Political Quotes

“First, I thank my colleague and friend, Congresswoman Plaskett, for leading tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour. First, and certainly fitting, to tonight's topic on mental health, I salute the life and legacy of a giant in the healthcare industry who passed on November 10, Bernard Tyson, president and CEO of Kaiser Permanente and friend. Just this year, Mr. Speaker, he was talking to the editor-in-chief of Fortune magazine about lessons learned and lessons that were worth remembering, and now he has left them behind, and those lessons were about mental health. He was talking about, in this healthcare system, we have a system of healthcare for the body and for the mind, and he had integrated both into his system, and he had done it in a seamless way and in a way that did not have stigma. So, tonight, I say to my friend: Rest in peace. Rest in positive power in healthcare. But also, Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is coming together tonight, as the Congresswoman has said and as she powerfully leads us, to elevate the conversation about mental health in the African American community. Millions of adults and children are impacted by mental health conditions each year, including depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety. For too long in our country, there was a stigma associated with mental health, especially in our community, the African American community.…”