Jonathan L. Jackson
Representative for Illinois · Democratic · United States
“Pierre was an honor student, captain of his high school soccer team, and a lieutenant in the ROTC program. He wanted to serve the United States, but after losing his temporary protected status and being held in an ICE ankle monitor, his family says he experienced deep humiliation, fear, and despair.”
House of Representatives3 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I stand before the people's House today to bear witness to the dehumanizing, destabilizing, and deadly immigration policies of the Trump administration. Pierre Damas Bel should be alive today. Instead, his family, friends, and community are mourning the tragic death of a young man who had his whole life ahead of him.”
House of Representatives3 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the time, and I thank my colleagues for their presence today. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I rise at this moment and in this Chamber to give a voice to the tens of millions of Americans who do not believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion is an offense to the spirit of America.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, it is also where we begin because we will let the word go forth from this time and in this place: If the Government of the United States had simply honored the 14th and 15th Amendments ratified in 1868 and in 1870 respectively, there would be no need for diversity, equity, and inclusion today because we would have fulfilled our p…”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“I challenge every institution to prove that their devotion to diversity need not come from the force of law, but rather from the natural consequences of their understanding of the things that make for peace.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“We have been moving toward a more perfect Union, and this administration amongst all administrations has been the most hostile towards inclusivity. To echo the words of Congressman Jamie Raskin, we have had more DUI hires in this administration's Cabinet than we have had DEI hires of those that have been qualified.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
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“Speaker, from the start because this is not an immigration that puts America first. It is cruelty. Mr. Speaker, we mourn the loss of young Pierre. ____________________”
House of Representatives3 September 2026Source ↗
“Pierre was an honor student, captain of his high school soccer team, and a lieutenant in the ROTC program. He wanted to serve the United States, but after losing his temporary protected status and being held in an ICE ankle monitor, his family says he experienced deep humiliation, fear, and despair. Children started picking on him at school for wearing an ICE monitor because they had lost their temporary protected status. Pierre's death did not begin with that monitor. It began with a campaign to demonize Haitians, from the racist lies that our neighbors were eating people's pets in Ohio to unjustly--and against the congressional intent of TPS--ending protection for roughly 350,000 Haitians who have lived and worked lawfully in this country. I have opposed these policies, Mr.”
House of Representatives3 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I stand before the people's House today to bear witness to the dehumanizing, destabilizing, and deadly immigration policies of the Trump administration. Pierre Damas Bel should be alive today. Instead, his family, friends, and community are mourning the tragic death of a young man who had his whole life ahead of him.”
House of Representatives3 September 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“I challenge every institution to prove that their devotion to diversity need not come from the force of law, but rather from the natural consequences of their understanding of the things that make for peace. We can only hope that the illegality of discrimination will one day fall from the body politic of this Nation like scales falling from our eyes. But until that day arrives, we must continue to stand up for what is right. We must continue to stand up for what is just. We must continue to stand up for what is equitable. And what is the promise to every American in the Constitution? It is independence in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I want to tell my colleagues and my friends: Do not cower in the face of this administration. History is recording us, and it will ask: Where did you stand? What did you do for justice? Mr.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Finally, it should be clear to all of us that the executive actions and the bureaucratic assault on this government's commitment to diversity is not a passing phase. It will have long, enduring consequences. And it should be obvious to all of us who believe in the possibility of a diverse and a more composite nation that prosperity is in our realm if we uphold the ideals of our values. Mr. Speaker, even as our companies, universities, and public institutions are incentivized to walk away from the commitment to inclusion, I challenge every institution to remember that history is recording your action. Have the courage and the character to stand up now for what you believe in. The stars shine brightest in the dark, and I would tell the CEOs: History will record your action and your inaction.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“It says they are moving towards meritocracy, but they have hired some of the most incompetent people. Look at our Nation. This country says they want to stand up for farmers. This administration, Mr. Speaker, I tell you, has been the most antifarming administration this Nation has seen. It has attacked the immigrant community that the farmers have relied on. It has entered a war that has been unnecessary and that has made the cost of fuel and fertilizer rise. This administration has attacked the open markets so that the Chinese Government could not afford to purchase our soy and our corn because they could buy it cheaper from Argentina and from Brazil, although Brazil is further away from China than California. Why? It is because they have been hand-tied.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“We have been moving toward a more perfect Union, and this administration amongst all administrations has been the most hostile towards inclusivity. To echo the words of Congressman Jamie Raskin, we have had more DUI hires in this administration's Cabinet than we have had DEI hires of those that have been qualified. When we think of what happened to General CQ Brown being replaced by Mr. Pete Hegseth, who was then denied the opportunity to stand guard over the inauguration of President Joe Biden because of his ties to white nationalist organizations. That is something that we cannot look past. I would tell you, Mr. Speaker, we are moving toward a more perfect Union. This administration seems to be an echo, a revision of the book ``1984,'' an Orwellian vision. Everything this administration says is the exact opposite.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Whereas the problem of racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, anti- Semitism, anti-Islamophobia continues to be prevalent in the cultural, political, and economic life of this country. And as the cofounder of this DEI Caucus, I must rise to declare that with respect to the issue of equal access, equal opportunity, and equal protection under the law that the government of the United States, as it is currently configured, cannot be trusted unless we have explicit laws and codify these programs to ensure a greater America. Nor should the economic and democratic future of over 13 million African Americans be left to the meandering and whimsical generosity of people who recently came to terms with the idea that all of us are created equal. The country is not there yet.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“I thank Congressman Menefee for his time, his talent, and his contribution to this country. Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell you that the history of the United States has been replete with so many examples of the resilience of minorities having to overcome hostilities. We do not find in the pages of American history over and over again that the government of this country has continually been complicit in the systematic disenfranchisement, specifically of African-American citizens and Native Americans by denying, as a matter of both law and custom, the legal privileges of both law and custom and the protections enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honorable Congressman Jamie Raskin. We would like to see fewer DUI Secretaries and more DEI candidates, persons who are simply looking for equal opportunity to be included in serving our Nation. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and my privilege to introduce the Honorable Congressman from the great State of Texas, a career prosecutor, a fighter for justice, a champion for the least of these, those who have been left behind, the Honorable Congressman Menefee from the great State of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Menefee).”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield the floor to the Honorable Congressman from the great State of Maryland, a modern-day abolitionist, a man who has risen to the height of this hour to combat the spirit of the Confederacy that also lived in this Chamber that has found a resurgence; a man who is fearless, who is keenly articulate and persuasively analytical and instinctively intelligent, who leads this Democratic voice on justice, the Honorable Jamie Raskin.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stansbury for her remarks. It has been a true honor to serve with her and to continue to serve with her. Mr. Speaker, I now take the privilege to introduce the Honorable Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, the first Latino to represent her State in the United States Congress--carrying forward a legacy of her father, her family, as she molds and shapes her own. She came in here not as a freshman, but as a leader, carrying forward the fighting legacy, and I am honored that her father worked with my father. She has been working for families and environmental justice. I now yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Grijalva).”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, it would have been my privilege and pleasure to introduce the Congressman from the great State of Maryland, an outstanding advocate for justice for all, a modern day abolitionist, a man who has been committed to equal opportunity and equal justice for all, the incomparable, the Honorable Congressman Jamie Raskin from the great State of Maryland, but he is not here yet. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), an outstanding woman from the great State of New Mexico. The Honorable Congresswoman is a modern day abolitionist from the great State of New Mexico, Ms. Stansbury, my colleague.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, it is my privilege and honor to introduce a colleague of mine from the great State of Illinois, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who has been here, who has championed fearless amounts of deals to make sure that the Nation is made stronger. She is a national voice on gun violence, also a doctor of medical sciences and public health, who represents the great Second District of the State of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Tonko so much for his clear voice and analysis. I thank him for the update as we confront the resurgence of the confederacy. We need the abolitionist's voice. We have gone from the veiled attempts of the segregationists now to the overt racism carefully wrapped up and disguised and repackaged saying that DEI, the program that expanded opportunity, is exclusionary. No. Mr. Speaker, we have had a long history of racism, segregation, and discrimination. Now that we have put some ointment on and had some healing, now this is being called the cause of division. It is not, and we continue to stand. We will fight until America is right. Mr.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Tonko), a leader on clean energy, environmental justice, and environmental policy, who has represented the capital region since 2009. He is a person we hold in high esteem, a voice that is fearless and confronts injustice.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Congressman Cleo Fields, representing the Sixth District of the great State of Louisiana, who has a remarkable story. He expanded democracy, not only asking for the opportunity but for equity and inclusion for the voice of all members of Louisiana to be included in what will go down as one of the most shameful acts in American history, the decision of Louisiana v. Callais, where they stripped the voting representation of African Americans in the great State of Louisiana. I thank Congressman Cleo Fields for his magnanimous service to this great country, for continuing to expand democracy, and for having made America better. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Unfortunately, it was not honored, and here we are. We will continue this fight to make sure that America fulfills its promise and its destiny. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be joined by my colleague and good friend, the Honorable Congressman Cleo Fields, who hails from the great State of Louisiana. Congressman Cleo Fields is the co-chair and founder of the DEI Caucus. Congressman Fields has led an incredible career in public service my entire adult life, over the last 35 years and counting. All the while, he was championing voting rights issues on behalf of his constituents in the face of relentless opposition. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Louisiana (Mr. Fields). {time} 1740”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Speaker, it is also where we begin because we will let the word go forth from this time and in this place: If the Government of the United States had simply honored the 14th and 15th Amendments ratified in 1868 and in 1870 respectively, there would be no need for diversity, equity, and inclusion today because we would have fulfilled our promise and our obligation. There would be no need for affirmative action had we simply gone forward and honored the 14th and 15th Amendments. There would be no need for civil rights legislation had we honored the 14th and 15th Amendments. To state the matter with even greater clarity, if the government of this country had honored its own laws, then this country would have never needed a civil rights movement. That is because we would have fulfilled that obligation in our 14th and 15th Amendments.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the time, and I thank my colleagues for their presence today. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I rise at this moment and in this Chamber to give a voice to the tens of millions of Americans who do not believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion is an offense to the spirit of America. Nor are they under the impression that intentionally including the talent and abilities of qualified Americans who have been historically and systematically locked out of the promises of America is anything other than the right thing to do. In fact, there are millions of Americans who understand that it is impossible to remunerate 300 years of oppression with only 62 years of inclusion. However, that is why we are here, and that is why we find ourselves here today, making sure that this voice is given airtime. Regrettably, Mr.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous materials in the Record.”
House of Representatives2 September 2026Source ↗
“His legacy reminds us that freedom is incomplete if it cannot produce opportunity. It reminds us that equality is unfinished if it cannot nurture enterprise, and justice remains unfinished if the gifts of a people are ignored. Today, we honor not simply a businessman but a visionary who helped America become more fully itself by insisting that Black genius belonged not on the margins of its history but at its very center core. Mr. Speaker, may we remember George E. Johnson not only for what he sold but for what he restored: confidence, possibility, and pride. May his life continue to remind every child who dares to dream that the greatest investment one can ever make is in the limitless potential of one's own people. To a beloved friend and an outstanding American, I love you, and I honor you, the honorable George E. Johnson.”
House of Representatives15 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, there are some people who build companies, and there are others who build confidence. George E. Johnson did both. He understood something this Nation too often refused to see--that Black people did not need permission to be beautiful, brilliant, or prosperous. We simply needed the opportunity to define ourselves. Through Afro Sheen, he did more than create a successful business.”
House of Representatives15 July 2026Source ↗
“Do not live in fear of the President primarying you. Do not live in fear of the President taking words out of your mouth. You can be a major law firm. Don't lose the ink in your pen because you have fear. You can be a major university. Don't give up your academic freedom because of fear. You have a major corporation. You have the right to align yourself with the interests of your shareholders and the interests of your future marketplace. Hold on to the DEI. Members of this body, as coequal branches of government and the United States, fundamentally disagree with President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Speaker, I want Mr. Pete Hegseth to know that diversity is legal in the United States military. Colin Powell was an affirmative action general. We should tell the truth about it. He came through under the Carter administration. Mr.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Fields for the privilege of standing here beside him. I thank him for his commitment to justice, for his commitment to the American way, and I thank him for making America better. His case right now before the United States Supreme Court, Louisiana v. Callais, is taking into account, once again, the maxim of equal protection under the law. We want to make sure that America stays strong and America gets better. I tell those that say ``Make America Great Again,'' I tell them that this is the greatest America has ever been. This body now has more female Senators, has more people of ethnicities, more diversity, and I am proud of the culture that this great country has. I hope other people would step forward to find the courage to come and join us on this floor so we can have a conversation.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“And it was 346 years from 1619 to 1965 before the Voting Rights Act was even passed. Then the 15th Amendment came around to make sure that everyone had equal access to the ballot, and that wasn't fully enacted until 1965. Yes, this has been a long journey and we cannot be cowards and not confront the history and the truth of our past.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, if I could jump in on that for just a moment. These are voluntary programs. These are aspirational programs, as you have shared with me. There is no DEI law. No DEI law has been passed by the Congress. How can you outlaw something that never was a law? When we go into the Senate, just at the other end of this Chamber, you see ``E Pluribus unum'' over the Speaker, which means ``out of many, one.'' That is the call for diversity. When we talk about equality in the 14th Amendment, equal protection under the law, we only had that once the Nation could confront its history and tell the truth. We wouldn't have had to have the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, and the 14th Amendment that was meant for equal protection for those Americans that had been enslaved for 246 years from 1619 to 1865.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“There are six military bases that have some of these Confederate generals on there, but then you take down the names of Medgar Evers and Harriet Tubman? That is shameful and hypocritical. Diversity makes the Nation stronger. Being committed to truth and justice about our paths only serves as a benefit. It doesn't take anything away. The false narrative that people are unqualified simply is not true. We know from these Halls of Congress right here that people whose parents have been here before can teach their children how to run for office, how to raise the funds, and you will see children of those that have been in power following in that tradition. We are talking about creating an on-ramp for greater inclusiveness, for greater cohesion amongst the troops.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“Speaker, Members can read the entirety of the amicus brief at the following link: https://www.harvard.edu/admissionscase/wp-content/ uploads/sites/6/2022/08/Amicus-Brief-Military-Brief72.pdf . When they say they are anti-DEI and then they take down the statues and remove the gravestones of Jackie Robinson, that does not help with military cohesion. If there is one of our colleagues that is watching us in the Chamber, we invite you down so we can have a debate, a discussion on DEI and stop the polarization and racializing this. They find it okay. Mr. Pete Hegseth finds it okay to resurrect the name of Ku Klux Klansman General Bragg, Fort Bragg, but yet you take down the name of Jackie Robinson. And you are not done with improper ideology? Then you resurrect the names of so many others.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“national security imperative.'' We had discussed this at one point. Further on, they go on to say: ``The U.S. military's commitment to diverse and inclusive leadership derives from decades of experience.'' This is exponential. ``The U.S. military's international presence and engagement abroad with foreign military and civilians requires diversity in this officers corps.'' In part C, they say: ``U.S. military diversity initiatives have led to significant progress in growing a highly qualified and racially diverse officer corps, but this work must continue. ``Invalidating universities' modest race-conscious admissions policies would seriously impair the military's efforts to maintain cohesion and effectiveness.'' Mr.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting when we started this conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion, I invited some of my other colleagues to participate. One person asked me: Is it legal for you to discuss DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion? As coequal branches of government, we do not work for the DOGE. We do not work for the Presidency. We fundamentally disagree with the way the Nation is going under the Presidency. Mr. Pete Hegseth, our Secretary of Defense, needs to understand, if he would take the time to read it, that diversity is legal according to the United States Supreme Court in the Students for Fair Admissions. Mr. Speaker, the generals that have written the amicus brief said: ``Growing and maintaining a highly qualified, diverse officer corps remains a U.S.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“These policies contribute to a culture of exclusion, a culture that denies the very existence of our humanity as a people, and by extension, the humanity of all people.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“These bans are not merely an affront to academic freedom; they are an assault on Black identity and an attempt to stifle the critical conversations necessary for a truly inclusive society. Moreover, the policies that aim to ban discussions of race and racism in the classroom directly undermine the very spirit of education. It is no secret that Black students--especially those attending public schools in underserved communities--are already facing systemic barriers to educational opportunities. When DEI programs are eliminated, when history is whitewashed, and when Black experiences are rendered invisible, the message sent to our children is clear: Your history, your experience, and your potential does not matter.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“To say nothing of the fact that ensuring the right of young people to be in leadership is what diversity and inclusion is all about. The move to get rid of these policies is not theoretical; they are real. They are felt and they have consequences. Take, for example, the recent span of book bans across the Nation, particularly those targeting African-American authors, targeting our history, and targeting our lived experiences. Books like ``The Hate U Give'' by Angie Thomas, ``Beloved'' by Toni Morrison, ``Between the World and Me'' by Ta-Nehisi Coates have been removed from classrooms and libraries not because of their literary merit but because of the discomfort they cause to those who wish to ignore the brutal realities of race in America.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“It is no accident that this movement to undermine DEI coincides with the resurgence of racism and hatred, and this rhetoric and these policies are un-American. These policies also coincide with the banning of books. I ask, when does a society move forward banning books? When we talk about restraining freedoms on women's bodies, when has that ever been good for society? {time} 1945 We talk about xenophobia when most people in this country have come from other lands. It is as if society has never moved forward. It is not a coincidence when I tell you, under the guise of fairness and colorblindness, these policies have disproportionately harmed the African American and the marginalized communities all while maintaining a status quo that favors the privileged few.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“More profoundly, these attacks are not merely political, but they represent a direct assault on civil rights. Specifically, they started by targeting African Americans, and they threaten to undo the hard- fought progress that has been made over generations. DEI, at its core, is not just a set of policies but an embodiment of American values, values that ensure every citizen, regardless of race, gender, or background, has the opportunity to thrive. It reflects the notion that our strength as a nation lies in our diversity, that our success is drawn from the breadth of our collective experiences, and that our unity can be found not in the erasure of differences but in the celebration of them. Today, this fundamental belief is under siege.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“To hide history is cowardice, I would say. To erase it is cruelty. America must choose neither because when we forget what we were, we forfeit the right to know who we are. Mr. Speaker, we are addressing the issue today of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I would like to speak on this matter because it is an urgent matter, one that touches the very soul of our Nation's promise and its founding ideals of equality, justice, and the pursuit of liberty. We are at a crossroads, a critical juncture where the direction we choose will define the future of this Nation. I speak today about the persistent and harmful attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and how these attacks, particularly under the leadership of the President of the United States, are undermining the values upon which this Nation was built.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“It forbids remembering. These 885 women who put together 17 million pieces of mail that kept the morale of our troops high were given no recognition until today, after 80 years. I thank Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune for their contribution. When we talk about erasure, ask the descendants of Tulsa's Greenwood District, who for decades lived with silence where there should have been national mourning, and ask the generations denied their roots by a system that said their past wasn't worth recording. We see it now in the battles over school curriculum, in sanitized histories where the enslaved become mere workers and civil rights are a footnote to a fabled color-blind dream. When we allow erasure to masquerade as reform, we not only assault those who live the truth but endanger the consciousness of a nation already prone to moral amnesia.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“I know the message that they are sending, referring to the movie ``Hidden Figures,'' the African-American women who did the math to put man on the moon but somehow were unceremoniously removed from all the accolades and all the parades, these women who were called human calculators. It came to my mind that they are really not hidden. Hidden is to be made inconvenient to the dominant narrative, shuffled to the footnotes or left on the cutting room floor of America's memory. It is dishonest, yes, but it leaves room for some discovery. Erasure is more sinister. Erasure says that we were never here. Erasure digs into the archives with red ink and crosses out our lives, achievements, and sufferings. The women in Six Triple Eight have suffered erasure. It removes their names from the rolls and gravestones from the earth. It doesn't just forget.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“I congratulate all those who played a role in creating this wonderful museum.'' These are the words of George W. Bush. I thank Mr. Bush for having helped erect that magnificent museum now that the current administration is trying to take out its materials. Earlier today, I wished Mr. Hegseth, our Secretary of Defense, could have shown the honor and the decency to come into the Capitol Visitor Center to acknowledge the women of Six Triple Eight. There, Speaker Johnson was present, and the leader of the Senate, Mr. Thune, but notably absent was our Secretary of Defense. Someone made the remarks, Mr. Speaker, today that people were hidden, there were hidden figures in American history.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“I can't help but note that a huge influence in my teenage years is honored here, the great Chuck Berry; or my baseball idol growing up in far West Texas, the great Willie Mays; and of course, something I never really mastered, the ability to give a good speech, but Thurgood Marshall sure could.'' He concludes by saying: ``Our country is better and more vibrant because of their contributions and the contributions of millions of African Americans. No telling of American history is neither complete nor accurate without acknowledging them. The lesson of this museum is that all Americans share a past and a future. By staying true to our principles, righting injustice, and encouraging the empowerment of all, we will be an even greater nation for generations to come.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“In a society governed by the people, no wrong lasts forever. After struggle and sacrifice, the American people, acting through the most democratic of means, amended the Constitution that originally treated slaves''--Americans that had been enslaved-- ``as three-fifths of a person to guarantee equal protection of the laws. After decades of struggle, Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts were finally enacted. Even today, the journey toward justice is still not complete, but this museum will inspire us to go farther and get there faster.'' These are the words of George W. Bush. ``And finally, the museum showcases the talent of some of our finest Americans. The galleries celebrate not only African-American equality but African-American greatness.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“``First, it shows our commitment to truth. A great nation does not hide its history; it faces its flaws and corrects them. This museum tells the truth, that a country founded on the promise of liberty held millions in chains . . . that the price of our Union was America's original sin. From the beginning, some spoke the truth--John Adams called slavery `an evil of colossal magnitude.' Their voices were not heeded, and often not heard, but they were always known to a power greater than any on Earth, one who loves His children and meant them to be free. ``Second, this museum shows America's capacity to change. For centuries, slavery and segregation seemed permanent parts of our national life--but not to Nat Turner or Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, or Martin Luther King, Jr. All answered cruelty with courage and hope.”
House of Representatives29 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, during Roll Call Vote No. 11, the Motion to Recommit for H.R. 28, I mistaken recorded my vote as NAY when I should have voted YEA.”
House of Representatives14 January 2025Source ↗