Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 434 enthusiastically. We look forward to…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 434 enthusiastically. We look forward to the history being told for all to know, to appreciate, and to understand. Mr. Speaker, as the author and principal sponsor, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 434, the ``Emancipation National Historic Trail Act.'' I thank Chairman Raul M. Grijalva for shepherding this legislation to the floor. I also thank Congresswoman Haaland, chair of the Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands for holding the hearing that allowed the Committee to learn of the strong support enjoyed by H.R. 434, and the hard work of dedicated historic preservationists to preserve the rich history of former slaves. Let me begin by thanking Ms. Naomi Mitchell Carrier of Houston, Texas, for her stalwart efforts to preserve and share the stories of newly freed slaves who settled in the Freedmen's Town section of Houston to begin lives as free persons following the end of the Civil War. Ms. Mitchell Carrier is an educator, historian, and author with expertise in African American music, Texas history, and heritage tourism. I also thank Ms. Eileen Lawal for her April 2019 oral testimony before the Natural Resources Committee, in support of H.R. 434. Ms. Lawal is the president of Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy, whose mission is to protect and preserve the history of Freedmen's Town for the benefit of future generations.…”