STATE OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA TODAY

On 2026-05-21, Representative Seth Magaziner (D-RI-2) delivered a floor speech titled "STATE OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA TODAY" in the House.

STATE OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA TODAY

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 87 (Thursday, May 21, 2026)] [House] [Page H3681] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] STATE OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA TODAY (Mr. Magaziner of Rhode Island was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, generations of Americans fought and bled for civil rights, to make the United States of America a place where everyone's voice can be heard, regardless of the color of their skin. However, in the last few weeks, at the urging of the President, the Supreme Court effectively overturned section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which had been the law of the land for decades. Since then, Republican Governors and State legislators across the South have been racing to break up majority Black and Hispanic congressional districts. What a horrible state of affairs, to see the law that Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and Lyndon Johnson fought for cast aside. What a shameful way for Republicans to try to win elections, by breaking up majority-Black and Hispanic districts, to try to rob those voters from being able to elect their chosen Representatives in Congress. Now, these Republican politicians redrawing the maps in State after State claim with a straight face that they are not engaged in racial gerrymandering, only partisan gerrymandering. Well, then why is it that only majority-Black districts are being split up in Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, and potentially South Carolina and other States? It is only the Black vote in those States that they are trying to dilute. Republicans, you see, have given up on trying to make the case to people of color in those States that their policies are better. They have given up on trying to persuade people and win elections through campaigning. Instead, they have resorted to splitting up those communities to rob them of their chosen representation in Congress. What a shameful way to try to cling to power. John Adams, our second President, wrote that the House of Representatives should be in miniature a reflection of the people at large. Yet, when it comes to the Republican side of this House, their own former Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, admitted that they do not look like America. He said that his Republican Congress looks like ``the most restrictive country club in America.'' Now, the Democratic Party is not perfect. We don't always get it right. There have been times occasionally when I thought that most of my Democratic colleagues were wrong on an issue, and I voted with the Republicans, but I am a Democrat because the Democratic Party is the one party left that is still committed to government of, by, and for the people. Seventy percent of the House Democratic Caucus are women, people of color, or LGBTQ. I am none of those things, but when I look at the two sides of this Chamber, I know what side I want to be on. I want to be on the side that looks like America. I want to be on the side with an inclusive vision of America, that wants every American's voice to be heard, not the side that is cheering the destruction of the Voting Rights Act. I want to be on the side that honors the legacy of King, Parks, Lewis, and other civil rights heroes, not the side moving at breakneck speed to try to break up majority-minority districts and rob people of color in our country from their chosen representation. {time} 1115 I don't care what your politics are. There is no honor in winning that way, and it is not good for America. Republican colleagues should think about their own legacy. If they refuse to speak out against the racial gerrymandering their party is engaged in, if they stay silent, history will see them for who they are. At times like this, it can be easy for people of good faith to become discouraged, but I still believe in the fundamental goodness of America. I still believe that the politics of division cannot prevail over the politics of hope. As long as we are willing to do the work, we will move past this troubling chapter in our Nation's history, and our country's better angels will prevail. ____________________