March 11, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H863 the average American worker is very a one-person agency located in Chi- during legacy with the Leadership Con- well placed. cago. Discrimination against Jews at ference on Civil Rights which he co- Mr. GUTKNECHT. If I could, gentle- that time was overt and widespread. founded with NAACP President Roy men, our time is just about expired. We Help wanted ads specifying gentile only Wilkins. In 1950, he and Mr. Wilkins will have to wrap it up here, but I do were commonplace, and employment convened over 4,000 delegates from all want to thank my colleagues for par- agencies accepted and filled orders in over the country to urge the Congress ticipating tonight. accordance with such specifications. to enact employment, antidiscrimina- I want to say, in part, with the spirit Rather than attempting to deal with tion, and antilynching laws. of what transpired in Hershey, PA, that the problem as it affected Jews alone, Along with Martin Luther King, Jr., we do look forward to an honest and he decided to attack employment dis- Arnold Aronson was one of the 10 orga- civil debate about the great issues fac- crimination per se, no matter the vic- nizers of the 1963 March on Washing- ing this country, and nothing can be tim. Accordingly, he organized the Chi- ton. During the Leadership Con- more important than stopping the cago Council Against Religious and Ra- ference’s first 13 years, Arnold Aronson business of mortgaging our children’s cial Discrimination, a coalition of reli- served as its secretary and directed the future and, in the end, it provides real gious, labor, ethnic, civil rights and so- day-to-day operations of the organiza- benefits. cial welfare organizations. As council tion. Along with NAACP Washington Not only is it the morally right thing secretary, Arnold Aronson directed the bureau director Clarence Mitchell, to do to balance the budget, but it is campaign that led to the first munici- Aronson and the Leadership Conference the economically smart thing to do. I pal Fair Employment Practices Com- coordinated the successful lobbying ef- think if we work together and have a mission in the Nation. forts which resulted in the passage of civil debate, then I think we ulti- In 1943, he organized a statewide coa- the 1957 and 1964 Civil Rights Acts, the mately can succeed in that. lition, the Illinois Fair Employment 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Important now is that we all begin to Council, and initiated the campaign for Fair Housing Act. speak the same language. If the Presi- a State FEP legislation. Arnold Aronson’s lasting legacy, I be- dent is speaking OMB and we are In 1945, he became program director lieve, is summed up in a quote of his, speaking CBO, it is going to make that of the National Jewish Community Re- and I would like to quote it. Arnold job even more difficult. So in the next lations Advisory Council, a coalition of Aronson once wrote: The struggle of several weeks, what we hope to do is civil rights cannot be won by any one try to get the White House and the national and local Jewish agencies. He developed policies and programs for group acting by or for itself alone, but Congress to at least be speaking the only through a coalition of groups that same language. Jewish agency involvement on issues of civil rights, civil liberties, immigra- share a common commitment to equal Then we can have that civil debate justice and equal opportunity for every and, ultimately, I think we can reach tion reform, church and State separa- tion, Soviet Jewish immigration and American. an agreement during this Congress Mr. Speaker, Arnold Aronson’s life is support for Israel. which will be historic, which will leave a model for us all. I consider it a privi- In 1946, Arnold Aronson became sec- a legacy that we can all be proud of lege to have known him and to have retary of the National Council for a and ultimately lead to a stronger eco- worked with him. I am honored to join Permanent FEPC, a coalition which nomic growth, more jobs, better jobs, with my colleagues this evening in sa- and the ability of more American fami- was headed by A. Philip Randolph, and luting this giant on today, his 86th lies to have the American dream. together they directed campaigns for birthday. Happy birthday, Arnold So again I want to thank my col- Federal civil rights legislation in the Aronson, and we thank you. leagues for joining me. 79th and 80th Congresses. Mr. Speaker, joining with me in this f In 1949, he became the secretary of special order this evening are Congress- the National Emergency Civil Rights woman ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Con- TRIBUTE TO ARNOLD ARONSON, A Mobilization, which was chaired by gresswoman SHEILA JACKSON-LEE, and GREAT CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER Roy Wilkins, and together they orga- Congressman JOHN LEWIS. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under nized a lobby in support of President It is my pleasure at this time, Mr. the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- Truman’s proposed civil rights pro- Speaker, to yield to Congressman JOHN uary 7, 1997, the gentleman from South gram. LEWIS. Carolina [Mr. CLYBURN] is recognized Around this same time, Mr. Speaker, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for 60 minutes. Arnold Aronson and a few men, a small I want to thank my colleague and GENERAL LEAVE group, set out to professionalize people friend from the great State of South Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask who were working in civil rights and Carolina for yielding. I want to thank unanimous consent that all Members allied fields by establishing the Na- the gentlewoman from the District of may have 5 legislative days within tional Association of Intergroup Rela- Columbia [Ms. NORTON] for organizing which to revise and extend their re- tions Officials. The name of that group this special order in honor of our friend marks and to include therein extra- has since been changed, and today it is Arnold Aronson. It is fitting and appro- neous material on the subject of my called the National Association of priate that we gather here on the floor special order this evening. Human Rights Workers. of the House of Representatives to pay The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there Arnold Aronson held many offices in tribute to this great man on this, the objection to the request of the gen- that organization, including a term as occasion of his 86th birthday. I want to tleman from South Carolina? president. In fact, it is my great honor personally wish Mr. Aronson a happy, a There was no objection. to have been one of his successor presi- very happy birthday. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to dents in this organization, and I was As Americans, we owe a debt of grati- pay tribute this evening to one of our pleased to meet with them in Shreve- tude to Arnold Aronson. We live in a Nation’s greatest civil rights leaders: port, LA, 3 weeks ago, and look for- better country, a better society, and a Arnold Aronson. Arnold Aronson has ward to their annual meeting in Octo- better world because of the work of been active in civil rights for nearly 60 ber of this year. this civil rights pioneer. I would not be years. b here, I would not be a Member of Con- In 1941, he, along with A. Philip Ran- 2000 gress but for the hard work, dedication, dolph, mobilized a campaign that led During Arnold Aronson’s term as and commitment by Arnold Aronson to President Roosevelt’s Executive president, he established the Journal of and others like him. order which banned discrimination on Intergroup Relations, which continues These were people who took up the the basis of race, creed or national ori- to the present time and is an organiza- cause of equal rights and civil rights gin in war-related industries. This Ex- tion to which I very often contribute. long before they became politically ecutive order established the first Fair Mr. Speaker, I think that Arnold popular, before they became the fash- Employment Practice Committee. Aronson’s lasting legacy, although he ion of the day. Arnold Aronson was one In 1941, Mr. Aronson headed the Bu- has been involved in every major civil of the original founders of the Leader- reau of Jewish Employment Problems, rights effort in this century, is his en- ship Conference on Civil Rights, and H864 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 11, 1997 for this he should be commended and Mr. CLYBURN. I thank the gen- tant that at the time that Mr. Aronson remembered. But Mr. Aronson was tleman from Georgia [Mr. LEWIS] for made the commitment to continue more than that, I can tell you. He was his statement. work with the Leadership Conference, the glue that held the civil rights Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentle- he was not just sitting by with idle movement together. woman from Texas [Ms. JACKSON-LEE]. time. He was working full time as pro- I remember many meetings during Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank gram director of the National Commu- the 1960’s, many meetings here in my esteemed colleague from South nity Relations Advisory Council, a coa- Washington during some heated discus- Carolina both for his leadership and his lition of major Jewish organizations. sion, sometimes heated debates. It was long service in the area of human and Mr. Aronson began his struggle always Arnold Aronson that held us to- civil rights. against discrimination in 1941 as head gether. In order to have people and in- Let me thank the gentlewoman from of the Bureau on Jewish Employment dividuals, the gentlewoman from the the District of Columbia [Ms. NORTON] at a time when open discrimination District of Columbia [Ms. NORTON] will for her wisdom in organizing this trib- against Jews was widespread. Help remember, the gentleman from South ute. Mr. Aronson, as one of the newer wanted ads specifying gentile only Carolina [Mr. CLYBURN] and others, to members of this Congress, let me were commonplace and employment have an A. Philip Randolph, a Martin thank you for giving me the oppor- agencies accepted and filled orders in Luther King, Jr., a Roy Wilkins, a tunity now to serve a very diverse con- accordance with such specifications. James Farmer, a Bayard Rustin, and stituency in the U.S. Congress from the Instead of regarding discrimination the young people from the Student 18th Congressional District in Texas. I only as a Jewish program as one might Nonviolent Coordinating Committee rise today to commend and support have expected, he had a broader view of and others in the same room, it was a this special order recognizing Mr. Ar- the true magnitude of the problem, and great deal to try to control. nold Aronson, one of the Nation’s following his conscience, he formed the This man, this good man, was a sol- greatest champions of the civil rights Chicago Council Against Religious and dier of conscience, a warrior in a non- movement. violent crusade to bring equality to Racial Discrimination, a coalition of This special order fittingly comes on religious, labor, ethnic, civil rights and America. While the civil rights climate Mr. Aronson’s 86th birthday and I tip ebbed and flowed in the course of his social welfare organizations. He coined my hat to you. Arnold Aronson has the phrase coalition. He did not speak 60-year career, Arnold Aronson stood long been seen as a key figure in the like a mighty oak planted by the bank it, he lived it, and in tribute to him, it history of this country’s struggle for is continuing. of the river. He never swayed, he never civil rights. The well-documented story wavered, he never faltered. He knew Mr. Aronson, countless generations of Mr. Aronson’s legacy to the chapters will come to know and can appreciate what was right and he worked every of this Nation’s civil rights movement day to make that vision a reality. the benefits that your life’s work has have been chronicled by countless his- Under his day-to-day leadership as brought to the unity of this Nation. torians. Since the New Deal era, Ar- secretary of the Leadership Conference Thank you for your dedication and on Civil Rights, Arnold Aronson lob- nold Aronson has spoken on behalf of commitment during those early steps bied and fought successfully for the this Nation’s disenfranchised by advo- in the civil rights movement that passage of the 1957 and the 1964 Civil cating unity and not division. began the road to making the Constitu- I might say to you in a city that one Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, tion of this country extend its rights and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. To this might study and give rise to whether and protections to all of its citizens. day he remains an active member of there would be opportunities for Jew- Finally, in closing, let me add that as the Leadership Conference. Due in part ish-black coalitions, let me say that I we continue to try to forge coalitions, to his leadership and his ability, his ca- have had the privilege in the city of a name that comes to mind certainly is pacity to build a coalition, the Leader- Houston to serve a number of years in Dr. Martin Luther King. As the pre- ship Conference today includes 180 via- a very thriving and ongoing dialog be- vious speaker noted his words, let me ble organizations and groups and fights tween the African-American and Jew- say that in those days of the Montgom- against all forms of racial, religious, ish community. ery bus march and boycott, those were national origin, gender, and sexual ori- Out of that very bond grew a young days that were both light and dark. entation bigotry and discrimination. man by the name of Mickey Leland One of the statements that Dr. King Tonight, Mr. Speaker, I want to note who served in the U.S. Congress and noted is that the history would recall in particular the vital and historic role was one of my predecessors in this po- that there were great people who de- that Mr. Aronson played in uniting the sition. Mickey Leland was infused with cided to do the right thing and that black and Jewish communities in the the energy of bringing communities to- what would be written is that they de- struggle for civil rights. It is a bond gether and particularly worked to join cided, first of all, never to turn back. the black and Jewish community. and a friendship that continues to this b 2015 very day. For example, in my city of In tribute to you, Mr. Aronson, let Atlanta and many other cities, there is me say that we still have in Houston We thank you, Mr. Arnold Aronson, a black-Jewish coalition working to- today a Mickey Leland kibbutz pro- on this your 86th birthday for having gether due in large part to the road gram that sends young men and women the greatness of mind and conscious to paved by our friend Arnold Aronson. to Israel from the inner city African- be able to say we will never turn the As I said when I started, it is more American and Hispanic and Asian com- clock back, and it is this day that we than fitting and appropriate that we munities in order to bring about a last- write of you and give tribute to you as gather here today. Few Americans ing coalition. a great American. The history books have done more to bring us together, Let me say that your words spoken will recall your greatness as well. more to unite us as a nation and as a so early on the struggle for the civil Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend and people than has Arnold Aronson. My rights movement cannot be won by one support this special order recognizing Mr. Ar- late mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King, group alone has carried many of us for- nold Aronson, one of this Nation's greatest Jr., talked during the 1960’s of building ward, recognizing that we are all in champions of the civil rights movement. a beloved community, a nation at this same leaky boat together and we This special order fittingly comes on Mr. peace with itself, where people were must rise together or certainly sink to- Aronson's 86th birthday. Arnold Aronson has judged not by the color of their skin gether. long been seen as a key figure in the history but by the content of their character. Mr. Aronson was noted as one of the of this country's struggle for civil rights. Arnold Aronson has done as much as most noted founders of the Leadership The well documented story of Mr. Aronson's any man in this Nation to help build Conference on Civil Rights, known in legacy to the chapters of this Nation's civil that beloved community. For that he the 1950’s as the Leadership Con- rights movement have been chronicled by will always be, in my heart and in the ference. Let me applaud not only the countless historians. Since the New Deal era hearts of millions of others, beloved. coalition but the friendship of Roy Wil- Arnold Aronson has spoken on behalf of this Thank you, Mr. Aronson. Thank you kins and Arnold Aronson wherein this Nation's disenfranchised by advocating unity for your hard work. coalition was born. It is so very impor- and not division. March 11, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H865 He said, ment of Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Aronson the orga- and thank her for her service to her The struggle for civil rights cannot be won nization survived these lean years. constituents and to our Nation. by one group acting by or for itself alone, At the time Mr. Aronson made the commit- Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentle- but only through a coalition of groups that ment to continue work with the Leadership woman from New York [Mrs. LOWEY]. share a common commitment to equal jus- Conference he was working full time as pro- Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise tice and equal opportunity for every Amer- gram director of the National Community Rela- today to honor a giant in the civil ican. tions Advisory Council, a coalition of major rights movement. Arnie Aronson is one Mr. Aronson brokered his words into a coali- Jewish organizations. of the true champions of civil rights in tion of Mr. Roy Wilkins and Mr. Aronson Mr. Aronson began his struggle against dis- this country. As one of the founders of wherein the Leadership Conference on Civil crimination in 1941 as head of the Bureau of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights was born. Jewish employment at a time when open dis- Rights, Arnie has been a lifelong cru- Mr. Aronson was one of the most noted crimination against Jews was widespread. sader for civil rights. Over the years founders of the Leadership Conference on Help wanted ads specifying ``Gentile only'' Arnie has avoided publicity, but his Civil Rights known in the 1950's as the Lead- were commonplace and employment agencies lack of publicity does not diminish how ership Conference. accepted and filled orders in accordance with indebted we are all to him. Summoned by Roy Wilkins, chairman of the such specifications. Arnie turns 86 today, and I can think event and Arnold Aronson, secretary, 4,269 Instead of regarding discrimination as only a of no better place to honor him than on delegates from 23 States, which included 291 Jewish program he had a broader view of the this House floor, where some of his brave souls from the South, representing 58 true magnitude of the problem. Following his toughest battles were fought and won. national organizations, converged on the Cap- conscience he formed the Chicago Council Arnie’s championship of human rights ital to take part in what its conveners called Against Religious and Racial Discrimination, a in this country has shaped the Nation’s the National Emergency Civil Rights Mobiliza- coalition of religious, labor, ethnic, civil rights, policies since the Roosevelt adminis- tion. and social welfare organizations. tration. From Roosevelt’s Executive As the council secretary, Aronson directed The actions of Mr. Arnold Aronson and Mr. order barring discrimination in war-re- the campaign that led to the first Municipal Roy Wilkins was in direct response to a report lated industries, to the 1964 Civil Fair Employment Practices Commission in the issued by President Truman's Citizens Com- Rights Act, to the 1965 Voting Rights Nation. mittee on Civil Rights, in 1947, titled ``To Se- Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act, cure These Rights,'' it was felt that the find- In 1943, he organized a Statewide coalition, the Illinois Fair Employment Council and initi- Arnie has helped coordinate the efforts ings of the report could leave no Member of to pass every landmark civil rights leg- Congress in doubt regarding the scope and ated the campaign for State fair employment practices legislation. islation this body has considered. substance of racial injustice. The Truman The first fair employment practices legisla- Arnie also devoted his life to uniting committee found that the sensational news tion was passed in the State of New York in the Jewish and African-American com- stories of lynching, Klan attacks, and race 1945. In the ensuing decade, at least a dozen munities in the struggle against dis- riots, the Truman committee found were only States enacted fair employment practices laws crimination. The strong ties that exist the most shocking manifestations of a strain of with Aronson serving as a consultant in sev- between these two communities today prejudice that was everywhere in American eral of the campaigns. are a testament to Arnie’s hard work. society. From 1945 to 1976 he served as program I think Vernon Jordan said it best This strain of prejudice permeated not only director for the National Jewish Community when describing the impact Arnie’s the broad areas of employment, housing, edu- Relations Advisory Council, which is a coali- work has had. He said, ‘‘You have the cation, health care, and voting; but in many tion of national and local Jewish agencies. Mr. gratitude of countless millions who parts of the country, it infiltrated the most ordi- Aronson developed policies and programs for may never have heard of your name nary aspects of life, so that to be black in Jewish agency involvement on issues of civil but whose lives are better, whose pros- America was to experience daily humiliation. rights, civil liberties, immigration reform, pects are brighter and whose dreams Black youngsters were barred from amuse- church-state separation, Soviet Jewish immi- are coming true, thanks to you.’’ ment and national marble contests. Black gration, and support for Israel. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand shoppers were often unable to try on suits or He was clearly a man ahead of his time. today in honor of Arnie Aronson. His dresses in department stores or eat at the In 1954, he organized the Consultative Con- commitment to racial justice has lunch counters like other customers. Black ference on Desegregation, and Interreligious touched all of our lives and the lives of travelers had to suffer the indignity of seg- Coalition with the heads of the National Coun- many others who will never know his regated seating sections, waiting rooms, rest cil of Churches, the Synagogue Council of name but benefit from his legacy. rooms, and drinking fountains and had to often America, and a representative of the national Happy birthday, Arnie. spend long, exhausting hours on the road be- Catholic Welfare Conference as cochairman Mr. CLYBURN. I thank the gentle- fore finding a place to stay or even a place to and himself as secretary. The purpose of the woman for her statement. relieve themselves. Such conditions prevailed Consultative Conference on Desegregation Mr. Speaker, I would like now to not only in the South, but even in our Nation's was to provide an opportunity for clergymen yield to the gentlewoman from the Dis- Capital. who were under fire for speaking out in sup- trict of Columbia [Ms. NORTON] who or- The Congress had not enacted any civil port of the Court's decision in Brown might, ganized this special order for this rights law since 1875, and it appeared that it under the cloak of anonymity, might be able to evening and thank her for having done would take much more than the meeting of get together with colleagues and civil rights so. those delegates to change that fact. leaders who were similarly situated for an ex- Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I first But Mr. Aronson was not deterred and on change of views, experience, and for mutual want to say how indebted I am to the December 17, 1951, as secretary of both the reinforcement. In the few years it was in exist- gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. council and the mobilization, called represent- ence, the organization was able to save the CLYBURN]. After I organized this spe- atives of the cooperating organizations to- pulpits of several men who had been threat- cial order it became necessary for me gether to plan another Washington meeting: a ened with dismissal and, in other instances to to leave the House, and on very short Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to be find places for clergymen who had in fact notice he was willing to conduct this held in February of the following year to cam- been fired for voicing support of desegrega- special order. He is a most appropriate paign mainly for a revision in the Senate rules tion. gentleman to conduct it, and I very that would allow a simple majority of that body Mr. Aronson, countless generations to come much thank him for the grace and skill to limit and close debate. can know and appreciate the benefits that with which he has done just that. It was under the Leadership Conference your life's work has brought to the unity of this Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that the name that the coalition continued from then Nation. Thank you for your dedication and best way to celebrate your 86th birth- on. commitment during those early steps in the day is listening to a bunch of Members For the next 13 years the Leadership Con- civil rights movement that began the road to of Congress, but leave it to Arnold ference was housed in a desk drawer and fil- making the Constitution of this country extend Aronson, always at work, to spend his ing cabinet in Mr. Aronson's Manhattan office. its rights and protections to all of its citizens. 86th birthday just that way. The conference like many just causes had no Mr. CLYBURN. I thank the gentle- Now, you know there is a cliche money. Through the dedication and commit- woman from Texas for her statement about unsung heroes. But in a very real H866 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 11, 1997 sense Arnold Aronson gives that phrase black people working in the war indus- b 2030 new meaning largely because he never try ought to have equal opportunity in Somebody had to do it without hang- sought the credit and the praise that is jobs. Somebody had to suggest it to ing back and without dropping the ball rightfully his in a movement where him. And in fact there were a small and had to do it from one decade to the people are not exactly shy in stepping band of great men who did so, and his- next, because even today the work is forward to claim credit. It is not every tory will remember them: not done, and the work has been left to good man who is honored on his 86th Joseph Rowell, Bayard Rustin, Clar- those who refuse to lay down their birthday. It is certainly not every good ence Mitchell, Arnold Aronson. swords and retire, but recognize that man that brings Members of the House There are names of the 1990’s, but we they had to go forward into yet an- for a special order of indebtedness to had best remember the names of the other decade, and that was Arnold his work. 1940’s if we want to know truly how we Aronson. But Arnold Aronson deserves that, got here. When I was in law school and I would and he deserves more, and the fact is Arnold Aronson wrote some of the come down in the summers to Mis- that he will probably not get a lot most compelling reports of the period, sissippi, to the March on Washington, more. He will probably not get a lot the reports, the documents that made to New York where it was being orga- more because in a real sense he has people especially those in high places, nized, to wherever there was work to lived a life in which he has not sought like President Truman, understand be done, the fine hand of Arnold a lot more. It is up to those of us who that it was time to move forward. One Aronson was always there. know his work and appreciate his work of the most compelling of those was to He belongs to that extraordinary co- to spread the word of his work, and not secure these rights drafted indeed by terie of men to whom this country only, I might say, to do tribute to his Arnold Aronson. owes everything. We owe our dignity as Today, when we are trying to get work because in a very real sense the a country; we owe the elimination of more funds for the EEOC, it perhaps work of Arnold Aronson deserves rec- the greatest scar on the American pol- seems impossible to believe that the ognition today because it deserves re- ity; we owe it to them. We could never idea of a permanent FEPC, or Fair Em- peating today and because there are be a great country until that scar was ployment Practice Committee, was a too few willing to stand in the exact wiped away and the great civil rights radical idea. Money for it? The point place where he stood, hoisting the flag laws finally achieved, in no small part was should there be any such commit- of the principles that make him a great out of their personal labors, and espe- tee at all. American. As late as 1950 Arnold Aronson was at cially the labor of Arnold Aronson I come before you this evening with the forefront of those struggling for a wiped away that scar and helped us to particular humility as a former chair permanent FEPC. Even the wartime emerge finally as a great Nation. of the Equal Employment Opportunity experience, so successful, had not led Let me finally say something about Commission, as a child of the civil to a permanent agency, and we were an issue that needs to be confronted as rights movement. I know my own per- not to get one until 1964, when Arnold we are celebrating the life of Arnold sonal indebtedness to Arnold Aronson. Aronson, unbroken in his work in the Aronson. We live now in a country I know quite well that the agency that movement, helped lead the march on where people go off into their respec- it was my great honor and privilege to Washington that got finally a perma- tive ethnic and racial corners. In a real chair, the law I came to administer did nent FEPC, the Equal Employment Op- sense there was more discourse across not simply pop up on the lawbooks one portunity Commission. racial lines when I was a girl in the day as this House decided to do the The fact is that as late as the 1950’s civil rights movement. We have lost right thing. Arnold Aronson was working with Roy some of the spirit that guided the What is too little appreciated today Wilkins to get an antilynching bill; times and events of Arnold Aronson, is the kind of work and the kind of at- that is what they called it when I was and I would ask us tonight not simply mosphere in which that work had to be a child and perhaps even when my col- to honor him on his 86th birthday, but done. What is too little appreciated leagues were children. They called it to try to reclaim and recapture the today is what it was like 56 years ago, antilynching bills. It operated at that moral authority of Arnold Aronson. He when Arnold Aronson was there with level of terror. We did not call it civil had that authority because he knew no A. Philip Randolph and where our rights acts in order to keep people from prejudice, first and foremost; because country was at war, proudly marching engaging in violence, and it was at the he lived the word that we were all cre- off to war, with an army segregated to raw level that Arnold Aronson and his ated equal. the core and thinking not one thing colleagues were trying to convince peo- So today the great alliance between about it, marching off in peace and ple that you should not lynch people. African-Americans and Jews needs to freedom to fight a war against the ulti- That was not self-evident. That was come alive again, needs to come alive mate bigotry in a segregated army, and not evident to most Americans. Some- again if we are to remember from there were very few who understood body had to stand up and keep saying whence we came and who were there that irony or even understood that it it and not relent and find ways to with us when nobody else was there. was wrong to step forward then. If you make it come true in a country born in I have to say it, Mr. Speaker. The were white or if you were black was to racism, determined in its racism. one thing I cannot understand is black separate yourself from the great And what was the cry for an anti- anti-Semitism, because the one group masses. Blacks were deprived of every lynching statute was to develop into of people who were always there with conceivable right. Whites, even those the success of the 1960’s, and when the African-Americans were American who knew the difference between racial 20th century closes its eyes and bids Jews. I cannot understand it, and we right and racial wrong, seldom had the farewell and they name the half dozen need to confront it, and we need to re- courage to act on what they knew. pieces of legislation that made this mind people how we got there. Arnold Aronson has never lacked century and made this country, the Arnold Aronson, for most of his life, that courage. We did not get here by laws which Arnold Aronson helped worked for the National Jewish Com- ourselves. We got here marching be- achieve, particularly in the 1960’s, will munity Relations Council and worked hind others, and Arnold Aronson stands be numbered in that group. in that capacity for full rights for among those at the front of that line. In 1961, Mr. Aronson wrote the pio- American Jews and American blacks. If The agency I came to chair, the neering work Federal Support of Dis- indeed we mean to finally finish this Equal Employment Opportunity Com- crimination. That is what it was all struggle, we can only finish it if we re- mission, had its origins in the Fair Em- about, Federal funds, the great might dedicate ourselves to the principles ployment Practices Committee, which and weight of the Federal Government that made it a great struggle. If it is Arnold Aronson, working with such in support of discrimination. Somebody only about our rights, it is about no- stalwarts as A. Philip Randolph, helped had to make this country face that body’s rights. It means nothing if we to achieve. Even the beloved Franklin fact, that the greatest support for dis- take on the very mantle of prejudice D. Roosevelt did not step forward be- crimination came from the greatest that we are ourselves so long have cause it occurred to him that maybe country on the face of the Earth. criticized others for wearing. March 11, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H867 So this evening let the life of Arnold trying to divert them from a course of that gets the microphone most of the Aronson take us back to basics, to our coalition, that we have to take this op- time are leadership members who are first principles that all men and women portunity to emphasize the fact that calling for the worst in people. are created equal, that if I am a black coalitions are the only way to win in This is true unfortunately not only I will stand up first against anti-Semi- America. Mr. Speaker, we only get the in the majority, but also in some mi- tism. If I am an Hispanic, I will stand majority if we are a coalition in Amer- norities. In our own minority we have up first against racism. The rest of you ica, if we happen to be a member of a had loud voices that have called for will have to stand after me. Only then minority. separatism, isolationism; loud voices and only with that resolve, only with In fact, the history of the world and that have gone into extremism; loud that sense of coalition and moral au- the history of prejudice and of oppres- voices that have sought to tear asunder thority will we complete the work so sion shows that one of the reasons that long-existing coalitions. Arnold valiantly carried on by Arnold people are oppressed is that they are in Aronson behind the scenes was one of Aronson. He does us great honor by al- a minority. I mean there is no other those people who was always working lowing us to honor him this evening. reason. to knit together that coalition and to Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank When we look at all of the various make that coalition effective. the gentlewoman very much for her reasons that oppressors give, they Throughout history there have been very moving statement on behalf of our often say that this group was oppressed a whole lot of them. White men, white honoree this evening. because it had an inferior education, it women, have played a major role in the Mr. Speaker, as was said earlier, Ar- had bad hygiene habits, bad sex mores, liberation of black people in America. nold Aronson in 1943 started the move it had an inferior IQ, the IQ was not When slaves were totally powerless, toward FEP agencies, but it was in high enough. We get that kind of argu- when slaves had no organization to 1945, I believe was the year, that the ment sometimes. But get another argu- form coalitions with, it was the aboli- first State FEP agency was enacted ment that they were too brilliant, they tionists, it was the whites who had to into law, and that was in New York. It knew too much, they dominated too carry the ball. is my great pleasure now to yield time many positions in the judiciary, they In the crucial days following the end to the gentleman from New York [Mr. dominated too many positions in the of the Civil War, it was white Thaddeus OWENS]. intellectual circles, and you get the Stevens from Pennsylvania, it was Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I want to same kind of oppression because the white Charles Sumner and others who congratulate the gentleman from oppressor looks for a reason behind the had to forge ahead and against evil South Carolina [Mr. CLYBURN] for tak- reason. forces that were seeking to undermine ing out this most appropriate special The real reason is that because they the victory won in the Civil War, the order to honor Arnold Aronson. are in a minority and they are weak, end of slavery. They had to forge ahead Arnold Aronson represents a breed they are fodder for demagogues. I think and help push the 13th amendment and that gets lost, the people behind the the senior Benjamin Netanyahu, who the 14th amendment and the 15th scenes who do all the hard work. Often has written a book about the inquisi- amendment. Whites had to do that, and geniuses at an organization get lost. tion, the Spanish Inquisition, one of whites did it, in many cases all alone. The headlines never pick them up, and his conclusions is that the Jews were The abolitionists formed coalitions, history is of course filled with people of oppressed in Egypt, and he searched for and those coalitions began to take root this kind, and the American dream all the reasons and found that for no after blacks were able to organize. But would not be realized unless there were other reason than they were the minor- we are here, and for all of those young so many Americans of this kind out ity and they were weak and easy prey people who think we have not gone far there always. to demagogues, and the pattern of op- enough: too much lack of opportunity, They were there during the civil pression against the Jews in other too much discrimination, economic op- rights struggle in great abundance, and places was the same. They were just pression now is the problem, and there- they are still there to some degree. there, easy fodder for demagogues. fore they want to become cynical about They have been intimidated by some of Any minority in any society is easy attempting to move forward in coali- the loud voices and intimidated by the fodder for demagogues. Therefore, all tion with others, I say to those young fact that there is such cynical report- minorities should always place a high people, history unfortunately moves ing in the media, and have not exer- premium on forming coalitions, all mi- too slow. cised their full power. norities. Certainly African-Americans History unfortunately is a captive of But we are the majority; we are not in America should understand that we strong men who sometimes are evil beggars, the people who care. I call it cannot survive without coalitions. Coa- men. History unfortunately does not the coalition of a caring majority, and litions are our only means for survival. realize the full potential of the human I often talk about it as being a natural Yes, we have had a lot of progress, spirit, but history does move forward coalition. I say that almost in despera- and of course we are trumpeting and like an inchworm. Maybe it is a wound- tion, a natural coalition, because what paying tribute to some of the progress ed inchworm sometimes, but it moves we really need is a real coalition, and that has been made as a result of some forward. we have had real coalitions, well orga- of the people like Arnold Aronson, but We would not be where we are today nized coalitions. the message to the young people should if it had not been for history moving The Leadership Conference on Civil be that this is the way it was then, this forward. It is made to move forward be- Rights represents a well organized coa- is the way it has to be now, this is the cause there are people like Arnold lition, a coalition that was needed at a way it must continue to be. Coalitions. Aronson that we do not hear about. particular time, and if it had not been You win with coalitions. The caring They swarm like beautiful butterflies; there we would have a very different majority in America is larger than any we do not know they are there, but we scenario for American history. The other group. When you put it all to- only need leadership to call them forth. civil rights struggle and the results gether, the caring majority is big, the And among our young people, they from that struggle would be very dif- caring majority can make America could be and should be part of those ferent. work. swarming butterflies moving together It is important, and I do not want to Most people in America do not want to make America great; behind the be redundant because I think his ac- to live by somebody else’s sweat, they scenes, unsung, doing the hard work complishments have been cited by a do not want to live by somebody’s necessary to realize the dreams that number of speakers, but it is important else’s blood. They do not want to be are here. that we send a message to our young unfair. Most people in America are We have a great potential in this people, young people of all groups, all ready to follow leadership that calls country. We are the richest country races, but particularly young people out the best in them. But unfortu- that exists on the face of the earth. who are African-American. There is so nately, the leadership that gets the Productivity, prosperity, everything is much cynicism, there are so many loud high visibility, the leadership that gets booming forward at this point. Why are voices competing for their attention in the media attention, the leadership there so many people suffering? Why H868 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 11, 1997 are there such evil ideas being put port was later issued by President Tru- same policy goal in this House, as forth? It is because so many people man’s Citizens Committee on Civil Members well know. have given up; so many people do not Rights in 1947 and eventually became The second part of the equation is recognize that when we put the coali- the basis for the 1957 Civil Rights Act. empowering people, how we are going tion forward, we are the majority, we Mr. Aronson was also one of the ten or- to empower the individual and not gov- do not have to be beggars. ganizers and leaders of the historic 1963 ernment. That is the logical second Arnold Aronson understood that. He march on Washington. part of the equation. understood the price we have to pay in Throughout his career, Aronson has energy and time and patience to make worked with many organizations span- First of all, putting the brakes to the coalitions work. I salute Arnold ning the entire spectrum of the civil government. I am pleased to sit on the Aronson, and I hope the young people rights movement. He was program di- Committee on the Budget under the will go searching; when they do their rector of the National Jewish Commu- chairman, the gentleman from Ohio book reports and they make their var- nity Relations Council and founder and [Mr. KASICH]. I am pleased to sit with ious presentations during Black His- president of the Leadership Conference Members from both sides of the aisle tory Month, as well as any other time, on Civil Rights Education Fund. He is who are serious about actually bal- that they single out people who have also noted for his attempts to rally ancing the budget, what should be a not been highlighted in the encyclo- Jewish and black communities in the noncontroversial goal in American po- pedias enough, people who have not interest of racial tolerance. litical discourse, but it is. An awful lot been portrayed on the calendars, but I salute the dedication and contribu- of folks we represent do not understand the people who have made history what tions of Arnold Aronson to civil rights. why it is so controversial. it is in terms of the positive movement f As I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, it is forward in America, people like Arnold GENERAL LEAVE Aronson. I congratulate Arnold the natural inclination of people to Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask Aronson on his 86th birthday. please. It is the natural inclination of unanimous consent that all Members folks in public office to please. We are b 2045 may have 5 legislative days within politicians. We run for elections. We I congratulate Arnold Aronson on his which to revise and extend their re- want votes from folks. Usually we get 86th birthday. I thank the gentleman marks on the subject of this special those votes by promising people some- for being here. order. Mr. CLYBURN. I thank the gen- thing. Unfortunately, on both sides of The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. the aisle over the last 3 decades in this tleman for his statement. Mr. Speaker, ROGAN). Is there objection to the re- town, we have garnered votes by prom- in closing this special order this quest of the gentleman from South ising more government. evening, I thought as I listened to the Carolina? remarks being made by my colleagues There was no objection. For whatever societal ill has come this evening, I thought about the last f about, whatever real or perceived prob- time I shared a lunch, I believe it was TAX AND SPEND lem is high on the national agenda, in Kansas City, with Arnold Aronson politicians have promised more govern- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under and the things we talked about. ment because it is the easy thing to do. the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- I thought about many of his succes- It is always easier to say yes than say uary 7, 1997, the Chair recognizes the sors as president of the National Asso- no. It is always easier to create one gentleman from Maryland [Mr. EHR- ciation of Human Rights Workers: Dick more law, to put out one more regula- Lexum in Michigan, Leon Russell, and LICH] for 60 minutes. Mr. EHRLICH. Mr. Speaker, I am tion, to create one more agency, to Albert Nelson in Florida, Mary Snead pass one more statute, because unfor- in South Carolina, Marjorie Connor in going to be joined by a number of our tunately, an awful lot of us run for Michigan, and many, many others. colleagues tonight on the majority side I thought about Martin Luther King, to talk about a couple of issues of great election on records, and those records Jr.’s letter from the Birmingham city importance to the American people. are composed of what bills we have jail. A lot of us read that letter. I try The gentleman from California [Mr. passed in the legislature. to read it at least once a year. There is COX] and I want to talk about an issue We do not measure success by how we a place in that letter where King spoke near and dear to our hearts, reform of have downsized government, we meas- or wrote about people like Arnold estate taxation and the way we tax ure success by how we have increased Aronson. He wrote at one place in his success in this country. the scope of government in our daily letter that we are going to be made to We are going to talk about the bal- lives. That is very unfortunate. I think repent in this generation, not just for anced budget, and the hope for cutting a lot of the folks elected around here in the vitriolic words and deeds of bad the capital gains tax rate in this coun- the last couple of terms understand people, but for the appalling silence of try. Mr. Speaker, what we are really talk- that is not the appropriate measure of good people. what we should be doing in this town, I am pleased to join with my col- ing about tonight is tax and spend: how because we simply cannot afford it. leagues tonight thanking Arnold we tax and why we spend so much in Aronson for being among the good peo- this country. There is a distinction between poli- ple who refused to remain silent. Be- There are really two issues, when we tics and leaders, between politicians cause he spoke up and because he stood think about it. One is how we put the and leaders. Politicians respond to the up, many of us are here in this body brakes on government, because the na- natural inclination for government to this evening, and many of us are in ture of government is to grow always, grow. Leaders will make the right deci- similar bodies all across this country. I at every level of government: local, sions. Leaders will say no, because part can think of no better way to help him State, and Federal. That is pretty nat- of leadership is saying no, and that is celebrate his 86th birthday than to ural when we think about it, because it where the Committee on the Budget is, have participated in this special order is the nature of elected officials to particularly in the 105th Congress. tonight. want to please their constituents. That is what we are going to deliver to Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to wish Unfortunately, that desire to please the American people, a real balanced Arnold Aronson many, many more has given us an almost $6 trillion budg- budget with honest numbers. birthdays. et deficit in this country, an issue we Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise will be talking about in greater detail The second part of the equation is, today to applaud the work and char- in the course of the evening. once we get government to stop grow- acter of Arnold Aronson. His distin- How do we put the brakes on the na- ing, how do we empower people? People guished career in civil rights spans ture of government? In Maryland, in want to be empowered. As government nearly 60 years. Mr. Aronson is most the Maryland Legislature, the Mary- loses power, individuals gain power. noted for being one of the founders of land General Assembly, where I came One, we empower people to put more the Leadership Conference on Civil from for 8 wonderful years, we have a money in their pockets so they can de- Rights in 1950 and his draft of the re- constitutional requirement for a bal- cide how they will spend their own port ‘‘To Secure these Rights.’’ This re- anced budget. We are striving for that hard-earned money.