Political Quotes

“I thank you so much, Mr. James Clyburn. There can never be enough time for you to tell these stories and to educate and highlight to all of us the experiences that you have had personally, as well as the importance of Black History Month, and particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the fabric of the United States. Thank you so much, sir. Mr. Speaker, as we have been discussing, often grassroots organizations are actually born out of necessity, not only because the system has not worked for them oftentimes, but sometimes because the system has been created, has been reorganized, or is actively fighting against them. Virgin Islanders understand the importance and the value of grassroots organizations. It is our nature and our lifeblood. We are a small people on a small island who have a history that was born out of oppression. So the very need for grassroots organizations and people who are resilient and willing to resist and fight in a passionate manner has been our very nature. Our first experience with grassroots organizations was in 1733, on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands, which is probably the first slave uprising in the Western Hemisphere where a group of 150 slaves decided that they had had enough, and those Akwamu slaves of Ghana decided that they were going to throw off the shackles and rebel and organize themselves. They were so effective at it, Mr. Speaker, that they were able to hold the island of St.…”