Tina Smith: “I rise again, as I have earlier this month, to honor February as Black History Month. Each February since 1926, we have…”

“I rise again, as I have earlier this month, to honor February as Black History Month. Each February since 1926, we have recognized the contributions of Black Americans to the Nation. This is no accident; February is a significant month in Black American history. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, President Abraham Lincoln, and scholar and civil rights leader W.E.B. DuBois were born in the month of February. The 15th amendment to the Constitution was ratified 132 years ago this month, preventing race discrimination in the right to vote. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in February in New York City. February 1 was the 45th anniversary of the Greensboro Four's historic sit-in. And on February 25, 1870, this body welcomed its first Black senator, Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi. In this important month, I have wanted to celebrate some of the contributions made by Black Americans in my home State of Oregon. Since Marcus Lopez, who sailed with Captain Robert Gray in 1788, became the first person of African descent known to set foot in Oregon, a great many Black Americans have helped shape the history of my State. Throughout this month, I have come to the floor to highlight some of their stories. Today, on the last day of Black History Month, I have come to honor one more. Louis A. Southworth was a blacksmith, fiddler, and farmer.…”