Congressional Black Caucus

Floor Speech

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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I thank my honorable colleague from the great State of Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).

I thank the Honorable Frederica Wilson for her outstanding work. I thank my honorable friend from the great State of New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for his consistency and caring for this truly significant cause.

Madam Speaker, tonight, as we gather to discuss what is, for me, a most important area of concern, I am reminded of how overdue and necessary the concern for Black men in this Chamber happens to be.

If it is true that Black women are the most marginalized, overlooked, and economically oppressed group in America, then it is the case that Black men are, without question, the most criminalized and misunderstood.

No other community in America has had to deal with the detrimental effects of the prison industrial complex as Black men have.

Let me remind my colleagues that one in three African-American children, boys born after the year 2001, will spend time in prison over the course of their lifetime in America.

It is still the case that 1 in 230 Black boys are detained in juvenile facilities across this country. It is still the case that 1 in 1,000 Black boys will die at the hands of the police in our country. It is still the case that one in three Black children live in poverty.

The vulnerabilities abound. The misunderstandings amalgamate. The suffering continues. There is simply no other group in America more commodified and policed than the bodies and souls of young Black men.

Yet, compared to almost any other group, Black men have been some of the most dedicated devotees to the principles of America. Black men have fought and died in every war this country has ever had. From the Revolutionary War in 1776 to the war in Afghanistan, Black men have stood up for what it means to be an American. Black men have died on the beaches of Normandy and in the killing fields of Vietnam. Black men gave their lives in Korea and in both World War I and II.

Let us not forget the recent deaths of three U.S. Army Reserve soldiers, men and women who were killed in Jordan near the Syrian border.

Most of the time, when Black men were dying for America, America was about the business of denying them both their humanity and their rights. For most of the 248 years of this country, the relationship between Black men and America has been one of unrequited love.

When Black men stood up for American independence, America persisted in keeping Black men in slavery and counted them as three-fifths of a person.

When Black men fought for the western expansion of this country, America rewarded Black men by then denying them 40 acres and a mule and access to the homestead grants.

When America went off to war in Europe to fight for liberation of England and France against the demonic assault of Hitler and the Nazis, Black men fought for the liberation of other people--and then came home to segregation, Jim Crow, and second-class citizenship.

America rebuilt Europe but did nothing for Black communities. America rebuilt Japan and left Black men and boys suffering without a national agenda. America defended South Korea but left Black men completely defenseless in the face of unregulated racial violence and Jim Crow economics.

After the Holocaust, America rightly supported the creation of Israel and a homeland for persecuted Jewish people but left the South Side of Chicago, Harlem, parts of Detroit, and all throughout the South, all the places where Black men seek refuge and live, without proper political and economic consideration.

The single greatest factor in the creation of the middle class in this country was the GI Bill, but even after Black men fought in the same war that made White men eligible for the GI Bill, Black soldiers were consistently denied and impeded from receiving what they deserved as a result of their sacrifice.

This is the unbroken chain of disappointing events. This predictable pattern of historical contradictions of unrequited devotion has peppered and persecuted the humanity of Black men unjustly.

Today, Black men and boys stand as the lone group in America still waiting for the Nation to understand their development to be an indispensable part of the future of this Nation.

As I stand here tonight, I ask my colleagues: Where is the national development plan for Black men and boys? If the Nation made a concerted effort to lock up two generations of Black men and boys in the criminal industrial complex, then surely this Nation should dedicate intentional efforts to the restoration of Black men from that kind of brokenness. It is unnatural.

I think it is about time that the Federal Government intentionally put Black men on the agenda. How is it that the Nation can have a plan for everyone else, but it is completely bereft of ideas when it comes to the restoration of Black boys?

Black children are the only people in America who live in a country that has second-class schools, first-class prisons, and third-class water infrastructure.

We need a legislative agenda that will enhance the lives and future of Black men and boys. We need to set aside resources and enact policies that will facilitate the uplifting of a community, the community of Black men.

We need to enforce an agenda that will prosecute those who use their power, status, and influence to harm and criminalize those without justification or cause and one that will recognize the dignity and safety of Black men as a national priority.

We can start by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. We can start by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020.

I call on every Member of the United States Senate to stop playing with the future of Black men because Black men are not pawns to be played with on the battlefield of identity politics but are, rather, the children of God, just like everyone else in this country.

Thankfully, because of President Biden's stewardship of the economy, Black unemployment is the lowest it has ever been, but more needs to be done.

Madam Speaker, one out of three Black families still has negative wealth--or no money, meaning they are in debt, living paycheck to paycheck. One out of every four Black children born in 1990 will experience the incarceration of their fathers in their lifetimes. One out of every six Black boys is suspended from school. It is still the case that one in nine Black children will enter the foster care system and have to live with the devastation that comes along with that.

This should not be done at the expense of any other community but should happen in concert with how we address the needs of the disinherited and marginalized amongst us.

We have already seen what Black men can do when the game is fair and the rules are made public. Black men can excel at sports, not merely because we are physically gifted but, rather, because the game cannot be rigged. When the rules are clear and everyone has the opportunity to play by the same standards, we can win. When the playing field is even and nobody gets to tilt the game in their favor, Black men can thrive.

Madam Speaker, I say to my friends today that we need Black men to thrive in America. We need all the genius and creativity that Black men have to offer.

This Nation would be unlivable without the genius of Frederick Douglass and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

What would America be without the literary power of James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison?

This Nation would be an incomplete project without what Black men have given to this country. Let us recommit ourselves to the expanding future of Black men and boys. In doing so, let us reaffirm our commitment to one another.

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