H572 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 28, 2020 regulated. Ninety-nine percent of The four young men—Ezell Blair, Jr.; ing Woolworth’s and other establish- Pennsylvania was swept under these David Richmond; Franklin McCain; ments to change their discriminatory overreaching WOTUS regulations. and Joseph McNeil—were students policies. On July 26, 1960, the Wool- In addition to taking away States’ from North Carolina A&T College, now worth’s lunch counter was finally inte- authority to manage water resources, known as North Carolina A&T State grated. Today, the former Woolworth’s the 2015 WOTUS rule expanded the University. I might add that A&T now houses the International Civil Clean Water Act far beyond the law’s State University is now the largest Rights Center and Museum, which fea- historical limits of navigable waters HBCU in the country. tures a restored version of the lunch and the long-held intent of Congress. Mr. Speaker, I would also mention counter where the Greensboro Four Instead of providing much-needed clar- that Congresswoman ALMA ADAMS is a sat. Part of the original counter is on ity to the Clean Water Act, WOTUS graduate of A&T State University and display at the Smithsonian National created even more confusion. served as a college professor across the Museum of American History here in Thankfully, the negative impact of street at Bennett College for more than Washington. WOTUS was brought to an end when 40 years. On Saturday of this week, February the Trump administration repealed it The Greensboro Four students were 1, the museum will commemorate the this past fall. influenced by the unanimous Supreme 60th anniversary of this historic event I support the Clean Water Act, and I Court decision in Brown v. Board of at the Greensboro Coliseum. Past agree that it must be clarified. How- Education, 1954, wherein the Court award recipients have been numerous. ever, this must be done without undue ruled that State laws establishing ra- They include Oprah Winfrey; Jesse burdens on farmers, landowners, pri- cial segregation in public schools are Jackson, Sr.; President Nelson vate property owners, and commercial unconstitutional even if the segregated Mandela; and many, many others. activities that are already effectively schools are otherwise equal. The award recipients this year will regulated by the States. The students were also influenced by be: President Barack Obama, the Rev- Times have been very tough over the the Supreme Court decision in Keys v. erend Al Sharpton, Danny Glover, Mrs. past decade for many farmers in rural Carolina Coach Company, 1955, where- Clayola Brown, Reverend Cardes areas. An average farm income was in, the Court broke with its historic Brown, Dr. Linda Brown, and Mrs. nearly halved during that period. Regu- adherence to the Plessy v. Ferguson Emma Washington. latory uncertainty—notably, the separate but equal doctrine and inter- Mr. Speaker, the resolution that Ms. former WOTUS rule—only made things preted the Interstate Commerce Act as ADAMS and I introduce seeks to encour- more difficult. banning the segregation of Black pas- age all of the States to include in their I am confident, however, that the sengers on buses traveling across State educational curriculum the history and new Navigable Waters Protection Rule lines. The Keys case originated at the contributions of the Greensboro Four. is a step in the right direction and will bus station in Roanoke Rapids, North It is imperative that we learn the les- address many of the regulatory gray Carolina, located in the heart of my sons from the past and reaffirm that areas that WOTUS did not. This new congressional district. the ethnic and racial diversity of our rule clearly defines four commonsense The Keys ruling was announced 6 country enriches our Nation. categories of Federal waters that days prior to Rosa Parks’ refusal to We are always stronger together. We would be regulated, while providing move from her seat on a segregated bus must never forget, in all things, to de- clarity on what is not regulated. This in Montgomery. And without question, mand justice and equality for all. includes ditches, isolated ponds, and the Rosa Parks Montgomery bus boy- Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the prior converted croplands. cott, lasting 381 days, also inspired the Greensboro Four. I congratulate the The Navigable Waters Protection Greensboro Four students. International Museum, and I look for- Rule will still support strong water The students were also inspired to ward to participating in the great gala protections without compromising the act following the 1955 brutal lynching they will have this weekend in Greens- rights of States and without unneces- of Emmett Till after he was accused of boro. sary burdens to the agriculture indus- offending a White woman in a Mis- f try. sissippi grocery store. With clearly defined State and Fed- These four college students blazed a NAVIGABLE WATERS PROTECTION eral regulations, our Nation’s farmers trail that ignited a movement to chal- RULE can continue to focus on what they lenge racial segregation in public fa- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The provide all of us: food, fiber, building cilities throughout the segregated Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from materials, and energy that we all rely South. The sit-in movement soon North Carolina (Ms. FOXX) for 5 min- upon. spread to college towns throughout the utes. f South. Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. The Greensboro Four sit-ins contrib- Speaker, I rise today to commend HONORING THE GREENSBORO uted greatly to the civil rights move- President Trump for providing much- FOUR ment and served as a catalyst for the needed relief and regulatory clarity The SPEAKER pro tempore. The mobilization of college students in the through the enactment of the Navi- Chair recognizes the gentleman from movement, evolving into the formation gable Waters Protection Rule. North Carolina (Mr. BUTTERFIELD) for 5 of the Student Nonviolent Coordi- Under the Obama administration, in minutes. nating Committee, which was founded an era rife with government overreach Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I in Raleigh, North Carolina, in April and constricting regulations, our Na- rise today to join my colleague from 1960. Some of the organizers of SNCC tion’s hardworking farmers were sub- North Carolina, Congresswoman ALMA were Congressman JOHN LEWIS, Con- jected to regulations—specifically, ADAMS, as we introduce a resolution gressman JIM CLYBURN, and Diane under the Waters of the United States recognizing the significance of the Nash. rule—that impeded on their businesses Greensboro Four sit-in protest which Nationwide participation in this new and their livelihoods. took place on February 1, 1960, 60 years movement included over 700,000 people, Instead of enacting meaningful envi- ago. including students, clergymen, and ronmental protections and returning The Greensboro, North Carolina, sit- unified citizens, both Black and White. power back to State, local, and munic- in was a civil rights protest that com- Many of the protestors, more than ipal governments, WOTUS put govern- menced when four young African 3,000, were arrested for trespassing, dis- ment overreach in the express lane. American college students staged a sit- orderly conduct, or disturbing the Farmers were forced to hire expensive in at the segregated lunch counter of peace. attorneys to define which bodies of F. W. Woolworth department store in However, the Greensboro Four re- water on their properties were subject Greensboro. They refused to leave after mained peaceful throughout the to Federal regulations. being denied service only because of 6-month sit-in, and their actions made The most concerning part is that their race. an immediate and lasting impact, forc- bodies of water such as small ponds,

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