Sheila Jackson Lee: “Allow me to thank the gentleman from New York for his friendship and for the recognition that the clarion call has to be…”

“Allow me to thank the gentleman from New York for his friendship and for the recognition that the clarion call has to be called. Let me thank my colleague and friend from New York as well, from the great borough of the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for her clarion call. I want to take this from a perspective of civil rights and the idea that, most often, civil rights are defined by the movement of the 1960s, framed around the marches of poor people led by Dr. King and many others who saw the inequities dealing with the treatment of African Americans and others in the social justice system. One might not think that that movement ties directly to where we are today. As a cosponsor of the Green New Deal, I see this as a question of social justice. When the foot soldiers marched, many did not understand why they were attempting to change the way people had lived for decades and, yes, centuries. They didn't fully understand that the unequal treatment under the law was oppressive and denied families, children, regions of the country the ability to reach their highest dream. I represent, still, the many communities that are experiencing inequities. When I held a meeting some weeks ago to deal with what we call cancer clusters, I had a thousand people at a townhall meeting. A chemical, creosote, had gotten into the soil of neighborhoods, which, in Texas, with your patches of land, front yard or back yard, you plant your fruit trees and other garden vegetables.…”