Political Quotes

“I want to take just one moment and comment on the unanimous consent agreement and the establishment within the Smithsonian Institution of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which we just approved. This has been a fairly long journey, to come to the point of the establishment of this African American History and Culture Museum. It really goes back to the time of African-American history, when it began in 1619 in Jamestown, VA. It was there a Dutch slave trader exchanged his cargo of Africans for food. Over the next 400 years, the descendants of men and women brought to America in chains would seek and find freedom. They would transform the American consciousness. They would permanently revolutionize American culture, American music, American art, and American literature. We are on the cusp of really a momentous event, and that is the enshrining of these events in a national museum devoted to African-American history and culture. With this, visitors from around the world will learn about 400 years of struggle and progress. The museum will house priceless artifacts, it will house documents, it will house recordings--all commemorating that 400-year history. It will serve as a wellspring of inspiration and scholarship. With the action of just a few moments ago, we will be sending the President a bill to fulfill this vision.”