Melvin Watt: “I stand here tonight in the shadow of a lot of history, part of which I have already alluded to, as only one of two…”

“I stand here tonight in the shadow of a lot of history, part of which I have already alluded to, as only one of two black Representatives from North Carolina in this century. Recalling the shadow cast by George H. White, the last African-American Representative from North Carolina, in his farewell speech of January 29, 1901, which still casts a shadow, even today, George H. White rose on the floor of the House on that occasion to speak on an agriculture bill. Unrestricted by the rules by which are governed today, he spent approximately 2 hours talking about the fact that black people had been disenfranchised and about his exit from the Congress. I stand in the historical backdrop of a pattern of racially polarized voting in North Carolina which has made it impossible for African-Americans to be elected to Congress for over 90 years.”