Hoyer Remarks at 34th Annual Black History Month Breakfast
WALDORF, MD –Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) attended the 34th Annual Black History Month Breakfast in Waldorf, Maryland this morning, where he was joined by keynote speaker, Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-SC), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and hundreds of constituents from Maryland's Fifth District. Below are his opening remarks as prepared for delivery.
"This year is a momentous one in the celebration of Black history.
"We mark not only the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma but also the 50th anniversary of the legislation that was enacted as a result of the campaign that had its climax on Bloody Sunday.
"The Voting Rights Act opened the doors of our democracy to millions of African Americans across the south – and to this day protects millions of Americans from having their right to vote suppressed.
"But that law and its critical protections have been undermined by the Supreme Court's ruling in Shelby v. Holder.
"In a few minutes, we'll be hearing from a friend and colleague in the Congress who has been a leader in the fight to restore the full power of the voting rights act – a fight I have been proud to help lead as well.
"But Black History Month is about more than the equal participation in our system of government.
"It is also about equal access to the dream that our system of government is supposed to protect and enhance.
"The American Dream is supposed to be color blind.
"Sadly, our history is replete with examples of it not being so.
"But our history is also filled with examples of courageous, creative, and persevering men and women who marched, who wrote, who taught, who healed, who painted, who sang, and who achieved the extraordinary – in defiance of inequality and what Langston Hughes called ‘a dream deferred.'
"Wherever poverty struck could be found the riches of hopeful song and the poetry of determined souls.
"Where oppression came down like a heavy rain, people huddled under the shelter of warm communities and unyielding faith.
"And where bigotry erected walls, cracks were made larger and larger by the trailblazing accomplishments of those whose talents and voices would not be stifled.
"Today the battle for the American Dream continues – a battle between the inertia of a troubled history and the resolve of a nation eager to heal its wounds and chart a more perfect future.
"Here in Maryland this month, let us continue that work together by celebrating the giants upon whose shoulders we stand – and the many who were not giants but, nevertheless, did so much to lift all of us up.
"In celebrating the Black life in America, let us remember that our nation, like ‘Joseph's coat,' is a garment woven from many vibrant threads.
"And the lessons of our history demonstrate that we are stronger when those threads are woven ever more tightly, our destinies bound together as one people sharing a powerful dream – a dream we must strive to make equally attainable for every single American."