Political Quotes

“I would like to join my other colleagues tonight to thank Congresswoman Kelly from Illinois and Congressman Payne from New Jersey for organizing tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour. I rise to highlight a pivotal moment in America's history--the Selma voting rights march--that 50 years ago, Mr. Speaker, brought together Americans to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, across the now famous Edmund Pettus Bridge. There were attacks and dogs, beatings and deaths, but still we marched because we as a country knew that all Americans should have the same rights. The 54-mile walk was an effort to demonstrate the desire of Black American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote and to be treated equally. Mr. Speaker, although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination and segregation remained throughout much of the United States. The march led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which, today, continues to be eroded in a threatened bill. The communities across our Nation certainly have threats to their basic rights, and there are certainly injustices. In the words of Dr.…”