Elijah Cummings: “Mr. Speaker, 6 years ago my colleague, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentlewoman from…”

“Mr. Speaker, 6 years ago my colleague, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentlewoman from California, [Ms. Waters] came to Baltimore to deliver a most dynamic commencement address at Morgan State University, which is located in my district. During that address she said that African-Americans are the only class of citizens of this great Nation which has had to have landmark legislation and groundbreaking court decisions handed down throughout our Nation's history to force America to accept us as full citizens, with all the rights and privileges of that distinction. Mr. Speaker, on that great day, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Waters] was right on point. In 1791, the fifth amendment was ratified, guaranteeing all persons due process under the law. In 1865, this country adopted the 13th amendment, officially doing away with slavery. In the course of one century the Congress of the United States has passed four civil rights acts giving all U.S. citizens the same rights enjoyed by whites, and finally, in 1974, the Congress enacted the Housing and Community Development Act.”