Sheila Jackson Lee: “Congressman, thank you so very much. And, again, my greatest appreciation for your annual tribute to the NAACP. We are…”

“Congressman, thank you so very much. And, again, my greatest appreciation for your annual tribute to the NAACP. We are reminded of its great history. You are the carrier of this dream and this celebration. We are appreciative that you have come to this Congress and done many things, but you brought us to a moment every year to be able to honor this storied organization 106 years old. So let me thank my good friend Congressman Green, my next-door neighbor in Houston, and a friend of many of the same friends. We know the work of the NAACP local chapter in Houston, Texas. Now, the leading President is, as I call him, Dean James Douglas. Many presidents before, of course, have ably served our local chapter, but we come today to acknowledge the grandness of the NAACP. And as my colleague, Congressman Rangel, just mentioned, it is an organization that is everywhere in all ways. It is well to note that many of the successes that we have had in freedom, justice, and liberty have come about through the NAACP. President Truman was the first President in 1948 to speak to the NAACP. But it was not just an oration, if you will. The NAACP seeks to work, collaborate, and get things done. It was that close relationship with President Truman that generated a commission that in the late 1940s, after World War II, where soldiers came home to a second-class citizenship.…”