Elijah Cummings: “I could not help but think about my father and many of the Congressional Black Caucus members who will come here tonight…”

“I could not help but think about my father and many of the Congressional Black Caucus members who will come here tonight are descendants of former sharecroppers and, of course, slaves, but I will never forget as I was just about to introduce the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) when my father, who was denied an education living in Manning, South Carolina, only got to first grade because he was made to plow the fields and plant the cotton. I will never forget on the day that I was sworn in standing where the gentleman is standing right there, my father came down and met me out here in the hallway after the swearing in, and the only time I had ever seen my father cry, tears were rolling down his face. I said, Dad, what is wrong? He said, now I see what I could have been if I had been given the opportunity to have an education.”