4770 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 April 16, 2012 electricity curtailed, and it would be The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there Movement, and I was very privileged to bad for the industry and the commerce objection to the request of the gentle- be with John last year and his wife, my of this country. So the Fifth Fleet woman from the Virgin Islands? friend, Gay McDougall, in Geneva, being there is extremely important. There was no objection. Switzerland, as we worked through and Bahrain has been very supportive of Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I would like to I chaired a committee for the U.N. on our military, very supportive of our in- again thank the Democratic leader for minority political participation. telligence, very supportive of the Navy giving us this time. John will be deeply missed by so and the Fifth Fleet, and we need to Mr. Speaker, tonight the Congres- many. My thoughts and my prayers are make sure that that relationship con- sional Black Caucus will use the hour with his wife, Gay McDougall, and all tinues for as many years as possible. to speak on something that’s always at of his family and his friends. And as we The best way to do that is to make the core of what we fight for and what remember John and the progress that sure there is stability in the govern- we legislate for and what we legislate we have made with his leadership, we ment, and the information that has to end, and which is always at the root know that the work for justice is far been coming back through the State of much of what we come to the floor from over. The recent events in Florida Department and others is that the Gov- every Monday night to talk about, the are really a grim reminder of the long ernment of Bahrain has been repressive persistence of inequality and injustice road ahead. and that we ought to be putting pres- in our country. On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Mar- sure on them to make positive changes. It is fitting then that as we do so this tin, a 17-year-old African American They have made the changes. They are evening we call to mind and honor a youth, was tragically gunned down using tear gas only to stop the dem- staunch champion for justice, attorney while walking home from a local 7 onstrators. John Payton, who at the time of his Eleven store. The gunman, 38-year-old death on March 22 was the sixth presi- George Zimmerman, was not imme- b 1920 dent of the NAACP Legal Defense and diately charged with the murder and They have reached out to the dem- Educational Fund. was released by the Sanford Police De- onstrators to get them to the con- Tonight I’m joined by several of my partment. ference table to support and change colleagues, and I begin by yielding such Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee said rules and regulations and laws there time as she might consume to the that there was not enough evidence to that will solve the problem. This, former chair of the Congressional arrest George Zimmerman even though again, is a report, an independent re- Black Caucus, a leader and one of our the killer followed the young male in port, by outside entities, experts, that strongest fighters for justice and equal- his SUV and confronted the teen before came up with a very voluminous report ity in this country, the gentlewoman the shooting. More than 40 days later, on things that should be changed in from Oakland, California, Congress- as a result of the outrage across the Bahrain by the royal family and the woman BARBARA LEE. country, dedicated reporting from the government to make sure that every- Ms. LEE of California. Thank you media, advocacy from community and body can live together in peace and very much. First let me just thank faith leaders and vocal parents and that there will be stability in the re- Congresswoman Dr. CHRISTENSEN for families and, of course, the facts, which gion. those very kind remarks, but also for spoke for themselves, the wheels of jus- I want to stress one more time the your leadership on this issue and on so tice are finally beginning to turn. This demonstrators will not come to the many issues and for anchoring these is really an unfortunate and tragic de- conference table. So tonight I’d like to Special Orders week after week. It’s so fining moment that we must come to urge those who are demonstrating to important that the points of view of grips with. First we must, of course, take a step back, take a deep breath the Congressional Black Caucus get seek justice for Trayvon and his fam- and reach out and take the hand of the out to the public, and you’ve been such ily, especially in the wake of the cir- government, sit down at the conference a steady and consistent voice, and your cumstances surrounding his killing. table and work things out because presence here is deeply appreciated. Secondly, we must make certain that that’s what they want to do. If they do Thank you very much. this toxic and deadly mix of the power that, I’m sure there will be peace and Also, I just have to thank all of the of guns, hate crimes, and racial harmony in Bahrain, and it will be members of the Congressional Black profiling ends once and for all. Just re- great for the United States of America Caucus, Chairman CLEAVER, for con- cently, Bill Cosby said that there is a because a great friend, a great ally and tinuing to beat the drum for justice. need to get guns off the street and that a great government over there will be This past week, we lost a tireless advo- people should be taught to use every secure and be able to protect our inter- cate for justice, equality and oppor- possible alternative before shooting ests as well as other interests that are tunity, and I am deeply saddened by someone. Yet, of course, there are very important to the entire world. the passing of my friend and activist, those who continue to push for vigi- With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back John Payton. lante justice. With laws like stand- the balance of my time. John was a civil rights attorney and your-ground, Sanford really could be f served as the president of the NAACP’s anywhere. It could be in my own com- Legal Defense and Educational Fund CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: munity, and we have many, many of and was lead counsel for the University THE TRAYVON MARTIN CASE the same challenges as Sanford has. of Michigan in the 2003 landmark case AND JUSTICE AND MOURNING Racial profiling is real. This young concerning diversity in higher edu- THE PASSING OF JOHN PAYTON teenager was gunned down, of course, cation. John was a California native, because of how he looked, because of The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under yet his legal victories touched those the color of his skin. As the mother of the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- around the globe. At the center of his two sons and the proud grandmother of uary 5, 2011, the gentlewoman from the conviction was the belief that democ- two grandsons, these fears haunted me Virgin Islands (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN) is racy at its core requires that all of the as I was raising my two sons and con- recognized for 60 minutes as the des- people be included in ‘‘we the people.’’ tinue to haunt me each and every day. ignee of the minority leader. His life was really a testimony to The reality is that many black parents GENERAL LEAVE this belief. He was the past president of live with these fears each and every Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I the District of Columbia Bar Associa- day. ask unanimous consent that all Mem- tion and served in leadership roles with Again, Sanford could be anywhere. bers may have 5 legislative days in a number of civil and human rights or- Hate crime must be enforced. Of which to revise and extend their re- ganizations, including the National course, Mr. Zimmerman was fixated marks and include extraneous material Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and focused on young black males ac- on the topic of this Special Order. under Law and the Free South Africa cording to neighbors and press reports.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD April 16, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 4771 He had been the subject of complaints lumbia. He was totally dedicated to So this is a personal statement as I by neighbors in his gated community voting rights for the District of Colum- rise to salute John Payton and also ac- for aggressive tactics. bia. And I’m so pleased that Congress- knowledge his wife, Gay McDougall. Now, our laws state that you cannot woman ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON is And I want to say this on behalf of my injure or intimidate another based on continuing to fight the good fight and husband, Dr. Elwyn C. Lee, a graduate their race. When these laws are broken, has made sure that all of us do not for- of Yale Law School and who knew Gay the consequences must be applied ap- get that we live here during the week very well, and I knew her. What a per- propriately, whether it has been the and that we also have a real commit- fect match and a family of justice color of one’s skin, their religion, their ment to ensure that there are full vot- fighters, of human rights fighters, of gender, their disability, national origin ing rights for the residents of the Dis- individuals who could be as eloquent on or sexual orientation or identity. The trict of Columbia. They pay taxes. the question of HIV/AIDS, inter- sad fact is that too many persons have They have the full responsibilities and national plagues and devastation that been the victims of violence, often end- duties of American citizens, and they impacts so many vulnerable commu- ing in death simply because of a char- should be able to vote. And John nities, here they are discussing the acteristic of birth. The senseless vio- Payton stood for that throughout his worldwide siege of AIDS upon individ- lence must end. Sanford could be any- life. uals but, likewise, can come home and where. Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you for march along the road of justice here in So very many people feel the loss of adding that. the United States of America. Trayvon as their own personal loss. Before I yield to the Congresswoman I learned in law school that the law— While we cannot understand and feel from the District of Columbia, I would and I know that Congresswoman the pain experienced by Trayvon’s fam- like to yield such time as she might HOLMES NORTON still teaches—I know ily, there is universal pain, a national consume to the gentlelady from Texas, the law is a jealous mistress. I would pain; and it is shared far and wide. also a very strong voice for justice and say to you that I found that out. Obvi- We will continue to take up the very equality in this country, not just in her ously, I’m now in the United States critical issues of racial profiling and own district, but for Americans and for Congress. But I love the law. I love the hate crimes. A recent briefing on these people across the world, the Congress- purpose and value of lawyers. And I en- issues successfully raised the level of woman from Houston, Texas, Congress- courage young lawyers that if they awareness around the country about woman SHEILA JACKSON LEE. want to read a story of sacrifice and the deadly combination of guns, racial Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Let me someone who epitomizes that it’s a profiling, and hate crimes. thank the gentlelady again for her jealous mistress, read the history of Chairman CLEAVER called upon the leadership—I like to call her Dr. John Adolphus Payton, born in 1946 Department of Justice to investigate CHRISTENSEN—and for, as my colleague and passed this past March 22 in Balti- the shooting death of Trayvon Martin from California indicated, for allowing more, Maryland. He, obviously, is from as a hate crime. On March 19, the De- us to have a vote on a regular basis on California, but with a law degree from partment of Justice launched a full in- behalf of all of America, my constitu- Harvard Law School. That means that vestigation, and, of course, the Con- ency, and certainly on behalf of the the world was his oyster, and it was gressional Black Caucus is very eager Congressional Black Caucus, of which open to any manner of choice that he to see this report. I’ll never step away from its definition could have made in his lifetime. He was As President Obama said, this is a as the conscience of this Congress, but a Federal clerk, but he managed to time of soul searching for our Nation the conscience of America. start his life at WilmerHale, which as it comes to grips with this tragedy. I want to thank my colleague, the used to be, I believe, Wilmer Cutler & This senseless violence must end, and Honorable BARBARA LEE, who knows Pickering, which is where my husband so we all must recommit ourselves to what justice and fighting for freedom is practiced law here in D.C. for a number justice, justice for all. all about. I’m reminded of the very of years. unique history of Oakland, California, What I like most of all is that his b 1930 and I think of the movement of justice reach was so far on the Independent Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, through the Black Panthers of early Electoral Commission in South Africa, Congresswoman LEE. years, who did many things; but I re- again, looking for justice. President of You reminded me that I had the member them for their early break- the District of Columbia Bar, but he honor of traveling with you to Geneva fasts and nutrition programs, and I call found his way to his calling. He found for that U.N. conference that focused that justice. Let me just thank her for his way to answer the opportunities on the inequalities and the injustice her leadership on this and on many that he was given. that exist in far too many areas of the other issues. Being a 1977 graduate of Harvard Law world with respect to voter participa- To my colleague from the District of School, he stood on the shoulders of tion. And as we heard from so many Columbia, the Honorable ELEANOR Thurgood Marshall, a graduate of How- marginalized communities in different HOLMES NORTON, let me thank her as ard Law School. He stood on the shoul- countries, it was really sad that when well. Let me indicate that this is ders of the giants that graduated from it came for my time to speak, I spoke Emancipation Day. As I understand, law school in Arkansas and the other from the experience of the United there’s a big parade. And President giants that graduated from Howard, States and the lack of voter participa- Lincoln, just a few steps away from us, and I think he found his comfort level tion; the lack of full representation of signed the freeing of the slaves in at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, be- the District of Columbia, the capital of Washington, D.C. You don’t know the coming the sixth president. the United States; and the inability of history of the District of Columbia My classmate, Elaine Jones, served the people of the Territories to vote for until you hear it from ELEANOR in that capacity for a very long time, the President, our Commander-in- HOLMES NORTON, and I thank her very graduating from the University of Vir- Chief. much. And I know of her friendship and ginia Law School. Today, in the won- Ms. LEE of California. That’s right. I closeness to John Payton. derful tributes, she was part of that just want to respond if you will yield One of my dear friends and former wonderful memorial service that was for just a minute. Federal judges that I know ELEANOR held here in Washington, D.C., along It was really a very important mo- HOLMES NORTON knows, Judge with a number of other giants. ment, I think, and we were, again, with Gabrielle McDonald, likewise came to Let me just say to you that when we our great fallen hero, John Payton, a similar history. We have talked. I think of justice, we have a combina- when we had this discussion about the was an Earl Warren legal scholar. And tion, from the civil rights leaders to disenfranchisement of individuals, the so I know the journey that so many the fallen; Dr. King on the balcony in entire population of the District of Co- have traveled. Memphis, Tennessee. But do we know

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD 4772 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 April 16, 2012 all the lawyers that were part of the a charge of discrimination. It is my un- I hope my friends on the other side, are matrix of justice, from Thurgood, who derstanding that that case has moved not afraid of dealing with gun violence held the hand of Dr. King and a number along and that John prevailed so that and the overuse of guns in America, as of civil rights leaders, one after an- truth would be the call of the day. It is responsible legislators should be. And other, some of our giant lawyers down important to hold him up as the man of so to my good friend, Bill Cosby, let me in Alabama and Mississippi who were armor who is nonviolent. And he held say to you that the call has been an- there to bond them out, to petition as his victory call the Constitution and swered many times. There are many their case. the laws that were passed to help the bills dealing with gun violence. There In the likes of those, John Payton be- unempowered. are many bills to rein in the reckless came an unselfish fighter for justice, I’ve always said that the Voting use of guns, the use of the assault from his, what I call, victory of Rich- Rights Act is not the black Voting weapons, the issue of individuals not mond v. Croson, in a 5–4 decision—it Rights Act or the Hispanic Voting being checked at gun shows and the was a victory—where he attempted to Rights Act. It is the Voting Rights Act gun show loophole. It only takes re- maintain the affirmative action plan to have one vote, one person for every sponsible leadership to move it for- that established just a simple process single American. My hat goes off to ward. And I salute the Brady Center of assisting businesses to receive op- John Payton, and I salute him as a sol- that will be with us in Washington to- portunities. I want you to know today dier on the battlefield for justice, for morrow for recognizing that there are that because of lawsuits like that, we what is right, never wavering with his people who are willing to take a are suffering in cities all around Amer- quiet demeanor, and for his strength in stand—not against your Second ica because there were those who be- the courthouse. Amendment rights. God bless you for lieved that just a smidgeon of oppor- I ask the NAACP Legal Defense Fund those rights. You have those rights. I tunity was too much. to stay the course. I ask you to never celebrate those rights. Right in my own city of Houston, whimper and never weaken. And I say But I cannot celebrate the fact that a under the General Services Adminis- to you that your soldier is going on to man that was on the Neighborhood tration that I hope will be cleaned up— be a general in the justice cause in a Watch, which is the eyes and ears, was and I know there are good people place beyond. I beg of you to carry for- walking around with a 9-millimeter there—we have Gilbane, a major com- ward. and shot dead an unarmed, helpless 17- Let me just read these citations that pany, using stimulus dollars and hav- year-old boy and snuffed his life out be- were in honor of him, just very briefly, ing no concern about the in-depth mi- cause we refused to address the ques- from a statement from the LDF, where nority participation of small busi- tion of everyone being able to carry a they spoke about the city of Chicago, gun, whether trained or not. Mr. Zim- nesses—the GSA hopeless and helpless the Lewis case, which vindicated the merman was not a police officer and at being able to do anything—and hav- rights of over 6,000 applicants. As I in- should not have acted as if he was the ing a nondiverse workforce. Gilbane. dicated, that case prevailed. They law, the judge, and the jury. Let the number go out as an example called him fearless, a guiding light, a So to my good friends on the floor of what John Payton was fighting brilliant advocate, a mentor and a who will come up after me, let me just against. teacher who believed that American end my note by saying to John Payton, Then, of course, his valiant fight in democracy thrives when it embraces in instances like Trayvon, I know that 2003 at the University of Michigan, the all of our voices. Thank you to the your voice would have been heard on affirmative action case that is main- Legal Defense Fund. And then, from the civil rights of the question, but tained today as he defended the one of the major law firms, partner your voice had been heard through school’s use of race as their admission Walter Dellinger had this to say: processes—again, not using it destruc- places where many of us were not there John Payton was a towering figure. He was tively. That is, I think, one of the ar- just flat-out brilliant and combined that in- and did not know. And so I agree, and guments that is not a legal argument, tellectual power with a deep and empathetic salute the words that were offered in but he found a way to justify—the trial commitment to justice. Everyone who knew tribute to you by so many of your col- court of appeals and the U.S. Supreme John will remember forever his infectious leagues, certainly these last words that Court defending undergraduate school’s good spirit and uninhibited laugh. Every en- indicate that you were, in fact, fear- use of race in their admissions proc- counter with John was a learning experience. less; you were, in fact, a guiding light; esses and the loss in the United States Let me close on this note because I you were, in fact, a brilliant advocate, Supreme Court by 6–3—but in any know that John would have been in the mentor, and teacher; you were, in fact, event, maintaining the fight and tak- midst of discussing this travesty of jus- an eagle with wings who stood wide- ing cases that were not popular. tice as relates to Trayvon Martin. spread over America, and when there John, thank you. Thank you, Gay, Trayvon obviously was a symbol of the was a doubt about justice, you led the for sharing him. injustice of this Nation when police troops of the NAACP in a nonviolent, And then a 2009 case, Northwest Aus- and a State prosecutor became judge Constitutional law-saturated effort to tin Municipal Utility District Number and jury. I don’t want to interfere with ensure that justice would be done. One v. Holder. The municipal district the process of justice. Mr. Zimmerman May God rest your soul for a job well in Austin, my State, challenged the va- is arrested. But let us not rest on our done, good and faithful servant, and lidity of section 5 of the Voting Rights laurels because we pushed for the ar- may your family and Gay know how Act. Payton assisted in the arguments, rest that should have been. We know much we loved you and appreciated the leading to the Supreme Court’s 8–1 de- that there will be a rocky road pro- war that you waged for justice. cision upholding section 5. ceeding toward holding Mr. Zimmer- Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about man accountable. justice in America. b 1940 More importantly, let me make it Thank you Congresswoman CHRISTENSEN, He was our firewall. On the question very clear on the floor of the House and my other CBC colleagues. I appreciate of section 2 and section 5, he was the that every mode of justice that is need- your leadership in convening this Special holder of the truth, the arbiter, the ed for a fair trial I support. If it is to Order on Justice, Trayvon Martin, and our outside partner to the Department of remove the judge, as the defense has good friend John Payton of the NAACP Legal Justice that wanted and needed to do asked for, let that be considered in an Defense Fund. right. unbiased manner. If by chance the How ironic that in the span of a couple of Finally, the local attorney for the prosecution asks for a change of venue months in a historic election year, we lose one plaintiff in 2010, Lewis v. City of Chi- because this jury pool in this region of our precious youths to a senseless and irre- cago, in which a group of African will be tainted, then so be it. sponsible act of injustice; while at the same Americans seeking to be firefighters But what we must also say—and let time, a man who in the tradition of the late, contended that they had properly filed me be very clear—I, as a Democrat, and great Justice Thurgood Marshall, dedicated his

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD April 16, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 4773 life to paving the long, winding road of justice that saved diversity in higher education, there- nation origin or religion will be brought to jus- so that the Trayvon Martins of the world could by keeping the doors open to selective col- tice. live life, go to school, and travel Westward leges, universities, graduate and professional The term ‘‘hate crime’’ was coined in the and Eastward, as they pleased. schools. John litigated both cases in the trial early 1980s but the motivations behind that That did not happen in Trayvon’s case, and courts, in the court of appeals, and in the Su- term are centuries old. ‘‘Hate crime’’ is not a that is why I believe these issues of justice are preme Court. He argued Gratz, and his work distinct federal offense; however, the Depart- of the utmost importance. It is necessary to was essential to the victory in Grutter. ment of Justice does investigate and pros- figure out the best possible way for this Con- John’s was a passionate voice for racial and ecute crimes of bias as civil rights violations, gress to be involved in addressing racial social justice. But even in the toughest which fall under its jurisdiction. profiling and hate crimes. cases—in which the odds were stacked The actions by the Department of Justice Before we begin I wish to offer my deepest against his side particularly in the current Su- are meant to buttress efforts by state and local condolences to the family of Trayvon Martin. I preme Court—John’s work and his voice were authorities, which handle the vast majority of was pleased that the Department of Justice no less forceful, excellent, and passionate. hate crime cases. (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investiga- When the Supreme Court struck down Rich- The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., tions (FBI) have begun to investigate the cir- mond, Virginia’s minority contracting program Hate Crimes Prevention Act provides funding cumstances surrounding the tragic death of in City of Richmond v. Croson by a narrow 5– and technical assistance to state, local, and Trayvon. 4 vote, it was in spite of the Herculean effort tribal jurisdictions to help them to more effec- And as most of us are surely aware, there put in by John Payton and his staff. tively investigate, prosecute, and prevent hate was finally an arrest in the case last week of It is important to recall that the U.S. Su- crimes. the man with the gun, who shot the boy, which preme Court has narrowly approved of con- Today, headlines across the country are re- will get the wheels of justice to start turning. gressionally mandated racial preferences to al- porting the tragic story of Trayvon Martin. I hosted a rally in Trayvon’s honor in Hous- locate the benefits of contracts on federally Nearly a month ago, Trayvon woke up on a ton, TX and just returned from another rally in sponsored public works projects, while gen- sunny Florida morning filled with life. He was Miami held several weeks ago. There were erally condemning similar actions taken by the typical American teenager, who was hundreds of men, women and children all ask- state and local entities to promote public con- spending time with his family and friends. By ing for justice. ‘‘I am Trayvon Martin’’ and ‘‘We tracting opportunities for minority entre- the end of the day he would be laying alone are all Trayvon Martin.’’ This case has cap- preneurs, which came about because of years on a cold sidewalk in a pool of his own blood. tured the nation’s and indeed the world’s at- and years of de facto and de jure discrimina- Trayvon could not have known that morning tention, as many folks around the world ask tion; some of it documented, but certainly that he would be shot by a man who accused what’s going on in the United States, the na- much of it not. Bad actors usually do not leave him of walking ‘‘suspiciously.’’ tion which touts liberty and justice on its coins, their scripts lying around. Trayvon was not climbing out of a window, dollars, and in our engagements with those in Disputes prior to City of Richmond v. J.A. kicking a front door, or picking a lock. He was the international community. Croson generated divergent views as to walking on the sidewalk, talking on the phone John Payton, the sixth Director-Counsel and whether state affirmative action measures for with his girlfriend. The man who killed him was President of the NAACP Legal Defense and the benefit of racial minorities were subject to not arrested, which means that Mr. Zimmer- Educational Fund, left us late last month, at the same ‘‘strict scrutiny’’ as applied to ‘‘invid- man was not given a drug test and he was not the age of sixty-five. But his legacy did not ious’’ racial discrimination under the Equal fingerprinted. leave. Protection Clause, an ‘‘intermediate’’ standard The on-scene investigator literally had to John Payton was one of the most formi- resembling the test for gender-based classi- take Mr. Zimmerman at his word that he shot dable advocates of his generation, and he liti- fications, or simple rationality. Trayvon Martin in self defense. By reported gated and argued some of the most important In Croson, a 5 to 4 majority resolved that accounts the on-scene investigator wanted to civil rights cases of his time. while ‘‘race- conscious’’ remedies could be arrest Mr. Zimmerman and was told not to In a legal career that spanned private prac- legislated in response to proven past discrimi- . . . a trained law enforcement officer was tice, government service, and public interest nation by the affected governmental entities, suspicious of Mr. Zimmerman’s claims. He law. He led the litigation department of the ‘‘racial balancing’’ untailored to ‘‘specific’’ and wanted to do what law enforcement officers venerable Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering law firm, ‘‘identified’’ evidence of minority exclusion was are trained to do . . . arrest the suspect and served as corporation counsel for the District impermissible. determine the truth of the assertion made. of Columbia, and until the very end, led the John had done the best that could be done, I called for Mr. Zimmerman’s arrest and NAACP Legal Defense Fund. and a Supreme Court increasingly hostile to again am pleased that at least Trayvon’s fam- A true warrior for justice, John litigated programs and efforts specifically designed to ily has an opportunity to have some justice. cases before the Supreme Court, such as, include African Americans and others who had We need to get to the bottom of this. Again, NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware, in which he been historically excluded from opportunity I hosted a rally in Houston supporting the won a decision in the U.S. Supreme Court was on its way to becoming a forum in which Trayvon Martin family’s call for justice. I at- overturning a monetary judgment against the they were unlikely to win. tended another rally in Miami. I have spoken organization under Mississippi’s secondary Yet John, in the aftermath of Croson, tire- on the floor. And I am working diligently to en- boycott law; lessly traveled the Country, meeting with attor- sure that people like Trayvon, who can no City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., in neys in the public and private sectors in an ef- longer speak for themselves, have an advo- which he ably, albeit unsuccessfully, defended fort to properly craft contracting programs and cate. a minority contracting municipal ordinance; to ameliorate the effects of the decision. John Mr. Zimmerman should be judged by his and perhaps most notably, two cases in which did not accept defeat. He simply went back to peers. That is why we have a justice system. he defended the University of Michigan’s pur- work. I wish to remind everyone here today of other suit of diversity in admissions, HATE CRIMES hate crimes . . . lives that should not have Gratz v. Bollinger, and Grutter v. Bollinger. We stand here on this House Floor to dis- been lost and lives that cannot be replaced; Most recently, in 2010, John successfully ar- cuss the role our federal government plays in however, the families of these victims fought gued and won Williams v. City of Chicago, an hate crimes enforcement. Hate crimes are for an attained justice. employment discrimination case against the real. The loss of life and the impact these It is my fervent hope that Trayvon’s family city’s fire department. Under his leadership types of crimes have on our country, our com- can one day say they received justice. I com- LDF won five Supreme Court cases, including munity, on a family, and on the individual is mend his parents for their strength. I can not a successful defense of the recently extended something that we should never tolerate. attest to the guilt of Mr. Zimmerman, we have Voting Rights Act. We are here today to shine a spot light on a justice system which calls for innocence until I had the privilege of knowing John Payton the tensions and issues which arise from proven guilty. I call for the wheels of justice to for many years. It is said that success has these types of crimes. We are here today to begin to churn. many parents, while failure is an orphan. ensure that those who act with hatred in their JAMES ANDERSON There were many who were responsible for hearts to harm another based upon their race, On June 26, 2011 in Jackson, Mississippi, the 2003 landmark affirmative action cases sexual orientation, gender, disability, ethnicity/ 49-year-old James Anderson, a black man,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD 4774 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 April 16, 2012 was killed in what initially appeared to be a An estimated 3 percent of all violent crimes erate Knights of America, a gang of white su- hit-and-run accident. However, surveillance were perceived to be hate crimes by the vic- premacist inmates. In a jailhouse letter to footage which captured the crime on film re- tims. Brewer which was intercepted by jail officials, cently revealed that Anderson was brutally Nearly 50 percent of hate crimes in 2009 King expressed pride in the crime and said he beaten by a group of white teens, and run were motivated by race. realized he might have to die for committing it. over by a Ford F–250 pickup truck in the Of the 6,604 hate crime incidents reported ‘‘Regardless of the outcome of this, we have midst of an alleged racially motivated hate to police in 2009, 1,700 involved intimidation. made history. Death before dishonor. Sieg crime. It is of great concern that in 2011, in a HATE CRIMES TEXAS Heil!’’, King wrote. time when our country’s race relations and tol- Texas’ violent history dates to the late 19th An officer investigating the case also testi- erance have so greatly progressed, that such century when it was among the South’s most fied that witnesses said King referenced The hatred based purely upon race still exists. lynch-prone states. At least 355 people, most Turner Diaries after beating Byrd. Brewer and Of even greater concern is the way in which of them blacks, died in Texas mob violence King were sentenced to death. Berry received this case was being handled. Of the group of between 1889 and 1918. life in prison. seven teens involved in the brutal attack, only Laws outlawing mob and less lethal hate John King—accused of beating Byrd with a two have received any charges as a result of crimes have since been passed, but incidents bat and then dragging him behind a truck until the incident; 19-year-old Deryl Dedmond, the with possible racial components have contin- he died. King had previously claimed to have driver of the truck who intentionally ran Ander- ued to occur—even in Jasper, a city with a been gang-raped in prison by black prisoners son over has been charged with murder, and black mayor and a population that is 45 per- and, although he had no previous record of John Aaron Rice, one of the teens involved in cent African-American. racism, had joined a white-supremacist prison the beating, has been charged with simple as- In Texas, Austin came in fourth among cit- gang, allegedly for self-protection. The testi- sault. Given that this appears to have been a ies in the number of hate crimes reported in mony phase of his trial started in Jasper, hate motivated crime, attention should be paid 2006, according to an FBI compilation that Texas on February 16, 1999. He was found to the intent of the other teens involved in the canvassed agencies representing 85% of the guilty of kidnapping and murder on February attack. nation’s population. Documented are 7,722 23 and was sentenced to death on February The driver was convicted and sentenced to criminal incidents involving 9,080 offenses re- 25. two consecutive life sentences. He would have sulting from bias against race, religion, sexual Lawrence Russell Brewer—another white received the death penalty, however, the An- orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or physical supremacist convicted of murdering Byrd. derson family does not believe in the death or mental disability. Of 5,449 ‘‘crimes against Prior to the Byrd murder, Brewer had served penalty and requested that his life be spared. persons,’’ intimidation accounted for 46% of a prison sentence for drug possession and What began as a hate crime has evolved into hate crimes, simple assault 32%, and aggra- burglary, and he was paroled in 1991. After a family expressing a level of compassion that vated assault 21.6%. Three murders and six violating the parole in 1994, he was sent back their loved one should have received. I was rapes were reported. The report lists offenders to prison. According to his court testimony, he unnerved by the possibility that some of the as 58.6% white, 20.6% black, 12.9% race un- joined a white supremacist gang with King in parties involved who may have had similar known, and the rest as other races. order to safeguard himself from other pris- motivations as those charged, were allowed to JAMES BYRD oners. A state psychiatrist testified that Brewer roam freely without taking on any responsi- Let me remind you of James Byrd. On June did not appear repentant for his crimes. In the bility. I was pleased by the recent announce- 7, 1998, Byrd, 49, accepted a ride from three end, Brewer was also sentenced to death. Shawn Allen Berry—the driver of the truck, ment that the Department of Justice has men named Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Berry was the most difficult to convict of the charged three related defendants with federal Russell Brewer, and John William King. He three defendants because there was a lack of hate crimes. had already known one of them. Instead of taking him home, the three men beat Byrd be- evidence to suggest that he himself was a rac- We must always remember that hate crimes hind a convenience store, chained him by the ist. He had also claimed that his two compan- involve the purposeful selection of victims for ankles to their pickup truck, stripped the man ions were entirely responsible for the crime. violence and intimidation based upon their naked, and dragged him for three miles. Al- Brewer testified that it was Berry who cut perceived attributes. Such targeting for vio- though Lawrence Russell Brewer said that Byrd’s throat before he was tied to the truck, lence removes these actions from the pro- Byrd’s throat had been slashed before he was but the jury decided that there was little evi- tected area of free expression of belief and dragged, forensic evidence suggests that Byrd dence to indicate this. As a result, Berry was speech as enshrined in the First Amendment had been attempting to keep his head up, and spared the death penalty and given a life sen- to the United States Constitution. The crimes an autopsy suggested that Byrd was alive for tence in prison. are investigated and prosecuted at both the much of the dragging and died after his right MATTHEW SHEPARD Federal and State and local level, depending arm and head were severed when his body hit Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at upon the facts of the case and the needs of a culvert. His body had caught a sewage drain the University of Wyoming who was tortured the investigation. A young African American on the side of the road resulting in Byrd’s de- and subsequently murdered near Laramie, teenage boy was shot to death on the street capitation. Wyoming. He was attacked on the night of by an adult male who felt that he was walking King, Berry, and Brewer dumped their vic- October 6–October 7, 1998 and died at ‘‘suspiciously’’ and who may have uttered a tim’s mutilated remains in the town’s black Poudre Valley Hospital in Colorado, on Octo- racial slur. This must be investigated. cemetery, and then went to a barbecue. A ber 12, from severe head injuries. In 2008, law enforcement agencies volun- wrench inscribed with ‘‘Berry’’ was found with- During the trial, witnesses stated that tarily reported 6,598 single-bias hate crime in- in the area along with a lighter that had ‘‘Pos- Shepard was targeted because he was gay. cidents (involving 7,775 offenses, 8,322 vic- sum’’ written on it, which was King’s prison His murder brought national as well as inter- tims, and 6,219 known offenders) to the FBI. nickname. national attention to the issue of hate crime Almost half (48.5 percent) were racially moti- The next morning, Byrd’s limbs were scat- legislation at the state and federal levels. vated and 19.7 percent were motivated by reli- tered across a very little-used road. The police Russell Arthur Henderson pleaded guilty to gious bias. Bias against sexual orientation and found 75 places littered with Byrd’s remains. felony murder and kidnapping, allowing him to ethnicity or national origin accounted for an- State law enforcement officials along with Jas- avoid the death penalty. Aaron James McKin- other 18.5 percent and 11.8 percent, respec- per’s District Attorney Guy James Gray and ney was convicted of felony murder and kid- tively Assistant Pat Hardy determined that since napping. Henderson is currently serving two Only 44 percent of hate crimes are reported King and Brewer were well-known white su- consecutive life sentences and McKinney is to the police. premacists, the murder was a hate crime, and serving the same but without the possibility of More than 80 percent of hate crimes were decided to bring in the FBI less than 24 hours parole. associated with violent crimes—a rape or after the discovery of Byrd’s remains. One of Matthew Shepard, oldest son of Dennis other sexual assault, robbery, or assault. Byrd’s murderers, John King, had a tattoo de- Shepard and Judy Shepard, was born in Cas- Between 2000 and 2003, an annual average picting a black man hanging from a tree, and per, Wyoming, on December 1, 1976. Shortly of 191,000 hate crime incidents were reported other tattoos such as Nazi symbols, the words after midnight on October 7, 1998, 21-year-old by victims. ‘‘Aryan Pride,’’ and the patch for the Confed- Shepard met McKinney and Henderson in a

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD April 16, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 4775 bar. McKinney and Henderson offered LOYAL GARNER threats to stop the integration of an all-white Shepard a ride in their car. Subsequently, On Christmas Day 1987, Loyal Garner, a housing project. Shepard was robbed, pistol whipped, tortured, Florien, La., father of six, was arrested for Cleveland, 1988: Kenneth Simpson, a black tied to a fence in a remote, rural area, and left drunken driving. Garner protested that he was man arrested for stealing an ink pen, dies in to die. McKinney and Henderson also found sober, and asked for field sobriety and his jail cell after struggling with white officers, out his address and intended to rob his home. breathalyzer tests, but police took him to the who are eventually cleared in the death. The Still tied to the fence, Shepard was discovered county jail in Hemphill. police chief resigns under pressure the next eighteen hours later by Aaron Kreifels, who at Garner asked to be allowed to telephone his year. first thought that Shepard was a scarecrow. At wife. Instead, he was taken to the jail detox Hemphill, 1987: Loyal Garner, a black Lou- the time of discovery, Shepard was still alive, room and bludgeoned. isiana truck driver, is beaten to death in the but in a coma. In 1990, Hemphill Police Chief Thomas Sabine County jail. Hemphill’s police chief and Shepard suffered a fracture from the back of Ladner and two county deputies, Billy Ray two county deputies are eventually convicted his head to the front of his right ear. He had Horton and James M. Hyden, were convicted of murder, although one deputy’s conviction is severe brain stem damage, which affected his on state murder charges and sentenced to overturned. Mount Enterprise, 1987: Troy Lee Starling, a body’s ability to regulate heart rate, body tem- prison. 24-year-old black man, is fatally shot in the perature and other vital signs. There were also Horton’s conviction was later overturned. neck by a state trooper after a high-speed about a dozen small lacerations around his KENNETH SIMPSON chase in Rusk County. The trooper is cleared head, face and neck. His injuries were In spring 1988, Kenneth Simpson, a 30- but Starling’s family files a civil rights suit. deemed too severe for doctors to operate. year-old black man arrested for the theft of a In December 2005, Chris McKee was beat- Shepard never regained consciousness and fountain pen, died in his Cleveland jail cell en by two men. McKee, who is gay, said his remained on full life support. As he lay in in- after being beaten. assailants had followed him after seeing him tensive care, candlelight vigils were held by Half the city police force was suspended as kiss another man, and anti-gay slurs were au- the people of Laramie. a result, but later returned to their jobs after dible on a 911 call he made. His assailants He was pronounced dead at 12:53 a.m. on being acquitted. However, Police Chief Harley were prosecuted under the State hate crimes October 12, 1998 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Lovings remained under public pressure and legislation but they were acquitted. Fort Collins. Police arrested McKinney and resigned the following year. In May 2006, Joshua Aaron Abbot, now 23, Henderson shortly thereafter, finding the The pen later was found atop a soft drink was acquitted in the 2005 death of 40-year-old bloody gun as well as the victim’s shoes and machine in the police station lobby. David Wayne Morrison, a gay Denton resident wallet in their truck. TROY LEE STARLING who was HIV-positive. Abbott stabbed Morri- The two men had attempted to get their In August 1987, Troy Lee Starling, 24, of son more than 20 times in the face, neck and girlfriends to provide alibis. In court the de- chest with a pocketknife. Mount Enterprise was fatally shot in the neck fendants used varying rationales to defend Abbott, who is straight, had gone to Morri- their actions. They attempted to use the ‘‘gay by a state highway trooper after a high-speed son’s residence for unknown reasons, and the panic defense’’, arguing that they were driven chase in Rusk County. pair ended up alone in Morrison’s bedroom. At to temporary insanity by alleged sexual ad- Though the trooper was cleared by a grand trial, Abbot claimed Morrison tried to rape him, vances by Shepard. At another point they stat- jury, Starling’s family filed a civil rights lawsuit and the jury ruled the defendant acted in self- ed that they had only wanted to rob Shepard against the officer. defense. The prosecutors failed to prosecute and never intended to kill him. Not all incidents involved bloodshed, but still the case as a hate crime because it was not The prosecutor in the case charged that revealed a sordid side of East Texas culture. clear that Morrison’s sexual orientation was McKinney and Henderson pretended to be gay Illustrative was the hostility faced by three the sole motivating factor. However, the pros- in order to gain Shepard’s trust to rob him. black families who moved into an all-white ecutor admitted that Morrison’s sexual orienta- During the trial, Chastity Pasley and Kristen public housing project in Vidor in 1994. tion and HIV-positive status were key. Price (the pair’s then-girlfriends) testified under The families were part of the third effort to Since Texas State hate crimes legislation oath that Henderson and McKinney both plot- integrate the project. They moved in only after was passed in 2001, there have been few ted beforehand to rob a gay man. McKinney then-Housing and Urban Development Sec- convictions. In 2007, there were only eight and Henderson then went to the Fireside retary Henry Cisneros allocated $3 million to convictions. Lounge and selected Shepard as their target. upgrade security. These cases provide stark evidence that McKinney alleged that Shepard asked them But residents were soon frightened by death these hate crimes are still perpetrated. for a ride home. After befriending him, they threats and the obvious patrols of Ku Klux TRAYVON MARTIN FACTS took him to a remote area of Laramie where Klan members through the projects displaying In fact, Trayvon Martin was killed on Satur- they robbed him, beat him severely (media re- high-powered weapons. day, February 26, 2012, as he walked through ports often contained the graphic account of The FBI later investigated alleged Klan a gated community in Sanford, returning from the pistol whipping and his smashed skull), death plots against William Hale, director of a convenience store, where he had purchased and tied him to a fence with a rope from the Texas Commission on Human Rights, and a bag of candy and a can of iced tea. Mr. Zimmerman, a self appointed neighbor- McKinney’s truck. Shepard begged for his life. Attorney General Dan Morales. Hale’s group hood watch volunteer, saw Trayvon while driv- Both girlfriends also testified that neither had sued the Klan, accusing it of making threats against those trying to integrate the ing down the street and then called police, de- McKinney nor Henderson was under the influ- scribing Trayvon as a ‘‘suspicious’’ person. I ence of drugs at the time. The beating was so housing project. Still, Joe Roy, head of the intelligence believe that a message should not be sent severe that the only areas on Shepard’s face that needlessly gunning down a small un- that were not covered in blood were those project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., suggested such crimes, armed black teenage boy on a sidewalk is where his tears had washed the blood stains ever acceptable. away. though stereotypical of the South, no longer are limited to one region. Mr. Zimmerman was told by police to re- Henderson pleaded guilty on April 5, 1999, main in his car. He had reported 50 other inci- ‘‘I think this is a stark reminder, this case in and agreed to testify against McKinney to dents to police which included previous calls Texas, of what can happen in this country,’’ he avoid the death penalty; he received two con- about ‘‘suspicious’’ people walking. Trayvon’s said. ‘‘Education is not the sole answer, but secutive life sentences. The jury in McKinney’s only crime was walking in a neighborhood that it’s one of the cornerstones of correcting it.’’ trial found him guilty of felony murder. As it Mr. Zimmerman felt that he did not belong, began to deliberate on the death penalty, The tension between the races is fueled by was out of place, was ‘‘suspicious.’’ Shepard’s parents brokered a deal, resulting competition between economically marginal According to the Sanford police Mr. Zimmer- in McKinney receiving two consecutive life groups, Roy said. man has not been arrested because he claims terms without the possibility of parole. ‘‘This episode is a horrendous example of self-defense. To date Mr. Zimmerman shot Henderson and McKinney were incarcerated the rage that is out there.’’ and killed an unarmed boy one month ago in the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins OTHER TEXAS CASES and has yet to be charged with a crime or ar- but were transferred to other prisons due to Vidor, 1994: Civil rights groups sue the Ku rested. He was, once again, shot by a self ap- overcrowding. Klux Klan, accusing the group of making pointed Neighborhood Watch volunteer.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD 4776 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 April 16, 2012 NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM self-defense, regardless of whether the killing States already enjoys. I know that I I have a statement from the National Sher- takes place on a street or anywhere outside speak for the District when I thank all iffs Association (NSA) which founded the one’s home. In Florida, if people feel they are of you. Neighborhood Watch Program. According to in imminent danger of being killed or badly in- And when I say that John Payton the NSA, a Neighborhood Watch Program jured, they do not have to retreat, even if it was a very, very devoted Washing- from Sanford has never been registered. I would seem reasonable to do so. They have tonian who would have particularly ap- have authored a bill that would require anyone the right to ‘‘stand their ground’’ and protect preciated Emancipation Day today, I who wishes to participate in Neighborhood themselves. This could result in a blanket im- thank Congresswoman BARBARA LEE, Watch Programs to get the right training. munity for those who claim self defense. This whose words always are important to Neighbors are the ears and eyes of our Neigh- is disturbing. hear as she probes the issues of the borhoods. The program is not at issue, it is I call for justice. I call for justice for all of hour, and especially what she had to ensuring that everyone who participates in the those who have been victims of hate crimes or say tonight about John Payton. My program is aware that they are only the eyes racial profiling. I will continue to work with my condolences, first, to my good friend, and ears. The police should be informed of Colleagues in Congress to stop these types of Gay McDougall, John’s wife, and to his suspicious activity and address the situation. incidents. This should never happen to an- siblings and his family. A memorial I PRESENT TO YOU THIS IMAGE other family. That is why we convene here to- service was held today, so it’s fitting I will present to you this image. A young night on this House Floor—in the name of that we should be able to get this hour to say a few words in tribute. I would teenager walks to the store to purchase a Justice. snack. He is having a light conversation with Again I offer my sympathy for the loss of a like to devote my words to both the man and the lawyer. John was my con- a friend on his cell phone. He walks slowly handsome young man who to be clear was stituent and my friend. It’s important without a care in the world. He is a perfect ex- never in trouble with the law, was not a drug ample of the typical American teenager. to get a feel for the man. user, and was well liked by his peers. If I may inquire how much time we As he returns to a friend’s home he realizes I also offer condolences to the family of that he is being followed by a strange man in have remaining in this hour? John Payton. John Payton’s advocacy on be- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gen- a car. The teenager begins to walk faster hop- half of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the ing the car would stop following him. Instead, tlewoman from the Virgin Islands has excluded reached beyond the United States. 32 minutes remaining. the driver pulls over. The driver, a complete He worked against apartheid in South Africa, stranger, exits his vehicle, approaches the Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, there and traveled around the world in support of have been only six leaders of the teen and proceeds to address him. human rights. His marriage to Gay McDougall, The driver is not a law enforcement officer, NAACP Legal Defense Fund since one of the leading human rights lawyers and he is an absolute stranger. The teenager Thurgood Marshall first went on the advocates across the globe, has been one of screams when he sees this man has a gun. bench. You can imagine what quality the great ‘‘power couple’’ relationships. of lawyer it takes to fill the role that The teen armed only with the snacks from the We have not finished the journey of justice. store reacts. Thurgood Marshall had at the NAACP The road that leads to the temple of freedom, The man shoots the teenager square in the Legal Defense and Education Fund. justice, and righteousness is paved but fraught chest . . . not the arm or the leg. It is a fatal b 1950 shot. The stranger who shot a boy that he pur- with danger and life-altering detours. I close by saying that we can achieve new John Payton was worthy of the role, sued then claims self defense and is free to heights on the great mountain of justice by en- worthy to become the sixth leader of continue his daily routine. I ask you simply this deavoring to communicate, tolerate, and work the Legal Defense Fund. . . . is it more probable that a grown man and live with each other in peace and har- If one looks at John’s professional armed with a 9 mm gun that has stalked then credentials, you would have thought approached a child would be screaming for mony. Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, that’s enough of a life for a man, con- help or an unarmed teenager being followed Congresswoman LEE, for that very sidering particularly that he was an by a stranger. This simply does not add up. It strong and impassioned and very well- African American who went to college is moments like this that captures the public deserved tribute to John Payton this and law school when blacks were only outrage. beginning to be admitted to the best The most disturbing facet to his case is that evening. And as I yield to the gentle- lady from the District of Columbia, let colleges and law schools in the coun- Mr. Zimmerman was instructed to remain in try. Before his life was over—much too me, on behalf of the people of the Vir- his car by police. He knew the police were on early—John had been listed on this gin Islands who celebrate emancipation their way. He was told to stop following this 17 decade’s list of most distinguished law- on July 3, wish the residents of the Dis- year old. But he chose to continue to follow yers in our country. He had been presi- trict of Columbia happy Emancipation Trayvon. He chose to exit his vehicle armed, dent of the District of Columbia Bar. and he chose to confront the teen for of all Day. John’s life and work, of course, are things . . . walking. And he’s claiming ‘‘self Ms. NORTON. Well, I thank the gen- etched in important Supreme Court defense’’ . . . Please! tlelady for yielding. I did not know of cases. However, we, in the District of Mr. Zimmerman shot this unarmed child in the Emancipation Day of the Virgin Is- Columbia, feel especially the loss of the chest, killing him, as neighbors frantically lands. I reciprocate and want to know John Payton because John Payton called 911. Everyone else who called the po- more about the Virgin Islands’ Emanci- was—what was called Corporation lice remained in their homes awaiting the ar- pation Day. I want to thank the gentle- Counsel is now called Attorney General rival of the police. Everyone except for Mr. lady from the Virgin Islands who han- of the District of Columbia. He took Zimmerman and even so . . . he can still dles these Special Orders for the Con- that post when he was asked by the claim self defense and still remain free. gressional Black Caucus on the floor, Mayor to leave private practice in STAND YOUR GROUND—FLORIDA LAW for the time and effort you have given order to become the lead lawyer in the The lawmakers in Florida may not have re- this evening. District of Columbia. alized seven years ago when they passed the I want to thank my colleagues who To understand John, though, one has ‘‘Stand Your Ground’’ law that it would be have come down so far for this hour. to see how this extraordinary man used to defend an act that our common sense You’ve just heard from my good friend, melded his love of the law—including tells us does not seem just. However, the law- the Congresswoman from Texas (Ms. private practice—with the love of his makers in Florida are now aware of the flaws JACKSON LEE). I thank her for her re- professional life, civil rights. It’s clear in this law. This law is just one of 21 such marks, and I thank her, as well, for that John laid down an early marker laws around the country and law enforcement, mentioning Emancipation Day here in for what his life would become, that it to their credit, have not supported these the District of Columbia, where thou- would be a life dedicated to elimi- measures. Yet, is it the law that is the problem sands of residents marched down Penn- nating racial discrimination. or how it is applied. sylvania Avenue today to claim the John went to Pomona College in 1965 The ‘‘Stand Your Ground’’ law gives the rights that every constituent of every when these colleges were just admit- benefit of the doubt to a person who claims Member who pays taxes in the United ting talented African Americans. He

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD April 16, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 4777 found himself at an elite private col- John, of course, will be remembered cussed, a case, like a similar case that lege surrounded only by people who for his work in many ways at the is going before the Supreme Court this were not at all like him—they were NAACP Legal Defense Fund. For exam- very year. I’m speaking of the Univer- like him in many ways, but certainly ple, John continued to take the Legal sity of Michigan case, where the plain- not from his racial background. There Defense Fund along the road it had tiff sought to eliminate affirmative ac- were very few African Americans in his traveled so well as lead law firm and tion in higher education, in both law college and in the five colleges in lead litigator for civil rights in our and undergraduate schools. There was Claremont, California, that group of country; but he recognized that the great trepidation that much of the very fine private colleges. So, John Legal Defense Fund had already won progress that had been made over 25 began early, right in college, to lobby many of the most important cases and years would end prematurely. the administration to recruit more Af- that, therefore, the fund had to stay John handled these cases in the lower rican American students. And of course relevant, stay current. To quote him, courts and argued the cases at the Su- he wanted a black studies program be- when asked about whether he thought preme Court as well. The Court upheld cause he saw that perhaps one of the the problems of African Americans the use of race as a factor, one factor, reasons that there was so little inter- could be solved through litigation, he not the only factor, and affirmative ac- est in black students is there was too said: tion in higher education was saved. little appreciation for the role of Afri- I’d say we have a litigation focus, and I also would like to submit for the some of our focus is not litigation. With can Americans in our history, so he RECORD a piece written by a colleague some things, you want to achieve a solution lobbied for that too. without filing a lawsuit. You can go to the and friend of John Payton, Joshua He pressed the admissions people to relevant entities, a school board or mayor, Wyner, W-Y-N-E-R. Joshua Wyner in fact recruit more African Ameri- and suggest a solution without having to file wrote a short piece after John Payton cans. And he lobbied so hard, the col- a lawsuit. died which details one occasion that lege asked him to take the job. So Here is a man who brought from pri- summarizes the principled nature of John, after he insisted that more Afri- vate practice problem-solving of many John’s life. He was on the board of an can Americans be recruited, took the varieties, just the man for the Legal organization called Appleseed, which job himself and delayed going to law Defense Fund in this era. does good works for the District of Co- school. That was John Payton. Of course, John Payton will be re- lumbia. He went on to Harvard Law School, membered for cases of great impor- The District of Columbia had a finan- but he couldn’t leave behind his dedica- tance. Sometimes the case needed a cial control board during a period when tion to human rights. He got involved lawyer with such a fine technical sense the city was going through a financial in the very famous—infamous, one of the law that all of the civil rights, crisis. The control board took control might say—school busing controversy issues revolved around whether you of the D.C. Board of Education. in Boston. While he was a law student, could find a lawyer whose mind was The D.C. Board of Education had a he found himself taking affidavits from fine enough to tackle such an issue. terrible reputation. Its members en- black students who were injured be- Lewis v. City of Chicago was such a gaged in infighting in order to keep cause of racial violence in Boston. case where African American fire- half-empty schools open, for example, In law school, he joined the editorial fighters filed a lawsuit charging dis- and all agreed the Board had done lit- board of the Harvard Civil Rights and crimination by the city against African tle for education in the District of Co- Civil Liberties Law Review. You see American firefighters. The city con- lumbia. the theme developing in John’s life. Of ceded that it had given an examination Mr. Speaker, how much time is re- course, many students have these which had a disparate effect on minori- maining? I want to leave some time for themes, and we’re pleased that they ties in violation of Supreme Court my colleague. have them when they do, but there’s cases, but it argued a statute of limita- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gen- nothing that says you’ve got to devote tions issue, that therefore John Payton tlewoman from the Virgin Islands has your life to any particular cause, and and his African American plaintiffs 16 minutes remaining. particularly if you’re an African Amer- could not continue. Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, the con- ican and experiencing the first oppor- It took a lawyer—a lawyer’s lawyer— trol board reached out to take control tunities to, for example, join private to take that case, argue that statute of of the board of education. It had con- law firms. limitations issue, go before the Su- trol of virtually every other arm of the John did just that. He went on to preme Court and get this Supreme D.C. government. practice corporate law here in Wash- Court to unanimously reverse the But John Payton and the board of ington, D.C. at a prestigious law firm lower court, which had found that the Appleseed knew that the law which set when it was rare for blacks to practice statute of limitations voided the case. up the control board gave it no author- privately at elite law firms. He moved Today, one of the core sections of the ity to take over the board of education. up to head litigation in his law firm. Voting Rights Act of 1965 is under at- It was an elected body. What to do? And then he did something that de- tack. If that law goes down, we will be Appleseed very much opposed the scribes how John Payton put together set back 50 years. It’s the core provi- board of education. Yet, the control all of the ingredients of the life of a sion of the Voting Rights Act that re- board had done an illegal act, except man of the law: he took leave from the quires States which have engaged in in- nobody knew it but technical lawyers law firm to become Corporation Coun- tentional voting discrimination in the or people who paid attention to the sel for the District of Columbia. He rec- past to bring all of their voting laws— fine letter of the law. ognized that he had been taking civil laws that impact voting rights—so that The Appleseed board engaged in the rights cases as a private lawyer pro they can be pre-cleared by the Justice appropriate debate as to whether it bono, and, yes, he could come and serve Department before they go into effect. should sue the control board for illegal his city as the lead counsel. b 2000 action in taking over the board of edu- He met his wife, an Africa expert, in- Northwest Austin Municipal Utility cation. John Payton cast the deciding terestingly enough, when he was moni- v. Holder was such a case, 8–1 decision vote for the lawsuit, and he did so be- toring elections in South Africa. And upholding section 5. cause, he said, he did not want to be that was, as my good friend from Texas It is impossible to overemphasize part of an organization that failed to has said, a meeting that was made in how important John Payton’s victory stand for the rule of law. heaven, perhaps—and she did not say it was in sustaining this core provision of Note how John Payton handled this that way, I say it that way—because the Voting Rights Act. He did it and dilemma. He knew that the board of it’s one of those wonderful marriages won a great victory for civil rights. education didn’t stand by the children. which bring together people of like John Payton also was lead counsel in What he did, as a member of the heart and like mind. a case that is still very much dis- Appleseed board, was to settle the case,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:04 Mar 28, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR12\H16AP2.000 H16AP2 rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD 4778 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE, Vol. 158, Pt. 4 April 16, 2012 ultimately returning power to the John brought an incredible combination of tions, demanded adherence to principle and school board, and then went to work brilliant thought, deep commitment to prin- pushed toward solutions that would improve restructuring school governance, giv- ciple and unswerving dedication to improv- the lives of vulnerable Americans. ing governance to the Mayor and elimi- ing the lives of those who most needed help. Our city and nation are much better off for Everyone who loves Washington should John’s time here. His presence will be nating the board of education. take a moment to observe this tremendous missed, but it will also endure in the many So you see what John did. He stood loss and remember a great man. people whom he showed how to find thought- for principle on both occasions. He I met John in late 1995, when he and the ful solutions to persistent problems and found a principled way to keep the con- other four members of the original D.C. ground those solutions in principle. Appleseed Center board hired me as execu- trol board from exceeding its author- b 2010 ity, illegally, and he found a principled tive director of the nonprofit, which works way to eliminate the D.C. school board to solve pressing problems facing the city. Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. It was wonder- without using illegal means. At the end of Appleseed’s first full and quite ful to have you here, a close friend, a That is the principled life that John successful year, the organization faced an close colleague of John Payton’s, to enormous dilemma—one that could have Payton lived. That is why he has left a give us a more in-depth history not sent the organization down the wrong path. only of his accomplishments but of the vacuum in this city where he lived and The triggering event took place in Novem- in the law which he loved. ber 1996, when the congressionally created fi- man, himself, and we thank you for He said he never regretted leaving nancial control board took over the Dis- joining us as yourself a very strong corporate law. Remember, while he trict’s public school system. fighter for justice and equality, a legal practiced it, he was also doing pro bono With fiscal management of the city im- scholar like John Payton who has also cases for civil rights. But he never re- proving, everyone committed to bettering devoted her life, like he did, to justice gretted leaving private practice, he the city knew that ground zero for reform and equality. had to be the District of Columbia Public said, because the best possible job for a I want to just close by saying a few Schools, where few kids received the edu- words myself about John Payton and man like John Payton was the job he cation they needed to succeed in life. There had when he died. was no evidence that the D.C. Board—of Edu- the work that we still have yet to do. John Payton said, on the 70th anni- cation which was better known for fighting It was at the retreat of the Congres- versary of the NAACP Legal Defense to keep open half-empty school buildings in sional Black Caucus Foundation even and Education Fund, when everybody members’ wards than for acting to improve as we were remembering, eulogizing, was joyful, as well they might have curriculum or teaching—could attract, hire and coming to terms with the loss of been, for there is no organization that or retain a superintendent who could lead our chairman and colleague and friend, needed reforms. has done more for human rights in our Don Payne, that we learned of John’s Yet the control board’s takeover was al- passing. It was distressing and dis- country than the NAACP Legal De- most certainly illegal. The structure of the fense Fund (LDF). While celebrating school board was written into the city char- concerting to think that at this time the LDF John Payton, its president, its ter, which also contains provisions for how when we need strong fighters for equal- director counsel, said, It’s a mistake to the charter itself can be amended. Nothing ity and justice more than ever, that celebrate too much about things ac- in the law authorizing the control board al- not only Donald Payne, but now John complished when we see that some of lowed it to change the charter. Payton would also be taken away from the progress has been very uneven. Appleseed had a choice: Give in to urgency us. But we are blessed that we have John was a man of great balance. He and follow the straightest path to reform or their legacies, the bodies of their work stand for principle and fight an illegal action and contributions and that standing on understood that, as he said, that Afri- by an unelected body. After a lengthy de- can Americans had made extraordinary bate, the Appleseed board chose—by a single them and their inspiration we can be progress in the 70 years since the vote—to sue the control board to reverse the strengthened to continue the fight that NAACP Legal Defense Fund was estab- takeover. John cast the deciding vote. He they led so well. lished, but that what had led him to knew from his days as D.C. corporation Later than many of my colleagues, I civil rights in the first place continued counsel that desperately needed reform al- first came to know John Payton per- and must continue to drive us. most certainly would not be led by the sonally in 2003 when he was at the firm The best way that we can remember school board. But he also made emphatically of what was then Wilmer, Cutler and clear that he (I still recall his words) ‘‘would Pickering, now known as Wilmer Hale. our friend, his work, and the man him- not be part of an organization that failed to self is to understand that what he stand for the rule of law.’’ At that time, as you heard, he was the would want us to do is to find a way to Appleseed filed suit and eventually settled lead counsel for the 2003 University of help complete the work he was about with the control board, which returned Michigan affirmative action cases. In at the end of his life. His inspiration to power over the school system to the school the end, the Supreme Court upheld the young lawyers, his inspiration well be- board. Then Appleseed began a project to law school’s affirmative action policy yond the law was so significant that I properly change the governance of the in a related case. say to my good friend from the Virgin schools. Our research and advocacy helped But I also came to know John Payton pave the way for the enactment of a law—ap- and his wife, Gay McDougall, as you Islands that I believe that we will have proved by referendum—to fundamentally re- no hesitation, we will find no hesi- structure school governance, including a heard at the conference that I attended tation in the larger community in sunset clause that ultimately led to the with Congresswoman BARBARA LEE, a seeking to do all we can to continue mayor’s assuming responsibility for DCPS. U.N. conference in Geneva, on voter the work that was the center of the life In the end, our city benefited more than participation which BARBARA was the of John Payton. would have been possible had the control director of that conference. We celebrate that extraordinary life board succeeded, because the structural But John’s work in civil rights, as today. We celebrate a great life in change that took place ultimately led to im- you heard, began from his under- American law. We celebrate a great provements in student outcomes that have graduate time at Pomona College and long outlived the control board. Washingtonian. We celebrate all that Originally opposed to the lawsuit, I learned continued when at Harvard Law School John did and was as a man. We mourn a great lesson from John (and his colleague he worked with students injured in the his early passing. We celebrate and are Alan Morrison, who filed the lawsuit): Suc- race riots-related violence during the grateful that in the time given to him cessful pathways to needed reforms can and Boston school-busing controversy. he accomplished so very much. must be grounded in principle. Many students at the law schools at [From the Washington Post, Mar. 30, 2012] I had the great privilege of working with Harvard, Howard, and Georgetown John in recent months on a project to im- JOHN PAYTON’S LIFE OF PRINCIPLE where he was a visiting professor at prove our nation’s community colleges, various times were fortunate to have (By Joshua Wyner) where so many of the African American stu- John Payton, who died March 22, was a dents that John cared deeply about are try- the benefit of his experience and his ex- great friend not only to our nation but also ing to gain the skills they need to succeed in pertise. to the place he called home the District of life. As with everything else he worked on, He was active in many domestic and Columbia. To his local and national work, he asked (and helped answer) the tough ques- international causes. Along with his

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Many of judicial system. at the time Nelson Mandela was elect- these deaths and the countless dis- f ed President. proportionate disabilities could be pre- The Legal Defense Fund said of him vented with the continued implementa- LEAVE OF ABSENCE that he was a guiding light, a brilliant tion of the Affordable Care Act. By unanimous consent, leave of ab- advocate, a mentor and a teacher who It is health injustice that Dr. Martin sence was granted to: believed that American democracy Luther King, Jr., called the most Ms. EDWARDS (at the request of Ms. thrives when it embraces all of our shocking and inhumane. The countless PELOSI) for today. voices. President Barack Obama called and seemingly endless years of these Mrs. NAPOLITANO (at the request of him ‘‘a true champion of equality,’’ tragic health iniquities and the mil- Ms. PELOSI) for today and April 17 on and said that he helped to protect civil lions of people who have suffered be- account of family health emergency. cause of them also cry out for justice. rights in the classroom and at the bal- Mr. SCHIFF (at the request of Ms. It is for ending these and other injus- lot box. PELOSI) for today on account of work tices that John Payton dedicated his So as we honor John Payton and his in the district. life. In an article in the Civil Rights legacy, we recommit ourselves to con- Mr. CULBERSON (at the request of Mr. Monitor, he said: tinue his and our fight for justice. CANTOR) for today on account of ill- Last week, I participated in the 2012 The problems of race and inequality in our ness. National Environmental Justice Con- country have proven to be enduring and deep-seated in nature. But we must recognize Mr. JONES (at the request of Mr. CAN- ference and training program where ad- that this is a marathon and not a race if we TOR) for today on account of personal ministration officials, researchers, and are to find solutions that work. reasons. advocates from all over the country We are grateful for the leg of the f convened here in Washington, D.C. It marathon that he ran and the progress was distressing to hear of the commu- that he made in this race while he was ADJOURNMENT nities in this country which today are with us. Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, suffering health impacts and still in To his wife, Gay; his sisters, Janette I move that the House do now adjourn. 2012 have to fight to be free of polluting Oliver and Susan Grissom; his brother, The motion was agreed to; accord- industries and for clean air and water. Glen Spears; the NAACP Legal Defense ingly (at 8 o’clock and 18 minutes These persistent environmental injus- Fund; and his many colleagues and p.m.), under its previous order, the tices cry out for justice. friends, I join my CBC colleagues in of- House adjourned until tomorrow, Tues- The case of 17-year-old Trayvon Mar- fering our sincere condolences and day, April 17, 2012, at 10 a.m. for morn- tin, who was killed by a Neighborhood those on behalf of the people of the ing-hour debate. Watch volunteer as he, Trayvon, U.S. Virgin Islands. f walked home, has not only aroused Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. sympathy for the family but justified Mr. Speaker, equality and justice are the EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS, anger over his senseless killing. It has underpinnings of our society. By adhering to ETC. also revived the long and shameful his- the rule of law, we as a society place tremen- Under clause 2 of rule XIV, executive tory of racial profiling in this country dous trust and faith in our judicial system to communications were taken from the and our flagrant and reckless use of do what is righteous and just. The judicial Speaker’s table and referred as follows: guns and the gun culture which so branch of government, as established by the many people promote here. Trayvon’s 5522. A letter from the Chief Information Founding Fathers, is the necessary check on Officer, Department of Agriculture, trans- death is tragic in and of itself; but it’s the Executive and Legislative branches. Article mitting the Department’s final rule — Modi- sadly a story that has been and con- III of the Constitution guarantees the right to a fication of Interlibrary Loan Fee Schedule tinues to be told in countless commu- fair trial and a jury of one’s peers. (RIN: 0518-AA04) received March 22, 2012, pur- nities across our Nation. Our children Justice is not something to be taken lightly suant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); to the Com- and our families cry out for justice. or for granted. The integrity of our justice sys- mittee on Agriculture. The wealth gap continues to widen tem is only as good as the people who partici- 5523. A letter from the Director, Regu- latory Management Division, Environmental dangerously in this country. According pate in it. to the PEW Foundation, the wealth of Protection Agency, transmitting the We must continue to work to uphold the in- Agency’s final rule — 2-Propenoic acid, 2- white families here is 20 times that of tegrity of the judicial system by embedding methyl-, 2-ethylhexyl ester, telomere with 1- African Americans and 18 times that of these guiding principles into the fabric of soci- dodecanethiol, ethenylbenzene and 2- Latinos. The Health Policy Institute of ety for future generations. methyloxiraine polymer with oxirane the Joint Center for Political and Eco- With the passing of John Payton, we lost a monoether with 1,2-propanediol mono(2- nomic Studies has issued several recent true civil rights pioneer and someone who methyl-2-propenoate), hydrogen 2- reports that showed how poverty, in- fought every day to uphold the rule of law. Mr. sulfobutanedioate, sodium salt, 2, 2′—(1,2- cluding extreme poverty, and per- Payton was a fierce advocate for equality and diazenediyl)bis[[2-methylpropanenitrile] ini- sistent segregation create health, edu- justice during a time, not so long ago, when tiated; Tolerance Exception [EPA-HQ-OPP- 2011-0975; FRL-9339-9] received March 28, 2012, cation, economic, and other disparities. such protections under the law were not en- pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A); to the Com- To quote Angus Deaton of Princeton joyed by all. mittee on Agriculture. University in a recent paper: Mr. Payton frequently appeared before the 5524. A letter from the Director, Regu- There are grounds to be concerned about U.S. Supreme Court, in passionate battles to latory Management Division, Environmental the rapid expansion in inequality at the very win equal rights for minorities. Mr. Payton Protection Agency, transmitting the Agen- top of the income distribution in the United showed us that there was still much work to cy’s final rule — Acetamiprid; Pesticide Tol- States; this is not only an injustice in itself, be done—and now, millions more Americans erances [EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0403; FRL-9340-7] but it poses a risk of spawning injustices in can enjoy greater equality and enhanced pro- received March 28, 2012, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. education, in health and in governance. tection from discrimination as a result of his 801(a)(1)(A); to the Committee on Agri- culture. The increasing income inequality in contributions, in pursuing this ideal. this country also cries out for justice. 5525. A letter from the Acting Under Sec- Mr. Speaker, the United States is still a bea- retary, Department of Defense, transmitting I could go on, but let me just end with con and a moral compass for the rest of the authorization of 7 officers to wear the au- health. civilized world. thorized insignia of the grade of brigadier Every year there are over 80,000 ex- Not only do the people of this country rely general; to the Committee on Armed Serv- cess deaths in people of color, deaths on us for our guidance, but so do the people ices.

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