Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, and still I rise. I am honored to have this preeminent privilege to speak on the floor, if you will, or in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. It is a unique experience to be here. I never take it for granted, and I always appreciate the leadership for affording me the opportunity to speak. I rise today as a person of color, a person who understands the need for Brown v. Board of Education. We needed it then and still need Brown. We needed it when we enshrined it into law in this country, and we still need it today. This is the day that marks the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, a lawsuit that has impacted the lives of all Americans but has had a greater impact, I believe, on persons of color because it eliminated the notion that we could have separate but equal institutions in the country, especially in the area of education. Yes, we still need Brown v. Board of Education. There is an article in today's USA Today. It is styled ``School segregation is still alive and well.'' ``Seventy years after Brown, funding drives divide.'' Segregation is still alive and well. I would like to explain why we needed Brown before delving a little bit more into this topic of funding. We needed Brown because of 335 years of slavery, convict leasing, and lawful segregation--335 years. It started on August 20, 1619, when the ship White Lion docked at a place called Point Comfort, near what we now call Norfolk, Virginia.…”