are still fighting for the right to vote for all Americans. In election after election, discriminatory voting laws and exclusionary practices still surface. This past election cycle, we saw a new wave of efforts to suppress the vote.…”