1796 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE February 9, 2005 SENATE—Wednesday, February 9, 2005 The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was have a brief statement shortly and the the segregationist practices of pri- called to order by the President pro Democratic leader will have a brief vately owned business was something tempore (Mr. STEVENS). statement. Then we will follow those that was brand new. These four young statements with a 60-minute period for men had opened a new front on the bat- PRAYER morning business. tle for civil rights. The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- When we resume the bill, Senator In the next weeks and months the fered the following prayer. PRYOR will offer an amendment relat- sit-ins spread to department stores, to Let us pray. ing to State attorneys general. In addi- clothing shops, to restaurants. In my O God, who hears and answers prayer, tion, we have Senator DURBIN’s amend- own hometown of Nashville, and Ra- bend down and listen to our thanks- ment on mass actions pending from leigh and Charlotte and Atlanta and giving and praise. We can rest because yesterday. Today we will begin dis- dozens of other cities throughout the of Your goodness. You keep our eyes posing of these amendments as well as South, thousands and thousands of stu- from tears and our feet from stum- others that may be offered. dents and civil rights advocates staged bling. Give our Senators strength suffi- Yesterday we had a full day of debate sit-ins at businesses that had discrimi- cient for today’s work. Be in their as we did on Monday afternoon, but in nated. Many of the participants suf- heads and in their understanding. Be in order to finish the bill this week we fered arrest and heckling and violence, their eyes and in their looking. Be in need to begin the voting process, vot- but these brave citizens were deter- their mouths and in their speaking. Be ing on these proposed amendments mined to end the scourge of segrega- in their hearts and in their thinking. throughout the day. I am not encour- tion. Help them to remember that trials aging amendments, but I do hope that By April of that year, the Student and challenges strengthen their faith if Members intend to offer amendments Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, until it is more precious than gold. to the underlying legislation, they will or SNCC, was formed. The legendary Lead each of us to Your truth, and may make themselves available today so we organization led sit-ins around the our lives show that You have chosen us can make the necessary progress. country. Then, on July 25, 1960, Wool- for Your glory. I thank my colleagues on both sides worth desegregated its lunch counters. We pray in Your powerful Name. of the aisle in advance as we work By August of 1961, over 70,000 Ameri- Amen. through this very important bipartisan cans had taken part in the sit-ins. bill, and I look forward to a very pro- Three thousand were arrested in the f ductive session today. act. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE f Finally, in 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act which out- The PRESIDENT pro tempore led the AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY Pledge of Allegiance as follows: lawed forever segregation in public ac- MONTH commodations. A section of the Wool- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on the worth lunch counter can be seen not United States of America and to the Repub- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, afternoon of February 1, 1960, in too far from here, at the Smithsonian indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Greensboro, NC, four college freshmen Institution in Washington, DC. The from North Carolina A&T University counter and four stools and a sign ad- f changed the course of history. In an vertising 29-cent banana splits sits in a RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME act of remarkable bravery, the four place of honor on the first floor of the The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under teens strode into the downtown Wool- National Museum of American History. the previous order, the leadership time worth and sat at the ‘‘whites only’’ As we celebrate African-American is reserved. lunch counter. They ordered coffee, history this month, we reflect on these soda, and donuts, and as they expected, events and so many other events, large f the store refused to serve them. and small, that have shaped our coun- MORNING BUSINESS The young men waited in their seats try. From slavery to segregation, we until closing time. They didn’t know at remember that America did not always The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the time whether they would be beat- live up to its ideals. In fact, we often the previous order, there will be a pe- en, whether they would be dragged out, fell far short of them. But we also riod for the transaction of morning whether they would be arrested. But learned that fundamental to our na- business for 1 hour, with the first 30 they did know right from wrong and tional character is the drive to live out minutes under the control of the that segregation was an intolerable in- the true meaning of our creed. Democratic leader or his designee and justice. In the 108th Congress we passed the the second 30 minutes under the con- The next day the four returned with African American Museum of History trol of the majority leader or his des- two classmates. Again, the same order. and Culture Act to establish a national ignee. They attempted to place an order for repository for this great history. The f lunch. Again, the store refused. new museum will house priceless arti- Each day more and more students facts, documents, and recordings. It RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY joined the Greensboro Four, including will bring to life the vibrant cultural LEADER white students from nearby colleges. contributions African Americans have The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The By the end of the week nearly all of made to every facet of American life. majority leader is recognized. those more than 60, 65 seats at the Visitors from around the world will f lunch counter were filled. Eventually learn about 400 years of struggle and of hundreds of sympathizers filled Greens- progress. They will learn that the Cap- SCHEDULE boro’s downtown streets. ital itself owes its completion to Amer- Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morn- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was al- ica’s first black man of science, Ben- ing we will have a 60-minute period of ready leading protests in other parts of jamin Bannaker, who reconstructed morning business prior to resuming S. the South against segregation in the city’s layout from memory after 5, the Class Action Fairness bill. I will schools and on buses, but challenging Pierre L’Enfant quit the project. ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate Sep 11 2014 13:12 Jan 13, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\FDSYS\2005BOUNDRECORD\BOOK2\NO_SSN\BR09FE05.DAT BR09FE05 ejoyner on DSK30MW082PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE February 9, 2005 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE 1797 The new museum’s council, which in- For example, there was a case in New ple. However, because the insurance cludes many of America’s most promi- Hampshire dealing with environmental company was based in another state, nent men and women in business, en- pollution brought by the State of New under this legislation, the case would tertainment, and academia, will meet Hampshire against 22 oil and chemical have been removed to federal court and early this year to begin the hard work companies responsible for polluting the these people harmed between 1984–1996 of selecting a site for the museum, hir- State’s waterways with methyl ter- would still be waiting for justice. ing a director, building a collection, tiary butyl ether. We refer to that as Wage-and-hour employment disputes: and raising funds. From blood banking MTBE. These companies were accused In California, Wal-Mart employees to the modern subway, from jazz to so- of violating state consumer protection have been denied pay for actual time cial justice, the contributions of Afri- and state environmental laws. They worked. A California state judge cer- can Americans have shaped and molded were negligent. They produced a defec- tified a class action brought by Cali- and influenced our national culture tive product and created a public nui- fornia plaintiffs. The harm occurred in and our national character. sance. In this case, New Hampshire is California, nonetheless, under the pro- The African-American experience is seeking compensation for the cost of posed legislation the case would be re- one of the most important threads in the cleanup as well as penalties, both moved to federal court. the American tapestry. The National monetary and punitive in nature. Consumer fraud: Roto-Rooter over- Museum of African American History Under this bill, because the named de- charged approximately two million and Culture promises to become one of fendant is a citizen of another state, customers $10 each by adding charges our Nation’s most prominent cultural the State of New Hampshire would to invoices violating state consumer landmarks. have to have their case heard in federal protection laws. A class action was I yield the floor. court instead of their own state court. brought in Ohio where many of the class members live and where Roto- f In Louisiana there was a pesticide there that had decimated the crawfish Rooter is based.