Political Quotes

“I thank Congressman Veasey for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to stand on this floor, but when I think that tonight I have to stand here and talk about the topic that the Congressional Black Caucus comes to the House floor to speak out against is a sad day. Mr. Speaker, I thank my classmate and colleague and friend, Congressman Marc Veasey, for taking a leadership role and for making that clarion call to ask us to come. {time} 1945 Many of us will come tonight and speak out. Several of us will file our message so it can be recorded. Others will be back in their districts fighting for voting rights. This is something we have to do because, unfortunately, it has been over 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which has been the most powerful tool in defending the voting rights of minorities. The Voting Rights Act, as you have heard tonight and you will continue to hear, outlawed the harassment, the intimidation, and the violence that many African Americans experienced when trying to exercise their right to vote. It ended some of the most overtly discriminatory practices in our country's history by banning literacy tests, appointing Federal examiners in certain problematic areas to register voters and monitor elections, and criminalizing voter intimidation threats and coercion.…”