Political Quotes

“And still I rise, Mr. Speaker. Still I rise. Borrowing the words of Maya Angelou, ``Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave,'' and still I rise. I rise as a scion of the enslaved Africans who were sacrificed to make America great, sacrificed for some 200-plus years, 240-plus years, to make America great. I rise because I understand that as a scion and as a descendant, I have a duty, a responsibility, and an obligation to those enslaved people. I think my colleague, John Lewis, put it best, to just have a responsibility to ``get in good trouble.'' ``Good trouble'' was his term. I added the verbiage. We have this duty and responsibility to get into good trouble, to do that which is appropriate to honor the enslaved people who are the foundational mothers and fathers, the economic foundational mothers and fathers, of this country. The foundation upon which this economy resides to this day was put in place with sacrificed lives, millions of sacrificed lives, millions, literally, over centuries, literally, to make America the great country it is. Unfortunately, America--the country I love, the country where I sing the national anthem, salute the flag, and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I stand for the national anthem. The country I love has not shown respect for the people who gave it its economic foundation. As a matter of fact, we have shown disrespect for them, disrespect. They have not been honored.…”