Political Quotes

“and still I rise, and I rise, Mr. Speaker, to call to the attention of this august body some important information. I rise, Mr. Speaker, as the only Member of Congress ever to be evicted during a joint session of Congress. I have been censured, Mr. Speaker, but I have not been silenced. Still I rise today to call to our attention some history associated with the Voting Rights Act and to bring to our attention how this Voting Rights Act has had a positive impact on our Nation, on this Congress, and, I would say, indirectly on the entire planet Earth. A very important aspect of this Voting Rights Act is section 2. Section 2 had its genesis, as is the case with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday occurred in March 1965 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. One of our Members, John Lewis, was there. In fact, he was a leader of this march on Bloody Sunday. As such, he informed us--I talked to him on more than one occasion about it--how they started the march at a church, how they approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and how, on approach to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they could see the bridge itself. As they got more along the way, they could see that there were persons waiting for them. Some of these persons were on horseback. Others were not, but they were armed. These persons had intentions that were less than honorable.”