Donald M. Payne: “I want to begin by welcoming our new members and by thanking the gentlewoman from Ohio, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, for…”

“I want to begin by welcoming our new members and by thanking the gentlewoman from Ohio, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, for her leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 113th Congress. Thanks to her dedication and tireless work, this caucus is better positioned to address the diverse challenges of the African American community. I also want to thank the new CBC chair, the Honorable Congressman G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina. I am confident that he will do a great job leading this caucus with steadfast commitment to justice and to building an America that works for everyone. Let me also thank my counterpart, the Honorable Congresswoman Robin Kelly, for joining me in leading the CBC Special Orders this year. I am truly honored to take on this new role, and I look forward to working with her as we help carry out the critical mission of this caucus. Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, in the midst of the civil rights movement, hundreds of brave men and women gathered in Selma, Alabama, to begin a long, arduous march to Montgomery in support of the fundamental truth: that every American, regardless of what they look like, has the right to vote. {time} 1930 On March 7, 1965, 600 men and women set out from Selma following the death of 26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, a deacon from Marion, Alabama, who died from gunshot wounds inflicted by a State trooper at a nonviolent demonstration. Theirs was a peaceful, nonviolent march, but it was met with fierce brutality.…”