not had the same energy to diversify and the different systems. i do not want to champion any one system or type of institution. we need to have far more choices going forward and far more openness about options or you're not shunting every kid that comes out of high school into this 4-year-ol mold. beshost: the book is "diy u." anya kamenetz is our guest. coming up on the show tomorrow, a political roundtable will feature the christian science monitor. they will look at the week ahead. you'll meet the president and ceo of spirit airlines.

we will talk about that decision and other issues related to the airline industry. we will speak to the associate dean of research as we take on the topic of childhood obesity. you'll meet one of our winners of the student's camera competition. you'll get a chance to talk to her about it. all that tomorrow on "washington journal." it comes your way starting at 7:00. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] . .

mike's civil-rights pioneer benjamin hooks was laid to rest in memphis, tennessee. he died in his home last week after a long illness this portion of the funeral is about one hour and 45 minutes >> we have lost one of our most charismatic leaders. like everyone here and many who are not here, i lost a good and close friend of nearly 40 years. when i think of him, i think

[inaudible] i do not know of being able to get him on the farm without first talking to francis. she was his assistant, adviser, sweetheart, his ally, and his friend. we love her. we think so much of her today. [applause] then was a patriot. he served in the war and saw he had fewer rights than the prisoners he guarded. he was a great storyteller. he could turn a phrase inside out and turned the audience inside out he was a visionary leader. i spoke to a 100 year-old woman from knoxville, tenn., who was on the board when ben was elected a leader.

she said he lifted us up at the naacp. ben hooks was a pioneer as the first african-american judge here in memphis. he was a pioneer in as the first fcc commissioner. he may have been a little bit more of a pioneer than you and i knew at least in his dreams. in the 2007 -- in 2007, i was at a reception for him in the center's dining room in the capital. he created a commotion. everyone wanted to see dr. hooks. senators of both parties came by. everyone who worked in the senate wanted a picture and an autograph. after it was over, i talked to him about the conversation had in 1978 when i was elected governor and i asked him to be in my cabinet. he politely declined because he

said he had more to do helping the naacp and the nation. then he said, lamar, i did not want to be in the governor's cabinet. i wanted to be the governor. [laughter] he said i had a plan to be the governor and go he said he was going to be the first african- american republican governor of tennessee. he was going to carry memphis big, get all of the east tennessee republican votes to get me in. i bet he could have done that if he tried. he said he was sad and a little angry at the injustice he still saw in our country. like our late friend, he always confined the good and praise it. he could see the good in this country while he saw the injustice. he could see what we still

needed to do -- needed to do. today we celebrate and find the good in the life of our dear friend dr. benjamin hooks. we praise god for his life among us. thank you bring to -- thank you. [applause] >> i would like to identify one of my good friends, i saw him somewhere. where are you? you have a new job. you can still stand up. there is my man. take care. witnessing as fellow clergymen who are presently standing in his shoes, the rev. dr. benjamin hooks, we bring to your doctor

mason. following those presentations we will be blessed by the musical talents of kurt william. you better get ready. when you come in this time -- in this order. >> to the hooks family, specifically mrs. hooks, and to other members i read to you in the jury of jesus. to the superintendent of this august body here at the temple of deliverance, my brothers, my

sisters, the members of the clergy, members of the greater middle baptist church. i am privileged to stand and speak on behalf of the middle baptist church in rome i want to speak in -- middle baptist church. i want to speak of the friendship of the hooks family with myself and my family. relationship with them extend more than 47 years as a student at carver high school where mrs. stokes -- hooks taught me sites in the seventh grade. from then years, i was attended by their influence and their warmth and friendship. i never realized in the 43 years later that i would return to the place where it all began for me

and to assume the pastory of the church where the favorite son of memphis and a hero of the state of tennessee once stood. i am blessed to be in that place. as i reflect upon the life of dr. hooks and we are gathered in this august place, it came to mind as i listened to him over the years and listened of the greatness that he has done an even experienced many of the things he has done, it became obvious to me that the centrality of his life and the propelling force underneath the very principle and nature of his determination to seek change in this society was in his face. he had a face that would not strike -- shrink.

he was convinced if we were to believe in christ and accept him for who he was and for what he stood for, then we must reflect that in our relationship with each other it has been said that you can always determine how much a person loves the lord by his or her relationship with humankind. without a dow, dr. hooks -- without a doubt, his relationship with humankind was unwavering. as become together and remarked on his accomplishments and the things he has done to improve the quality of life for the totality of the human condition, we praise god for him. also, we have come to understand death. death is what god has brought into being for the coming together of people what i have

discovered is something that is very interesting in how god describes the death. in psalms 116 he says precious in the sight of the lord is the death of things. in revelations 14, he says blessed are they die in the lord for they lie. lord, how could you use such language? i have lost a loved one. we have lost a hero. we have lost a friend. we have lost a gallant warrior. we lost one who is anchored in the dirt and soil of holiness who fought for justice. how could death the blast? it dawned upon me -- how could it just be a blessed? it dawned upon me that god was speaking. there was a language we could not years. the language he uses conveys a

meeting that is far beyond our ability to comprehend or to interpret. the bible was written in two languages. when we understand that is most familiar is that of the greek and hebrew. the greek definition for the word "death" as the redefinition in greek. the first definition is happy. god is happy. for those who are blessed and precious in his sight, those who gave themselves to a purpose beyond them selves and dr. hooks did. he gave selfishly and gave willingly. he gave it believing he could make a difference in the world. not only for himself or ever

enjoyed by him, but those who came in behind him could benefit from what he had done. he would stand so that we must learn to get beyond ourselves. second, there is a definition which says you are well off. well off? well off the cliff is that what he had here was not as grand as what the lord had promised. -- well-off declares that what he had here was not as grand. while many of us live and do work, serve, labor and to do all that we seek to do, we may never receive the things from those whom we serve. god is ever so grateful that we have loved him enough to give it

the very best that we have that others might be blessed. god says to him, benjamin hooks, you are well off now. you are in the presence of the ham -- you are in the presence of him who is holy. you are in the presence of the place you have described that you have never seen before. you are in the presence of the angels who sing a day and night. you are in the presence of a place where the sun never goes down and shines brightly. then, congratulations. congratulations. -- ben, congratulations. i did not you -- i do not know, my brothers and sisters, but i wait for the day for the lord to say to me, well done. well done, my good and faithful

servant. congratulations. let us not just come to celebrate his death were to speak kindly of him. let us to do as those who were forced to play in the absence of their conductor. the have prepared for this great presentation in europe and the director died. many of the members of the orchestra decided that it would be best to cancel the performance. someone said, oh, no. we worked too hard and too long in order to present this moment. i tell you what's. let us go forth and keep our eyes on the conductor stand and remember what he taught us. my brothers and sisters, today let us remember what benjamin hooks taught us.

as the tea party rises, let us remember that we must stand gallantly. as the throes of the evils in our society raise their ugly head, let us remember what he taught us. when we get weary, remember what jesus taught us. let us not grow weary in well and doing it for we shall reap if we pay not. he is reaping. congratulations. home at last. home in the streets of glory. [applause] ♪ >> it to the and the shepherd of this house, the superintendent

hawkins, the residing clergy, two of nine longtime friends, pastor kyles and reverand hope. to the hooks family, our former first lady, to mrs. pat, sister pat, sister mildred, brother raymond, to all of you my brothers and sisters, i think it got for the opportunity to stand here just to say a word on behalf of our fallen leader. i am grateful to pastor mason for his kind words. i shared with him the other day, i said, only dr. benjamin lawson hooks could do what he did for you and for me.

i knew dr. mason in los angeles where we both pastor. i went to my hometown of detroit. dr. mason loss -- left los angeles to secede dr. hooks in his hometown of memphis. only dr. hooks could do that. today, my brothers and sisters, and celebrate the life, remember the legacy of our fallen leader, my friend and my brother, the rev. dr. benjamin lawson hooks. i stand here today on behalf of the mayor of the city of detroit, the hon. dave bing, who came by my church on monday. when dr. hooks' body was lying in state, he gave me a request that said, for the flowers can

you do me a favor? he said, "can you speak on behalf of myself and the city of detroit to let mrs. hope's know how much of detroit loved dr. hooks?" on behalf of detroit, michigan, we say to memphis and the world thank you for letting dr. hooks reside with us for 30 years in detroit. we gave him a presidential send off on monday night when his body left from the church. i also received a phone call from the president of the progressive national baptist convention. he asked if i could convey to you, mrs. hooks, to you, pat, that the entire pnbc family shares with you in this great loss.

he sent a letter for me to give to you on behalf of progressive national baptist convention. i also stand here and today as its pastor for the greater new mount moriah in detroit, michigan, where dr. hooks serve for 30 years from 1964 to 1994. i will never forget 31 years ago, 1979, when i first met dr. hooks at the dexter avenue baptist church in detroit where he came to preach for our 60th anniversary. i was in all -- awe of this great leader. i was in awe of this great and a lot -- naacp leader. little did i know god's divine

providence would allow me to succeed him -- secede him. immediately after, i established a pastor emeritus day in which dr. hooks and mrs. a hoax would come to church every day in august. he would preach and the church would honor him. i think god that last year in august when he preached, we unveiled a portrait of dr. hooks that now hangs in the b .l. hooks area. he loved greater new member arrived and we loved him. -- he loved greater new mount moriah. to david and jackie, donald,

tom, michael, jackie turner robinson, aimee, the mighty boys, and the list goes on and on. we love dr. hooks. we thank god and thank the hooks family for allowing his body to lie in state of there in detroit on monday night. personally, let me say as i take my seat that i think god for sending me to secede such a great leader for such a time as this. dr. hooks was a champion of freedom, a warrior for justice, a profit of god, and indeed a prince of a preacher. he was my friend. he was a mentor. he was an elder statesman. but more than that, he was a

servant of god. this past january, january 2010, dr. hooks insisted that icon to memphis to preach and greater middle baptist. he insisted that i preach the king day sermon. he told me, brother flour's you have so much of dr. king's spirit and in view. i want you to come and reach for the king celebration at greater metal. little did i know that that would be the last time i would see him alive. i thank god for that day. as he struggled to get here to greater middle baptist on that day, i watched him as he reflected. i am only here because you are

preaching. i would have stayed home because i am on dialysis. i had to get here to hear you preach one more time. i am so cloud -- glad that i had a chance to talk about my mentor and my friend, dr. king in honor of dr. hooks. i am so glad that my late adoptive mother, correct scott king, dr. hooks had a special bond. -- coretta scott king. i am so glad we had a special relationship. you are my pastor and you are my friend. as i leave you, mrs. hooks, i say to you that i remember the last sermon he preached last year at the greater new mount moriah church bingo the topic was entitled "it is your turn."

little did i know how prophetic that message would be. it is your turn. when the lord called him home on last thursday, the words rang out in my years to let me know if it is my turn. it is your turn to go to another level. it is your turn to go to the next level. it is your turn, marc morial, to go higher. it is your turn, pat, to livft up the blood spattered banner. the soldiers of old are leaving here one by one. good night, dr. hooks. i will see you and in the morning. thank god for a job well done.

he is a servant of god. weary of life and the battle is won. be not dismayed when the men a want to leave you for he will understand and say well done. when i come to the end of my journey, weary of life and the battle is won. carrying the cross of redemption, he will understand and say it will done. well of the u.n., my good and faithful servant, well done, benjamin lawson hooks. well done. we will see you in the morning. in the morning where bills will be ringing. in the morning where choirs will be singing. good night, dr. hooks. i will see you in the morning. [applause]

♪ >> let the church say amen. say that again. amen. you get what i say? [laughter] i am about halfway through. let us make sure as we come forth, make this short. help me, somebody. come take care of us. >> and then. -- amen. the superintendent has asked that pastor ported would speak on behalf of the church of god and christ all over the nation.

you a -- you may come at this moment. then we will hear the music. >> think you and bless you. i stand on behalf of our presiding bishop and our senior bishop from this area and the chairman of the general assembly. he wishes he could be here with you today, but his schedule would not allow it. he send this note for you. "the office of the presiding bishop, the church of god and christ joins the rest of the world in honoring the extraordinary life of dr. benjamin lawson hooks. dr. hooks truly was a renaissance man. he was an attorney, a criminal

court judge, a businessman, a respected civil rights leader, a powerful preacher of the gospel. he served as first african- american commissioner for the federal communications commissioner and later as executive director and ceo of the naacp. president bush awarded the presidential award of the freedom in 2007. president obama recently characterized him as a trailblazer. others describe this remarkable individual as a mentor, down to earth friend, a man of action, and an icon. without a doubt, dr. hooks was a true american patriot, a peaceful warrior, and a hero to all who fight for equality and social justice. he challenged us to learn from

the struggles of the past generation as we progressed toward the future gains and possibilities. his passionate battle against racial prejudice, bigotry, and tolerance, an equity inspires us to join together for the prominence -- for the purpose of the peace and the opportunities for all. dr. hooks will be sorely missed by his relatives, church family, and others who loved and admired him. we mourn his passing but celebrate his life, ministry, social contributions. he leaves a wonderful legacy of hope and promise that will live on in the hearts for many years to come. the world is a better place and we are better human beings because he lived amongst us.

on this 21st day of april in the year of our lord 2010, bishop charles edwards blake, seventh in succession, presiding bishop for the church of god and christ." >> we are moving right along. let me ask at this moment that all of the elected officials present here today, would you just stand for this moment? all of the elected officials. all over the building to go -- building. [applause] thank you so much. it is my understanding that we have now a representative from

president barack obama and i am going to mess up his name if i try to say it. michael, are you here? i will mess up your name, michael. tell me your name >. >> thank you. good morning. i am humbled to be here. to mrs. hoax and the family, and gathered dignitaries, on behalf of president obama, are wonderful first lady, a senior advisers, and the entire white house, i want to offer my condolences to all those here who have loved and learned from dr. hooks. to his family, i offer my deepest sympathies for your profound loss, and lost to this

community, city -- city, and this nation. while president obama could not join us today, i have a letter from him. as someone who stands on his shoulders and learned from dr. hooks' life works, i can confirm to you millions of mourners are reflecting in the morning for the life of dr. hooks today. they lined up to see him in detroit. he has left a profound mark on our country and not many people can hope to accomplish in several lifetimes what he accomplished in just his one. a soldier, a patriot, a businessman, a preacher, a tremendous lawyer. he served as the head of the naacp for 15 years leading this iconic organization through a

stormy and challenging times in our nation's journey. he will remain always been a motivating force in our constant pursuit for fairness, equality, and justice. we will all see to that. we remember a life in which benjamin hooks showed us how to do justice, to walk humbly with god. president obama mourns his loss, too, and i now want to read a letter he has written to the family of dr. hooks. >> april 20th, 2010 -- india friends, michelle and i were saddened to learn of the passing of dr. benjamin hooks. please accept our sympathies as you mourn his loss and reflect upon his life. as a civil rights leader and a pastor, he holds an extraordinary place in our

history. he led the national association for the advancement of colored people and urged the presidential medal of freedom. he will be remembered for his dedication to our founding principles and for his faith. he will be sorely missed by all of those who knew and loved him. michele and i will -- will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. make your cherished memories of him continue to bring you great joy and pride. sincerely, barack obama." thank you. [applause] >> now let's hear this wonderful musician. ♪

[saxaphone playing] ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [saxaphone piano duet]

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ [applause] >> everybody stand up. let your blood circulate. do not go every where -- anywhere. you may have your receipts. they're trying hard to get all of this covered by the media. it would be good if those of us coming at this time, if we could hold our conversation to at least five minutes or less. you think we can handle that?

can we handle that? can we handle that? what is happening here, we do not want to be just the consumers. we want for the whole nation to see this. we can get close to it by falling in that direction. thank you very kindly. >> kirk whalum, world-class musician. born and bred in memphis, tennessee. does that mean i cannot do about five minutes, too? someone representing the governor's office, i did not see him, is the governor here? all right.

someone that i have some much love and respect for, he was the youngest person to speak at the march on washington, congressman john lewis. he was 23 years old when he spoke. following will be the interim mayor and we will come back with a musical tribute. congressman on the way to being in the senate? [applause] >> my friends, my sister, and

all members of the hoax family -- hooks family, thank you very much for asking me to participate you know he loved us all. we all were one-family, when people, one house. -- one people, one house. i first met him when i served on the board of the southern christian leadership conference in 1962 under the leadership of martin luther king, jr. i knew then that this man, this man of god, was a remarkable man. roomben believed in it -- ben believed in his heart, his soul

that the impossible was possible. he believed this nation had the capacity to live up to the highest dream of democracy. he was not afraid to hold the standard high. maybe that is because he was an extraordinary human being, a good man. he was a minister, a soldier, a warrior, a judge, a federal commissioner, and a civil rights leader. it is unbelievable that for 30 years this man pastured two churches at the same time -- pastored the churches at the same time, one in memphis and one in detroit. i would enjoy a appearing on programs with him.

reminiscent about dr. king, [inaudible] for good marshall, and so many others -- thurgood marshall, randolph, young. he was a wonderful man, a wonderful friend who worked with his their wives to bring about lasting changes in america. today i believe that ben hooks should be remembered as one of the founding fathers of the new america. he had the capacity, he had the ability to bring the dirt under the rug into the open light in order for us to deal with it. ben helped liberate not just

people but a nation. there are people who come along from time to time to talk commissions and mandates. some of them are like a firecracker and pop off. others are like a pilot light that just keep burning. ben was like a pilot light. they could send others to the front line, but they always played it safe. ben hooks never played it safe. he was not a broadway show. with his booming voice, his fierce intellect, his commitment to justice, he had the power to move an audience and inspire people to action. he was a warrior, a fighter to the end. he was a man of great

persistence and determination. this man that i got to know, ben hooks, i saw him in those board meetings saying listen, this is what we should do. he was a kindred spirit. when the nation called him, he was there. when the problems of our society commanded his leadership, he joined the struggle. he never gave up. he never gave in. he kept his face and he kept his eyes on the prize. he was a man of vision. he was a man of courage. ben hooks fought for what was right, fair, and just. then, my dear friend, my dear brother -- ben, my dear friend,

we love you. we will deeply miss you. one day we will see you. we will all be together again. [applause] ♪ >> good afternoon. francis, the entire hooks family, distinguished clergy, elected officials, and everyone here, there is so much talent and greatness in this church that it is a cumulative reflection on the life of men hooks. your presence here and your greatness is embodied in ben hooks and the respect that you pay him. the only thing that is probably more difficult than following john lewis on a program would be

to follow ben hooks to the pearly gates. so in some ways, i am fortunate. reverend hooks was one of the golan warriors of the spoken word and one of the few silver tongue and giants of oratory. it was an honor to be in his presence to hear him speak or eulogize. no one could eulogize a person the way that ben hooks and did. he had a special talent. i was privileged to be with him at the white house when francis and he were there to receive the presidential medal of freedom. he was so proud. he was even prouder that his wife was with him. i was proud to be there as well. he was a lucky man to have francis. she gave up being a teacher to be a first leader -- a first lady. she gave up being a teacher to

be at his side. when he came to congress in october and spoke, francis was with him. the congress people revered him and we're honored to hear him speak. yesterday in the house of representatives, my chairman from detroit, a hero in his own right, offered a resolution that passed honored the life and achievements of dr. hooks. speaker nancy pelosi personally signed it last night and asked me to bring a copy to francis which i will do in just a moment. [applause] the speaker who broke the glass ceiling asked me to give her personal condolences to the family and her regrets for not being able to be here. ben hooks helped the ceiling to be broken.

because of the terrible weather, he was not able to attend the inaugural but he was there in spirit. i extend my condolences to the family, his siblings, patricia, his daughter, my friends michael and michael, jr. i was lucky to have him as a friend. times are getting tight in this country, but they are getting better. * must be getting tight in heaven as well because he took benjamin hooks from us. a life well lived. [applause]

>> [inaudible conversations] >> abraham lincoln died >> abraham lincoln died on april april 15th, 1865. when his cabinet secretary heard the news, he said now we belong to the same ages. exactly 145 years later on april 15th, 2010, dr. benjamin hooks departed this internal life and now he, too, belongs to the ages. mrs. hooks, family, friends, honored guests, lieutenant hawkins and member of the clergy, today is a difficult day

for me as a county mayor and as a long life friend of dr. hooks. this past thursday the world lost one of the civil rights movement and for the oppressed people everywhere. the citizens of shelby county lost a leading minister of god's word and a respected neighbor. but for those of us here today, we have lost a beloved mentor and friend. for over 40 years, dr. hooks was a close and trusted friend of mine, to my father and to the entire ford family. what inspired me most about dr. hooks all of the years that i knew him was his personality and his integrity.

when he spoke to the senators and sanitation workers he broke free with precedent. it didn't matter if i was a plumber he preached to congressmen and conflicts and dr. king was the same man all the time. no matter where he was or who he was with dr. king provided a voice for those less able to speak for themselves. i will miss my friend. but like you, i rejoice dr. benjamin hooks is now with a lord. indeed, a life well lived. [applause]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ one of these morning one of these mornings, my lord

i'm going home to live on high oh, one of these evenings, my lord one of these evenings, oh, i'm going home to carry my crown i'm going to lay down my heavy burden i'm going to sing out and tell my story i've been coming over hills and mountains we'll drink that old healing water then i'm going to live on

forever i'm going to live on forever i'm going to live on in there oh, yes ♪ i'm going to join the heavenly choir and then i'm going to move on up a little higher i'm going to meet the loving father yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to meet

yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to meet the hebrew children yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to meet the lily of the valley it will be always holy holy it will be always holy holy ♪ i'm moving up going to march all around going to join the heavenly choir oh, yes, i'm going to move on up

a little higher going to meet my loving mother yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to meet my loving father yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to meet the hebrew children yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to moveeet yes, i'm going to move on up a little higher going to meet the lily of the valley it will be always holy

holy it will be always holy holy it will be always holy holy it will be always holy holy ♪ never, never, never ♪ oh, yeah. ♪ [applause] . >> sounds like we are still having church. let us hear now from the lady who works so hard making the national civil rights medium

brown sister beverly roberson. [applause] >> dr. hooks is somewhere smiling today. i feel as if we have had church and three or four sermons so we need to pass the collection. [laughter] you know i just wanted to say, ms. hazel dukes, i was a little upset to learn a term of endearment for you well, i want you to know that i felt that i you to know that i felt that i was the only one that called by a term of endearment, and he called me a tree shaker and a jelly maker.

[laughter] and you know i have known dr. hooks for about 20 years, and the funny thing about dr. hooks is also he knows my name as beverley robertson, he would call me out publicly at any event. you'd grab but putting them and say this better leave robertson said that was a tradition for dr. hooks, and whenever he called me, i responded to it. to give and not count the costs. to fight and not heal the wounds. tutorial and not to seek breast. to labor and not ask for a reward such was the life of dr. benjamin larsen hooks. dr. hooks was persuasive, he was passionate and he was powerful.

in his book, "the march for civil rights," dr. hooks tells us that the road from slavery to freedom has been long and arduous. he reminded us that this same constitution that man our ancestors 3/5 of a person ultimately became a that indispensable vehicle that was used to get to freedom store. and let me tell you, dr. hooks didn't just knock on the door he kicked the door in. he became the first black criminal courts judge in tennessee history. he was also one of the attorneys representing the sanitation workers in 1968 and was one of a select few african-americans who received the presidential medal of freedom. now dr. hooks was persuasive. he loved to preach a story. he often told the story about a

young man who was with his father at church. the pastor was constantly looking at his watch. so the young man turned to the pastor or his father and stepfather, what does that mean? and the father replied well, if it is a catholic priest he will be through in five minutes. it is a methodist minister he will be through at noon and no matter what. but if it is a baptist preacher it don't mean hey thing. [laughter] dr. hooks will never know what the real impact and power and influence he had on everyone's life. but i want to relate just a short story about a gentleman who attended our freedom award

event last year and he shares a beautiful testament that is indicative of his poignancy and power. he sent a letter to us about the evin and explained that he is a white man who lives in the los angeles. born in 1968 so he knew little about the seminal years of the movement. but somehow he felt connected to them. he decided to come out for a genuine southern experience. he thought the website, bought a ticket to see the dalai lama whom he honored last year and he wrote to the following. the dalai lama delivered a beautiful acceptance speech humble, charming, funny and right on point. i did not think that experience could get any better.

but then dr. benjamin hooks gave the benediction. i don't know how to describe the electricity and passion, power and emotion that benediction sent through me. we were holding hands and singing we shall overcome with folks who knew the struggle. they were not trying to recreate a sense of history but these people were in part in history they themselves have lived to read it was a once in a lifetime experience for me and it touched my soul in a way i can never explain. it changed me. it was the ultimate southern experience, but more importantly, it was the ultimate american experience. so dr. hooks, i realize today

this is your last benediction. and as we did you do, we may miss your presence, that your spirit, your tenacity, your achievement will live on in our lives and the lives of our children and our children's children for many generations to come so we, those of us gathered here may have lost a soldier, a gladiator and a drum major for justice, but heaven is welcoming an angel. thank you. [applause] >> i first moved to memphis in 1959. one of the first since i had was ben and frances hooks, and they just took me in and treated me

like family. and i shall never forget that. i used to go down to the courthouse after his appointment and just sit in the back of the room and he would ask me is anything wrong? noisette no, just want to see you preside. those days they would not give ben hooks vote he was the lawyer of -- they never called him at turney hooks. they called him ben, old ben. and i would watch that, lawyers, judges, they simply would just not use courtesy title. and after the appointment i would go in the back and i would get charged i tell you to see the same lawyers having to say if it pleases the court, your honor, may i approach the bench. [laughter] [applause]

he went down over the library to get the students out who were arrested for giving to the library and put in jail to those who were down to get them out. and the same library is now named after -- [applause] what a remarkable individual. and what a great help he had with frances. we are moving along well. mr. warren lee, are you here? come on.

>> good afternoon. we want to thank all of you for the opportunity to have a few words about our brother, brother benjamin hooks. the man from omea psi phi are here. [applause] >> stevan said one shall live, one should love, one should leave a legacy. opposite of brother hooks has lived a great life and that is why we are here today. to all of us here to say on behalf of omea psi phi we still stand here to support you. what ever you need all you have to do is call in the of of us. we are here for you. also his legacy you know when i think about dr. hooks,

leadership comes to mind because he was the inspirational, he was exciting, he was motivational. also i think about the passion he had to right the wrongs of the world and proclaiming their bites of the fathers. i am also reminded of the sacrifice, the tremendous sacrifice that he has made to do all that he has done. for everyone that celebrated life what is it we can do to preserve the legacy of brother hooks? because crothers hooks was a great leader. if you think so, please give applause if you think he was a great leader. [applause] here is my question to you as i take my seat. look how much more he could have done if we had been better followers. look how much more he could have

done if we had been better for worse. now i'm not going to say that brother ben isn't benjamin hooks if he's a good man fighting a good cause. that makes ben a good leader. dr. hooks legacy by being better followers. thank you. [applause] >> let us hear now from one of the nine black lawyers in memphis when i moved here and russell sugarmon was one of them. come on, let's share some thoughts. [applause] are used to come to his office

and have a line of people waiting to get weighed on so i would call for to the secretary do i get any calls yet? just like i worked there. [laughter] times when to raise my hand for a pit stop. [laughter] i will try to be brief. i think the best thing about ben as he was a friend of mine. we've had some shared experiences. i will tell you about the one i remember the most is about ben coming back from having gotten some kids out of jail after a set in in the county and ben was driving in a car the day before and jim was sitting next to him. he is a practitioner of

resistance and suffering and so he would get these kids out of jail and go to the town square that looked like a faulkner movie farmers and pitch forks and rested trucks with farmers and shotguns and there were three sheriff's standing across the front of the jail house and we managed to get up to the jailhouse before they recognize to we were and got inside the jail and the sheriff had the deputies keeping these people we from the lion about 10 feet away from the chain that separated the parking lot from the entrance to the jail, and we got in to talk to these kids and luckily the jail had been built by the wta under president roosevelt and was fireproof, bulletproof and safe. [laughter] so we went in to talk to those kids and say you know it's kind of rough out there and this is

getting dark so we should probably get you out of here in the morning. do you think you will be all right? we get outside and the sheriff says i didn't know you came that way. i says with other way is there? i will take you down a different road. so he says you follow me. so he got in front of us and the one deputies he had to get behind us and he followed so we got this turned to the right and go out and turn left and we started weaving the blacktop and we realized this is the way to get us off the main road. [laughter] so jim of larcenous sitting next to him sciu he looks back and says what the past.

it looks to funeral procession. and dr. hooks comes and says why would you say something like that at a time like this. [laughter] so we go down this road and pass the call on the right side of the road and there was a crack at the same time, a crew of across the windshield. so we are all docking and i can hear the engine revving. i feel guilty [inaudible] [laughter] i put my head back and said can you see he says i can hear the to see over your shoulder. that made sense and i got back down, too. a run of a station wagon going about 65 miles per hour. we were lucky we didn't get to a curve because we would be off in the river somewhere. we got to shelby county and finally slowed down. but that was an experience i will never forget. i love to tell it.

[laughter] ben was a friend of mine. [applause] >> thank you so much. now i am going to announce the next three at one time. dr. shirley raines, president of university of memphis, walter pitt and melanie had sent the president of the children's health forum and in a musical selection from the greater mittal baptist church choir and then we will bring on the preacher. she was here earlier, too, on time. bless you. >> thank you so much. all i am here because i am from

a man doesn't represent the university of memphis. and i am here on behalf of the entire university of memphis community. on behalf of our doctor dr. daphne mcfaren and i am here because i am a friend of maxine smith, and i am here because i am a friend of mrs. hooks, frances. i want you to know that the university of memphis is privileged to be the place where the hooks papers are stored. [applause] and we have beside our honored name the honored name of the benjamin hooks institute for social justice. [applause]

and i promise to all here who have spoken and have done his phrases and preached his praises that we will keep alive the legacy of this giant of a man and civil rights leader and provide for prosperity a place where scholars to study his papers and his great work and we will keep alive what he meant in his life to so many a few who were pioneers in the civil rights movement. but let us also remember the university of memphis he was a distinguished faculty member in the department of political science and history. he made a significant and lasting contribution when he

established the benjamin hooks institute for social change at the university of memphis. but think about what it must have been like to be a student in his class. , wonderful to sit and learn from a a great intellect, a great speaker, but great teacher, a person who was both gifted as an orator and a gifted as a scholar so we will remember him also for not only is great deeds but the fact that he saw into the future that he wanted to be sure that his papers and the people with whom he interacted would be saved for others to study and to learn from so we are grateful,

frances, mrs. hooks, we are grateful, pat, and we are grateful to all of you who knew him for making certain that his legacy will continue through the benjamin hooks institute. .. >> i am inspired by his great work. i am inspired by the sermon i heard at the greater middle

baptist church. i have to say, thank you god, i have been inspired by having him to comfort me. thank you. [applause] >> francis, looks family, there is a much weakened said about my friend. it seems to me that it comes down to one overriding thing. benjamin hooks did indeed live a blessed life. each of our lives was blessed by his. that was particularly true for me. for the past 20 years, i have been blessed to call him my best

friend. his benjamin hooks were here today, he would no doubt remind us that in the sacred book that defined his whole life, it says "blessed are they who mourn, for they should be comforted." it also says "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of god." finally, "blessed are those that are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." yes, benjamin hooks was blessed. he was indeed persecuted -- persecuted in the set -- in the segregated south as the fight for the civil rights movement. he was a peacemaker who saw everyone as a child of god. it is that reality that comforts us today as we mourn his loss. benjamin hooks talked with kings

and presidents, but he was just as comfortable talking to a struggling, single mother or use in the criminal justice system. all of us who were his friends were constantly amazed at how he could relate to any person and knew just what to say to lift their spirits, to give them hope, and to direct their lives. i saw it time and time again on the faces of the visitors to the national civil rights museum, as he brought history to life and made the photograph come to life with his stories of courage and principle. in particular, i remember the impact that he had on nobel prize winter -- winners like the dali lama and other freedom award winners has he gave them a

personal tour of the museum. he was, in fact, there appear and tallith. there was -- pierre and colleague. there is nothing more moving than the ceremony at 1/4 -- at the free awards. civil leaders paid tribute to mankind's in during and calls for freedom. -- thin during the indoor in calls for freedom. getting to hear my friend benjamin hooks each year, was even more special. year after year, he reminded us that he was a drum major for freedom. we honor him today with this celebration of his life, but we honor him tomorrow, and the days

ahead, by remaining true to his principles and to the fight for human rights that characterized his life. today, he has been allowed to go to the mountain, and he is looking over us and seen the promised land. more than that, he has now entered the promised land. he has found a place where all of us are judged by the content of our character, and not by the color of our skin. as ben, so often said, we have made a historic strides in our dream of equal rights, but the journey is not over. inspired by his example and his courage, we lead the celebration of his bridge we leave the light -- the celebration of his life with a renewed purpose.

i love you, benjamin hooks, and i will miss you very, very much. [applause] >> good afternoon. i'm actua >> good afternoon, i am olivia morgan. i am matt dr. hooks about eight years ago. health issues during his time at the naacp and i wanted to start a nonprofit focused on diseases that disproportionately impact underserved children, starting with childhood lead worsening. he recruited a pint of american history to serve as his cochaired at this defining and and brought me into help create an organization, the children's health forum. resizes were tight all around.

dr. hooks wanted to take a new approach of thing and the unsolvable problem and not everyone agreed with him. the obstacles were daunting, but he was always certain of his vision and of our nation and of its eventual success. after a few years we started to succeed. he and jack kent got congress to fund a new grant program to cities to clean up letter column and he doggedly worked to keep support for the program alive. today over $385 million has gone through this program to clean up mental homes and 59 communities across this country. [applause] and thousands of children and families have all bright futures because of what he did. dr. hooks, though, was not want to sit on his laurels. i think it was about 80 when he turned to me one day and said

bolivia, when we take are of the lead problem, we've got to get to work on aids. we celebrated.your hooks 80th birthday in washington. anything none of us will ever forget. thank you, melanie. congratulations and well wishes poured in from sanders, colleagues and friends. i think some people here joined us there. the letters and notes coming this past week has been saturday until, but full of the same admiration, love and gratitude. it was an honor and a privilege to work with.your hooks. every member has a memory of that ensure within him a dinner sent with dr. and mrs. hooks, an impromptu history lesson that forever changed the way we see the world. and traveling with him was a marvel. he was always in good spirits and he knew how to make an interest. he would write that scooter into a room and just light up the place with a smile. one time we were traveling

together in milwaukee i think and there was a big four lane road we needed to cross and we were in a hurry. and the nearest cross up was way down the street and he convinced me to jaywalk. now, he was in his 80's and he was in his wheelchair and i was about seven months pregnant and i was big and he said, olivia, just push me off the street here. they won't dare hit us. [laughter] people always recognized him everywhere he went, not just mayors and members of congress. that too, but everyday people, the theory regards, people in offices, people on the street. you see that light of recognition in their eyes and they said just a bit taller. a lot of times people want something for myself when i see them in autographs and photographs are a story they can tell their friends.

but with.dr. hooks, if they want to thank them for what he at any given them. they'd hold a door for him, call the elevator, find him a seat, show him that they were the person he believed them to be. on behalf of his board, staff, extended colleague, i want to express the gratitude at the life of dr. hooks and i'm a special admiration and love for mrs. hooks and the whole hooks family. there is just an ocean of people whose lives you have touched and yet he made each one of us feel special. thank you. [applause] >> as we prepare now to bring

the eulogists to us, you now when he left home this would be no short funeral. [laughter] somebody said i intend to make it short. no matter how long it takes. referendum.or melt them, how are you doing? francisco may do another eight? i just want to check on you. she's a bossy lady, too. good bossy. pastor madden, charles smith is the son of our church, monumental baptist church. i have an illness for years and he had just come into the ministry and he took care of my services for a full year, so you

know how i feel about him. he's coming now and we're going to be in prayer for him as he comes for words of comfort. dr. melvin charles smith. [applause] miscommunication. the >> as we communicate -- [inaudible] at this time, with reflections of the life or lived, representing the family of this rate man, that we are here honoring today. the charles r. wallace junior m.d. and michael hooks seigneur. [applause]

>> god bless you. thank you very much. i'm so honored and privileged to be a designate for the family. there've been so many beautiful things said about the giant, the commercial pill put it properly, said the giant is gone. but in the eyes of men, i guess every family member that came from near and far, her benjamin hooks was known as uncle benny and this is a beautiful, beautiful person. a tremendous man of god and he inspired us like never before. there was nobody i know any close family member that was not touched by his presence, by his oration, by his concern, especially he and francis together. i'm not going to stand before you lie, but i want to thank each and every one of you for supporting him for coming out, for being a blessing. i was privileged to work with

ben, uncle benny as his position. he had a lot of trust in me, listen to me. and i didn't really see him as a giant, but after all of the things and the people in the comments, the accolade, sometimes he don't realize how big someone is. and i'm certainly thankful to be among one of the giant, like iron sharp one of us. i'm here with my brother, michael goodwin not going to stand before you long. we've been here a while, but i will say that dr. hooks, uncle benny, as a chance to work with him, he strips down to the bone. after the accolades and after the support and all the creases in the awards, she was a gentle man and a loving man. he was never the kind of man to

let you go without putting something in your hand. he always left a deposit. he was a cedar and the seed somewhere. he ceded his service. he ceded his love, but above and beyond all of that, he was confident and encouraged that kept him. he tried to die three times. the first time he had a heart attack. he was in louisiana and new orleans before katrina and if it were not for peptide who sent his plane over to get him, he would never have made it. and he told me that i don't even know why god is keeping me here. he says but i know i've got something to do. and he got right back into service, got right back into it the second time. he felt like he had been electrocuted. he had a defibrillator and he said they went off about 13 times. he said charlie, i felt like i was shot to death.

but i couldn't leave here. i wanted to, but it wasn't time. they never slept in the daytime. i meant i slept all day but there it around all night. [laughter] and they said i want you to come and see about any. i said i'd be glad to see about him. i went to see him and i mean he didn't look good, i didn't think he would make it. i just said i don't know. we just need to get them in the hospital and he was in the intensive care and he just looked like he would not even come out of it. but he cannot have it. and obviously this man, i just don't understand it. and he said you know charlie, i couldn't get in. i don't know what the problem is. [laughter] so the doctors got together and they said he's peculiar, we don't know what to do. he's trying to go, but god won't

let them go. and then finally, we have this conference, we had this talk dirty calls me in and he said you now, he says out of all the things that i've done, he says i've got a wonderful wife that loves me. i've got friends and family members. i've done all these things. he says, but i've been fighting for a long time. i recognize i don't have to fight anymore. the battle is not mine, but it's the lord's. he says i want you to know i want them to pull the senate want to pull that. they don't have to be upset. i'm in my right mind. i'm ready. he said it wants you to know out of all you've done for me, i want you to be ready. but let me go. so out of all the things that i cleaned from him are the courage to really face this thing. we're going to strip down.

it's not going to be anybody but me and the lord, but we've got to be ready and it was fact and not allowed, you know, the bible says the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. he who glories letting glory in the lord. that's where my uncle lives, glory in the lord. i surf and thank them for the privilege and the opportunity to work to be a servant. thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon. first of all, to pastor hawkins, for allowing us to be here, your gracious spirit when we met with

you that day and all the clergy and friend of dr. hooks and especially the naacp and the civil rights museum and the institute, dr. raines, blending this melody and beverly and can and may slow when, barber put letter, we can't say enough of the pressure that she took off and molly. chairman brock, dr. ed given, reverend white and nelson rivers

really came in here and took a lot of pressure off of us. [applause] it allows the family to bond together and reminisce and have fun. and first of all, we have a very competent, capable, applicable, accomplished family. any two of us could stand here and represent the family speaking. would you all please stand and mildred, would you please stand? [applause] francis dancey hooks did not sign on to do while this. she thought she was a mayor and a lawyer. she didn't know she was marrying a preacher, teacher, lawyer, civil rights act to this and

that his tentacles would stretch out all across this world. but early on, all of the family, all of the generations followed francie dancey hooks laclede and realizing that he was very, very special. andrew and georgia dancy, his in-laws knew he was special. all of his siblings and all of francis's said wednesday she was special. betsy and robert hooks, his parents that he was special. all of the grandparents and great grandchildren know that he's special. we followed that lead in sharing him and embraced it, coveted,

reappeared it, that we could share this giant with the world. even not that, even not being a lawyer, chairman of the board and on the board of universal antistate and being a great jurist and going on to be a great executive or. more than not. bringing up cybill's rights museum and his institute, he still managed to nurture families. with the help of francie dancey hooks, she made sure, i know, i can remember 55 years ago that the hooks and the dnc's acted as

born. therefore strengthening the gene pool and having a family unit nucleus that is second to none. they embraced their concept, gave it to us and i think families and one of the things that we could do instead of mourning is realize that out of this group we could help the naacp. we could help the institute at u. of them. we could help the civil rights museum. we could help the children's fund. we can take this court on. it's enough talent, but one of the things he talked to me about last week, that he was most concerned that we would make sure that we gave aid, that we went and visited nk service to his beloved wife, frances dancey

hooks. [applause] and that there was enough of a tc that mildred and raymond and ollie and janet seymour, that there is enough of us still in town to go by and see our mom. amber, andy, there's enough of us in town to make sure that all that burden doesn't go on andrea. there's enough of us to help with raymond. he wanted that. he told me that. that's what we can do. i'm sorry, guys, we've been through all the accolades, but i want to do one other thing. you told us what he thought about you, reverend, what you

thought about him, reverend bates and reverend flowers, all of you, dr. greg, ms. dukes, russell, beverly, let me tell you, he left you guys hear it [applause] he talked about you guys. in closing, i want to talk about the experience of how i feel that we as a family, as every unit should remember the scripture. do not let your heart be troubled. leaving god can believe also in me and my father's house for many dwelling place if it were not so, i would've told you, for i go to prepare a place for you if i go and prepare a place for

you, i will come again and receive you to myself where i am. there you may be also. now let me tell you, my francis, guys, ben didn't leave us. he didn't leave us, he didn't leave you behind. he just went ahead of you. if you believe -- and now i believe it has to be reverend, some kind of hierarchy of angels in heaven. and i believe that ben hooks has been called upon to assist in the preparation of that place. and then the tone of what he might say to us is that i believe that he is better for the sole purpose of help and and assisting his believer and

bringing us to him. so he'll be there when you get there. now we used to ride with him and he had specific routes that he'd like to take. and he gave specific. you could not interpret it wrong. now in this particular journey, the way i listen to and, when he said that he had planned his life and that he knew it was time to go, but that we were not to follow. that our time would be a time. ..

>> caught a bus you all, and be happy. this is a glorious -- god bless you all, and be happy. this is a glorious day. [applause] >> coming up next, the u.s. house tribute to longtime civil rights activist dorothy height. after that, a senate hearing and the civil-rights division. then, a discussion on new technology being used in political campaigning. >> i think there is a huge lack of knowledge about how this town works, how congress works. >> when you were doing the actual research, you have to do it yourself. >> this weekend, award-winning historians will talk about their work, their books and their profession and revisit their first visits on our network.

sunday night on c-span. >> u.s. house members on wednesday paid tribute to a longtime civil rights activist dorothy height. this is just under one hour. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> this is a day that we come to honor the life and legacy of one of america's most celebrated civil rights leaders. dorothy height test just yesterday. she was one that brings back many memories for many members of the house. her connections with dr. martin luther king jr. and rosa parks, and all of the organization she was connected with our already a

part of a legendary record. i was with her in 1963 when dr. king did went -- went on this march to washington. and i remembered seeing her, i didn't know her at that time, but i sure got to know her a couple years later. i'm going to put my remarks in the record and yield to our distinguished majority whip, -- wait a minute. maybe i should let mr. poe go for a little while. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i want to thank the chairman of the judiciary committee for bringing this to the floor as quickly as possible.

i support this resolution, h.res. 1281, and it commemorates the life of dorothy height as the chairman said who died just yesterday. she was one of the key civil rights leaders who fought for racial and gender equality in the 20th century. she helped bring about school desegregation, she brought about in her own way the movement for an advocation for voting rights and employment equality. . she moved to pennsylvania at an early age. she was admitted to bernard college but was denied admission when she showed up to register. she the school had a policy of accepting only two black student, so she went to new york university. the got a master's degree in educational psychology.

after her studies, ms. height served as a caseworker in new york city. her next year she began her career as a civil rights activist on behalf of african-american and all women. she joined the ywca and was the national president of delta sigma theta. from 1957 to 1967, she was president of the american council of negro women and in the 1970's, she established wednesdays in mississippi, to join black and white women from the north and south to join in dialogues to accomplish social integration. she lobbied first lady eleanor roosevelt to help civil rights efforts in the 1940's. in later year, she encouraged

presidents dwight eisenhower and lyndon baynes johnson to desegregate schools and appoint black women in positions in government. she serve thobed president's committee on the status of women and was a consultant on african affairs to the secretary of state. ms. height was on the platform with dr. martin luther king jr. when he gave his "i have a dream" speech in 1963 -- and chairman conyers was at that event. for ms. height's decades of work on behalf of civil rights she was awarded the presidential medal of freedom in 1994 and the congressional gold medal in 2004. yesterday, at the age of 98, dorothy height passed away at howard university hospital here in washington, d.c. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: i recognize the distinguished majority leader, james clyburn, for as much time as he may consume. i thank judge poe for co-leading this resolution for the judiciary committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. clyburn: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the chair for yielding me time. i thank you so much ranking member poe, for joining in this resolution. madam speaker, i was born and raised in the little town of south carolina and just outside of sumter is the town of maysville, the birth place of mary mccloud bethune, the

founder of the american council of negro women. when i was growing up, my mother, who was a beautician, and ms. bethune, organized the national council through beauty shops. my mother thought ms. bethune was the greatest person to ever live and she made me learn everything i could about ms. bethune. later, as i labored on the staff of governor john west, back in 1971, i received a phone call. from dorothy height. i knew ms. height, she had been a longtime president of delta sigma theta sorority, the

sister sorority to my fraternity, omega psi phi. i knew her and i knew her because she'd become the national leader of the national council of negro women. she said to me that she wanted my help because she thought that south carolina being the birth place of marely -- mary mccloud bethune, it would be the place to honor her. she thought ms. bethune's portrait should be in the state house of south carolina. at that time no african-american was so honored. never been an african-american portrait placed in the state house. and i went to governor west and i told him that i thought this was something we should do. well, as you can imagine, madam speaker, this was not met with

as much collegiality as we display toward each other here on this floor. so i called ms. height to tell her that i thought this was going to be very, very difficult. she said to me, now, young man, i didn't ask for your help because i thought it was going to be easy. she said things to me that day that made me understand a lot about who and what i am. and we joined together. we covered and counseled each other. and i'm pleased to report that because of ms. height, dr. height, the portrait of mary

mccloud bethune hangs in the state house of south carolina. the first african-american so honored. others have joined us and later been amaze -- have joined us. but she blazed that trail and she did so because of dr. height. when i got elected to the congress, dr. height called again. she told me that the national council is going to put a statue here in, i believe lincoln park, here in washington. she wanted me to come and be part of that dedication. i joined her there that day and from that day on, very often, we would meet, we would talk on the phone, and i just believe

that she is very close to being as great a woman as mary mccloud bethune was. i'm pleased to be here to say a few words in honor of her and in memory of her great life and tremendous legacy and with that, i yield back, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: i'm pleased to yield marcia fudge, one of our newest members of the congress who knew and worked for, studied under, was a meantee to dorothy height -- was a mentee

to dorothy height and i yield the gentlelady such time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. fudge: thank you, madam speaker, thank you, mr. chairman. yesterday, madam speaker, a civil rights icon and humanitarian, dr. dorothy irene height, passed at the age of 98. she was my friend, my mentor, and one of my predecessors as the national president of delta sigma theta sorority. she was passionate about justice and equality. everything she did, every position she held and every policy she advocated served her life's mission, which was to eliminate barriers to success for women and blacks while inspiring the next generation. even though presidents and other world leaders sought her counsel, she always took the time to advise and encourage young women, including myself.

while we mourn her loss, i am in the sad. she lived a great life -- i am not sad. she lived a great life. we often talk about, life is not the longevity, but it is the breadth. she had a great life. we celebrate her life today a great humanitarian who leaves a legacy of strong and caring women. that is why i'm honored to introduce this resolution celebrating dr. height's life and recognizing her work. dr. height served as president of the national council of negro women for four decades, step do you think from the position in 1997. in her position with the council which by the way, connected nearly four million women worldwide, she tackled issues that affected all families, including child care for working mothers, health and nutrition, and providing adequate housing for families in need. she serves as the national president of delta sigma theta

from 1947 to 1957. widely recognized as one of the founding members of the civil rights movement, dr. height was awarded the presidential medal of freedom in 1994 by president bill clinton and in 2004, she received the congressional gold medal. dr. height fought for equal rights for both women and blacks, and was active in such causes as securing voting rights, equality employment opportunities and desegregation of public schools. marching alongside dr. martin luther king jr. she advocated women's rights in that the -- in the civil rights struggle. she advocated number ruse proms -- programs to help women achieve independence and equal rights shesms a social worker, advocate, educator, organizer, mentor and friend. she was my friend, i will miss her but my life has been better just by knowing her.

mr. chairman, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i yield sheila jackson lee, senior member of the committee, as much time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: let me thank you very much to the chairman of the judiciary committee, my colleague from texas, mr. poe for his presence and comments on the floor about dr. dorothy height, and as well, the author of the resolution. i'm very proud to have joined congresswoman fudge to be an original co-sponsor of this legislation. i come to the floor today, as

we did yesterday, for, i believe that the celebration -- for i believe the celebration of dr. height's life needs no stopping, if you will. if we continue to commemorate her throughout this week, we will not be able to account for her service and for those who may not be familiar with dr. dorothy height, i only wish that this picture was in color, so maybe as you look at this lady adorned with fabulous hat, well attired, you will remember seeing in many pictures with presidents, kings and queens, international leaders a lady who was appropriately attired with that dapper and beautiful hat. the colors i remember most are her beautiful aqua. i say that only because many times we look at women as to how they are adorned. i think that dr. height did not fail to be noticed when she

came into a room, both by her sta hewitt and her attire but certainly by her words. i would count her the most influential woman in the civil rights movement, a friend to many, one who empowered women and clearly progeny of mary mccloud bethune. what a wonderful legacy given to dr. height in her leadership of the national council of negro women for some 40 years. there are chapters throughout the nation and i am grateful tore a member of the dorothy height chapter in houston, texas. there are many, and i must remind my colleagues and those who are listening that the narme continues to be the national council of negro women, which was the name that was given by mary mccloud bethune. no one dared view that as any undermining of the dignity and purpose, reliability and of course the power of this

organization. no one ran away from the word negro. because we knew that in that word there was struggle, there was the showing of what we overcame, and to the instruction of mary mccloud bethune we knew it captured the embowerment of women but also spoke to the education of our children. dr. dorothy height was in the center point of that and i had the privilege of coming here to the united states congress and being able to look up to dr. height as i got to know her even before my congressional duties. what a pleasure to be able to join her at her annual events in the national down soifl political women, national council of black political women, to deal with her seeking empowerment for women and as well to be able to join with betty shabez and dr. coretta

scott king. what a powerful group of women whose history parallel eached other but in essence, they were sisters. i rise today to be able to acknowledge this woman who came easily to the national congress and now -- and to be able to thank her. when we were looking to pass legislation to include so journer truth as the only -- sojourner truth as the only standing figure now of an african-american woom in this united states congress, this great heroine, this great woman added her leverage, her power and her support in sisterhood to ensure we place sojourner truth, a suffragette and abolitionist here. . let it be known we do recommit ourselves to the universal access to education for all

children. for the education of america's children, for reminding us that haiti's children now suffering in the wane of an earthquake must be provided education. and to be reminded that there is no shame in being an agitator and provock tour and someone who -- provock tore and someone who vites -- fights. and the women and men and the many different rainbow colors of these united states and around the world people will be indebted to you for your common touch, but for your spirit and, yes, for saving so many of us. may god bless your soul. may you rest in peace as we celebrate over these days your life. god bless you, dr. dorothy height. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 17 minutes remaining. the gentleman from michigan has 5 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: i continue to

reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i'm delighted to recognize our former state senator, former ambassador, and now a member of congress who has served here with such distinction, diane watson, hollywood, california. i yield her one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute. ms. watson: thank you so much. madam speaker, i come to contribute and to continue to contribute to a woman that really was the matriarch of the american civil rights movement. and i want you to know her

crusade for racial justice and gender equality spanned more than six decades. this is a fact you need to know. it was at age 19 that mrs. mccloud saw the leadership, the skill, and the brilliance of dorothy height. she was 19 years old when mary mccloud bethune passed the mantle of leadership over to her and she held it high and she served all people well. and i just want you to know i found out with a little research that my grandmother went to school with mary mccloud bethune and she used to tell us about her when we were 3 years old, my sister and i. and so it was many, many, many decades ago that the leadership

was struck and we stand on her shoulders. thank you so much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: madam speaker, i yield to mr. conyers additional 10 minutes and ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: thank you. i want to thank judge poe for his generosity. at this time i'm going to yield donna edwards of maryland is recognized for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. ms. edwards: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. i rise today to mourn and to join our nation in mourning dr. dorothy height. she was an american icon who dedicated her life to racial justice and gender equality. and at a time when women and

african-americans were regarded as second class citizens, this strong, powerful, beautiful african-american woman stood up for us. and she strove to change that and rose to become a key figure in the civil rights movement. meeting with first ladies and presidents and heads of state. i want to step back for a minute because i look back fondly to the time when i first met dr. height and it was more than 20 years ago as a young advocate working on domestic violence. it was through dr. height's voice and her leadership and her kindness and generosity of intellect and spirit that enabled me to become a really strong advocate for domestic violence and to speak on behalf of the needs of african-american women and women of color. in a feminist movement that was not always opened to those kind of voices, and it was really dr. height who enabled us to meet those challenges with our other feminist colleagues. i regard dr. height as a strong woman of color in the civil

rights movement, but also a really strong feminist. and a committed feminist. and just a few weeks ago, i greeted dr. height when she was out in my congressional district with her beloved deltas. and she was feeling as strong and healthy then and healthy of spirit and mind and intellect as she always had been. so with that i rise to remember her, to value her, and as a novice political leader to know that when it really counted dr. height was on my side, too. thank you. with that i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: madam speaker, it's my distinct honor to recognize our speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman, the speaker of the

house, is recognized. the speaker: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank the chairman for yielding and give us this opportunity to honor the life, legacy, and contributions of a godmother of the civil rights movement and a champion of social justice, dr. dorothy height. her loss is felt by all of us who knew her, respected her, and followed in her footsteps. but it's also felt by people who may never know her name but for whom she worked, for whom she led, and for whom she made a difference. the nation mourns the passing of this giant of american history and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and loved ones of this stroor woman. -- extraordinary woman. many women are heirs to the work, passion, and legacy of dorothy height. from her early days as an activist, she fought for equality under the law for every american.

recognizing that the battle for civil rights extended to african-americans, women, and anyone denied the chance to succeed because of who they are. for four decades she stood at the helm of the national council of negro women, continuing the struggle for an america that lives up to the ideals of liberty and opportunity for all. in every fight dorothy height turned the tied of history toward progress. -- tide of history toward progress. because of what she achieved schools are no longer separate and unequal, and the voting booth is open to all striving to participate in our democracy. because of what she did a steady job and decent home were not limited to a person based on their background, color of their skin, or means. today we live in america dorothy height helped to build. a nation defined by equality, shaped by civil rights, and driven by the pursuit of justice for all. the pledge we take every day, liberty and justice for all.

that's what dorothy height was about. i was very proud to be joined president bush and the house and senate, democrats and republicans, in 2004 when we presented the congressional gold medal, the highest civilian honor congress can bestow, on dorothy height. at that time president george w. bush said, in the presence of dorothy height you realize you are in the presence of grace, but you've got to realize that behind that grace there's a will of steel and absolute determination. the president went on to remind us all of how dorothy height, and he quoted from her -- later he quoted from her book, but then he went on to say how dorothy height always stressed the importance of institutions closest to us, our families, our churches, and our neighborhoods.

he said, she understands that those institutions are important in shaping the character of an individual, and therefore the character of our nation. president bush even, the president of the united states, imagine, even quoted dorothy height's memoir where she wrote, quote, it is in the neighborhood and communities where the world begins. that is where children grow and families are developed. where people exercise the power to change their lives. the president of the united states quoting dorothy height as we presented her with a congressional gold medal. important to note that with all of those honors it was also a pleasure for us to hear from dr. alexis herman, she would be secretary of labor and secretary herman very, very close personally, professionally, in

every day to dorothy height and -- in every way to dorothy height. and at that time she sang her praises, what she did to advance women and young girls and the rest, but she also talked about how she made the best sweet potato pie. so personally, professionally, patriotically dorothy height was all systems go. i have been passed a note because i was asking about a film i recently saw on tv that i hope can be available now. again it is called "the life and surprising times of dorothy height." it is an inspirational presentation of the life of a person, a person who was instilled by her own mother with the idea she could do whatever she set out to do and had a responsibility to do so. over a lifetime, over dorothy height's lifetime, human rights

and equality, dorothy right advocated on behalf 6 our neighborhoods -- of our neighborhoods and community. she stood tall for our children and families. she truly exercised her talent to change lives. as we state in our resolution today, dorothy height was a tenacious civil rights activist, social worker, advocate, educator, and organizer in the quest for equality. i join my colleague, congresswoman edwards, in focusing on that equality for women as well. i last saw dorothy height about a month ago at the 70th birthday party for john lewis, our colleague. there she sat as dignified as a queen reigning over the proceedings, one who had seen it all, seen the struggle, seen the change, and now recognized then

by the congress of the united states and now in her passing by the entire nation. our country is better off because of dorothy height's commitment, compassion, grace, and patriotism. we will miss her tenacity and zeal in the fight for equality. our nation's heritage and hope. will each take inspiration from the story of progress and her countless victories for the american people. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: i'm pleased to recognize my friend and colleague from michigan, carolyn cheeks kilpatrick, distinguished member of the appropriations committee and activist in her own right, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized for one minute. ms. kilpatrick: thank you, madam speaker.

thank you, mr. chairman. i thank the gentleman for yielding us additional time. we appreciate it. i have known dorothy height, the honorable dorothy irene height, for many years. this last weekend several of us went to bennett college for women in greensboro, north carolina. i was a speaker at the height for excellence luncheon scholarship luncheon for the young women that go to that university. quite an honor it was for us to pay homage to dr. height, quiet, courageous, just imagine 70 years ago when she stepped out as a woman working with leaders to speak, to give, to organize, and to teach. here we are in 2010 wanting to be like dorothy irene height. i want to honor former secretary alexis herman who served as her adopted daughter and with her for all these years as we serve here in washington. also to dr. barbara skinner who worked tirelessly and surrounded

dr. height in prayer for the last three weeks, 24 hours a day. thank you, my sisters. let us rise up and have the strength that dr. height showed each of us. 30 seconds? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is yielded another 30 seconds. ms. kilpatrick: thank you very much. dr. height, just know you are in all of us. that as we go forward as women, as congresswomen, mothers, as we brave young children to be future dr. heights, just know the height of excellence will remain in each of us. rest in peace our dear beloved mother. join rosa parks, harriet tubman, and others who have gone before. thank you very much. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. poe: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: i'm pleased to

recognize our colleague gwen moore from wisconsin. i yield her one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is yielded one minute. ms. moore: dr. dorothy height gave not only her height but her long-term breadth and depth and length of service to the civil rights movement, to gender equality. mother to no children, wife to no one, she was queen mother and nurturer and lover of the civil rights movement through seven decades of advocacy. although she was a queen, she treated each one she encountered with equity and it was my privilege to bow down to her each time i encountered her. thank god for the life of dr. dorothy height. thank god for her life and legacy and may her life be more than a memory, but a compelling

force to press on for the unfinished work of the civil rights and gender equality movement. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. poe: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: i'm pleased to recognize the chair of the congressional black caucus, the distinguished gentlelady from oakland, california, barbara lee, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. lee: thank you very much. i want to thank the gentleman from michigan for yielding and for your leadership and also just say, as we think about about and honor and mourn, yes, and celebrate her life, congressman john conyers, one of the great civil rights leaders, dr. height, one of our greatest civil rights leaders a woman, who often times with the

great men of the civil rights movement had to make sure that a woman's voice, an african-american woman's voice, was heard. dr. height wore many hats, literally and figuratively. i'm going to miss her so much. a couple of months ago she insisted that i participate with the national council of negro women with their annual conference in maryland. dr. height, of course, knows the schedule here on the hill and she said just come out for the breakfast. i said, ok, dr. height. goit there maybe 7:00 in the morning. there she was to greet me. may i have an adigal 30 seconds, mr. chairman? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california has an additional 30 seconds. ms. lee: she was there to greet me at 7:00 a.m. dr. height, you knew you were in the presence of greatness when you were with dr. height. whenever we called on dr. height, she was there to support our efforts.

just recently, for example, she joined the congressional black caucus in our efforts here on the hill to support the 2010 census. her passion was an inspiration to all of us here in congress. hard to imagine that in the 1930's, she provided a resistance movement in her efforts to desegregate the ywca. we're going to deeply miss her he love her and we celebrate her life and mourn her death. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognize plsmed poe: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i yield to judge butterfield two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mr. butterfield: thank you, madam speaker. let me thank the chairman my good friend, mr. conyers for yielding the time. mr. conyers, i didn't want our

female colleagues to have a monopoly on the floor today plus i wanted to come down and say a few words about dr. dorothy height. madam speaker, i had the privilege of knowing dr. height for at least 50 years. she and my mother were very good friends as well as dr. mary mccloud bethune and they were all active participants in the national council of negro women. in the early 1950's, i would come to washington, d.c. with my mother to attend those meetings and it was dorothy height and mary bethune who opened up the willard hotel for the women to have their convention. at that time, hotels in d.c. were segregated abit was dr. height who helped open up the willard hotel for that purpose. at that time, she was helping to build the organization on behalf of dr. bethune, who was beginning to fail. when i came to congress six years ago, i brought where with me a picture taken in 1942 of the organization and i went and presented to it dr. height.

she immediately recognized the picture and told me it was taken in front of the department of labor in 1942. i asked her where she was in the picture. dr. height said, well, honey, i was inside doing the work of the organization while the members were taking the picture. thank you for the time, mr. conyers. this was an a lifetime of service to the country and the african-american people. i want to thank her for her service to quality, -- to equality, fairness and inclusion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognize plsmed conyers: madam speaker, i'm delighted to yield to dr. don that christensen of the virgin islands one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands is recognized for one minute. mrs. christensen: i rise with my colleagues in support of this resolution honoring dr. dorothy irene heights, the god

mother of the women's movement a leader in the fight for equality and justice for all americans. one of the civil rights movement's greatest pioneer a true drum major for justice to the very end. it is because of her unwavering dedication, dogged determination and valuable leadership that many of us stand proudly here today. she motivated and inspired men and women of all creeds and colors here and the world over. our entire nation stands with us to commemorate the passing of our beloved leader. while we mourn her loss, we joyously celebrate her life and her rich legacy. she's passed the torch to those of us who remain. let us carry it with pride. my family, my staff and the people of the virgin islands join me in extending our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. poe: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is

recognized. mr. coon yers: madam speaker, i will yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has five minutes remaining. mr. conyers: the recitations of many of the members in memory of dorothy height has been marked by the personal knowledge and their own intimate relationship with her and i'm no different from the rest. i knew and worked with her on a regular basis. she was attending all the functions up until recently. i could see her anywhere in washington that there was a civil rights event or women's event, a national event.

and so it was good to see her. sure she was slowing down but most of us are anyway. so i appreciated that she was as stylish as has been referred to as always. she always had that spirit and it was with great pleasure that i remember through the many occasions starting from our first public meeting at the march on washington in 1963. she, dr. martin luther king jr., and rosa parks were very

important figures as i participated in the struggle that would lead to the cullmy nation of the great civil roog -- to the cullmy nation of the great civil rights movement in american history. it's with fondness i remember her activity, her friendship, her helpfulness and i think that there may be some kind of national commemoration for her that might be appropriate now that we've reviewed all the medals, commendations, and awards that she's received thus far. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognize. mr. poe: i reserve the balance of my time the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: i'm pleased now to

recognize the majority leader of the house, the great steny hoyer for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: i thank the chairman for yielding. i want to thank chairman conyers for his extraordinary leadership on behalf of the rights of all peoples. his role in the civil rights movement has been extraordinary and continues to this date. i rise on behalf of this resolution and in memory of an extraordinary woman. i had the privilege of knowing dorothy height for some four decades. that does not mean i saw her regularly during those four decades, but i saw her frequently during those four decades. and she always exuded the positive, constructive approach she took to solving problems, bringing people together. the historian taylor branch

rightly called dr. heights brothers and sisters in the civil rights movement, and i quote, the modern founders of democracy. today we honor the legacy that she leaves behind. what a wonderful, long, productive, constructive, important life we honor in dorothy height. dorothy height was an extraordinarily gracious human being. i never failed to leave her side in meeting her where i did not feel better. feel better about the relationships that i had with her, but that she had with others, as i saw her interface with others in the room and the crowd, in the meeting. dorothy height was and is a giant. "the washington post" had on its front page today a very

large picture of dorothy height. it was appropriate that in the nation's capital, dorothy height would be given such prominence. not for her death but for the life that she lived, the contributions she made. we are all better for dorothy height's life. we are all freer for dorothy height's life. we were lifted as a society by dorothy height and those with whom she worked from a segregated society where the perception was that some americans were not equal to other americans. that was contrary to the premise articulated by thomas jefferson, but not lived out by thomas jefferson and our founding fathers. the premise was accurate, but their practice was not. martin luther king jr. and dorothy height and john conyers and john lewis who serves with

us, jim clyburn, our whip, and so many others called america's attention to the fact that it was not living out the reality of its promise. not just to african-americans, but to all americans. dorothy height showed extraordinary courage and conviction in the face of bigotry and discrimination and like so many in this body who faced bigotry and discrimination, they did not allow that to poison their soul. they did not allow that to diminish their relationship even with those who they saw as oppressors. to that extent, the above the conduct directed at them, to change that conduct by love and positive encombagement.

dorothy height is a perfect example -- engagement. dorothy height is a perfect example. young and old participating in this society which unfortunately too often we see today falls into anger and competition rather than civility and discussion. i'm wore owed about the anger that i see in -- i'm worried about the anger that i see in society today. in some respects not justified at the level that we find it. yes, there's room for disagreement. but dorothy height shows us that notwithstanding the fact that there may be disagreement, notwithstanding the fact that there may be people who do not treat us as we would want to be treated, that the way to solve that is to do so constructively, civilly with debate that states the facts and the truth but does not

evolve into hate and division. so i'm pleased to join my colleague, john conyers. i came to congress some 30 years ago. we talked about making martin luther king jr.'s birthday a holiday, not a holiday to play but a holiday to recognize the contributions made then and the work that needs to be made now. john conyers had me out in front of the capitol on january 15 or close to that time every year, and i was so proud to stand with him and say to america, let us recognize those who as taylor branch has said are the modern founders of democracy. thank you, mr. chairman, for your leadership. thank you for bringing this resolution to the floor to recognize an extraordinary, wonderful, lovely person whose spirit enriched us all and

enriched our country, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from illinois, mrs. biggert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mrs. biggert: thank you. i thank the gentleman from for yielding. i had to come down to the floor just to support this resolution. i served as the co-chair of the 107th women's caucus, along with juanita mill der mcdonald. as -- millen der mcdonald. the first name that appeared on our list was dr. dorothy height. and we had that event over in one of the hotels near the hill. and it was the most interesting

thing i had been to. dorothy height was in her hat, as she always wore her hat. we all arrived in our hats and i still have that hat hanging on my coat hangar here in washington, and every time i see it i think of her. here is a person who had such dramatic effect on our country, such a strong personality, but everything she did was with great -- graciousness and really think of the times that she saw as her 98 years and what transpired in this country and i think that juanita millender-mcdonald would have been the first one down here, too, if she had not also passed on. so that was a great year and it started off with a great event to have this wonderful person, dorothy height, be the speaker at our first event. she did that with such grace,

such gentleness and yet she always was very strong on her beliefs and how she -- i would call her a change agent but did so with the civility that we don't often see. almost the white glove mentality and the hats and the type of person she was. i just wanted to come down and say i really support that resolution and thank you for doing it. and i would yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: madam speaker, we have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i'm prepared to close, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i want to once again voice my support of this resolution. dr. height died at 88 and most

person influtional in my life was my grandmother who lived to her late 90's as well. chairman conyers would like to know that she was a roosevelt democrat, never forgive me for being a republican. but once we got past that, she made a lot of comments that influenced me and made a lot of statements that were true then and they're true now. she said that there was nothing more powerful than a woman that has made up her mind. i think that definition fits dr. dorothy height. she made up her mind about two issues, civil rights and the equality of women in our society. so today we honor her. i support this resolution. i urge its adoption. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i'd like to close by thanking all

the presenters, particularly singling out my dear friend on the judiciary committee, judge poe, who's done a very good job here. it occurred to me that dorothy height has already received so many awards, commendations, citations during her lifetime that if the distinguished president of the united states were to ask us what further could be done, i'd recommend that there be some kind of event, bipartisan obviously, but one that draws in americans who may not have participated

in the struggles and the experiences that distinguished dorothy height's long career. and that might be a wonderful way for her to be remembered as she no doubt will in the course of history as more and more historical books are written about her contribution going all the way back to the 1930's. and i'm happy to close this

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] we really have to get this right. because if we don't, we could stifle innovation, the free market, and cause more harm than good. >> tightening regulations on wall street, see the process unfold, with congress qual leaders, and other experts. search it, watch it, clip it and share it. every program since 1987, new on line. >> thomas pers, head of the justice department civil rights division appeared and discussed various cases the department is pursuing. senator ben carden of maryland is the acting chair for this hearing. this lasts one hour, 25 minutes. >> the judiciary commitl

come to order. today's hearing will be an oversight hearing for the civil rights division for the department of justice. i want to change the chairman for giving me the opportunity to chair today hearing. it's always a pleasure to have my fellow marylander with us, tom per ezz, who heads up the civil rights division. before we get started, i want to acknowledge that since this deals with the civil rights division, i think it's appropriate to acknowledge the great loss of one of our great civil rights leaders, gortsdzy height who passed away. she was the long-time chairman of the national council of negro women, was a strong fighter for equal justice based on gender and race, and her leadership was critically important during the civil rights movement with her

insistance for racial justice and gender equality. the saying that i think i will always remember about dorttedsy height was if times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times. and i think her legacy will stick with us as we meet the current challenges for equality in america. current challenges for equality in america. for more than 50 years, the civil rights division has been charged with protecting americans against discrimination throughout our society. the vision is our nation's -- the division is our nation's moral compass. it is the unfinished business of the nation and there is much work to be done. whether in employment, education, housing, voting, personal liberties, the civil rights division must take action and not stay on the sidelines against those who violate our law. they have a proud tradition of fighting to enforce anti- discriminationç laws in the ars of voting rights, civil rights,

housing, elections, and he crimes. during the last administration, the division had an alarming lack of civil rights enforcement and a multitude of politicization. so much that their own offices began independent investigations of the political appointees at the department of justice. more evidence of corruption and lack of enforcement came to the surface. between 2001 and 2006, they failed to file any cases on çbehalf of error -- on behalf f african-american voters. there was just one case filed for minority bovote dilution. they played no role in holding a lender's accountable for discrimination. disability lawsuits declined by 50% under the last administration. only 10 hate crimes are prosecuted -- the lowest number in more than a decade. by the way, there is evidence

that there was a rise in activity during that time. there is a lot to be done to restore its role in protecting civil rights. when president obama nominated tom perez to be assistant attorney general, i was confident that he would restore the moral -- morale in the division, because he came from the division. tampere's -- tom perez served as a criminal attorney for 10 years. he moved up the ladder as a trial attorney and then as deputy assistant general for civil rights. he knows the importance of setting aside political and ideological affiliations when hiring. he knows from firsthand experience the need to ensure protection for those who been discriminated against. for these reasons as well as his leadership under attorney general holder and president obama, i was confident that the division would return to its

roots and provide a voice for the voiceless. he knows what civil-rights attorneys should do. the ministers and has taken action. i look forward to hearing about the -- the administration has taken action. i look forward to hearing about this. what types of cases have been initiated within the housing and civil enforcement sections, the criminal section, the voting section, the employment section, and a disability section? that is the purpose for the hearing today. we look forward to a dialogue with the division chief. we're happy to carry out our responsibility of a oversight -- of oversight. let me turn it over to jeff sessions. >> thank you for acknowledging dorothy i. height. what a history she has in

advocating for civil rights in america. this division is important. properly exercise, it provides tremendous benefit to american citizens. i think that chairman -- i think that the chairman is right to recognize that politics is an important in the department. we need to be concerned. one purpose i believe of this hearing is to make sure that civil rights division is exercising its authority to shield and protect individuals from discrimination, but not as a sword for the inappropriate claims to promote political agendas. you know, civil rights principles need to be professionally and allies.

with regard to the housing collapse, -- need to be professionally analyzed. with regard to the housing collapse, there was pressure to make loans to individuals in ways that demonstrated clearly that there was no housing prejudice could well have resulted in institutions making bad loans that they really should not have made. the threats and pressures can cause some of that. i think that was part of the housing collapse. on election day, november, 2008, members of the new black panther party intimidated voters in a precinct in philadelphia. one member wielded by a knife. it was described as, "the most blatant form of voter intimidation," which she had ever seen, even during the

crisis a century before. despite his characterization and direct evidence of guilt that appeared, the department of justice decided to not fully pursue every avenue to ensure that the guilty parties did not disenfranchise other voters in the future. in fact, one of the intimidators recently worked at another voting precinct. the united states commission on civil rights has many of the same goals as the civil rights division, and they are concerned about this matter. a majority of commissioners are not satisfied that the department of justice has fully pursued every avenue on behalf of the voters to make sure that these actions do not strike again in philadelphia or elsewhere. but instead of coordinating with the commission, the justice

department has put up a steel barrier in attempting to thwart any effort the commission has raised about this case. this does not bode well for the administration that has promised to be open and transparent, it seems to me. i am concerned that this might be producing some harmful results for the last several months, -- harmful results. for the last several months, we have gotten many phone calls about the abuses of a.c.o.r.n. it is an organization that was reported that the administration concluded a criminal investigation into voter fraud complaints. in 2008, at least two crew individuals file complaints can produce documents demonstrating that -- two individuals filed complaints and produced

documents demonstrating that they were registering voters fraudulently. they have let a.cor. -- a.c.o.r.n. off the hook, even though questionable, hiring and training -- even the questionable hiring and training practices occurred. they move forward with -- does that mean they moved forward with activities that were illegal? should not more be done about that? in north carolina, some voters decided to do away with party affiliations in local elections, city elections. it is a majority african- american community. according to an article in the washington times -- "the

washington times that gave the administration overruled -- "washington times" the administration overruled them. she said the following, "voting rights act is supposed to protect against situations when black voters are locked out because of racism. there is no entitlement to elect the candidate they prefer on the assumption that all black voters preferred democratic candidates." i know we have heard a lot of rhetoric about the division being back open for business and the voting booths being protected once again. i am concerned about some of these actions and whether or not the administration has any plans to enforce section 8 of the

voter bill. that requires debt and to book a votes -- dead and duplicate voters to be removed from the rolls. i am concerned about some of the -- removed from the roles. i am concerned about some of the disparate hearings we heard about during the sotomayor confirmation. mr. chairman, i would note that, after this financial crisis lawsuit, the administration is planning to file a disparate impact lawsuits because the practices -- filed disparate

impact lawsuits because the practices have a disproportionate results. the doj is beginning a major campaign against banks and mortgage brokers suspected of discriminating against minority applicants in lending. some critics have contended that the government rules punishing banks -- pushing banks to lend to minorities and low-income borrowers could treated to the financial meltdown -- contributed to the financial meltdown. we need to understand with clarity just howwo#d that people are not discriminated against. it is another to pressure banks to make loans that are not sound. that is not good for the borrow >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator sessions. , senator sessions. we will hear from the assistant attorney general of tom perez.

-- assistant attorney general tom perez. >> it is always greatxd to be he in front of someone who parenthetically has one of the most remarkable lives in america -- wives in america as well. >> i am glad you put that in the record. >> i appreciate the respect accorded me, dating back to 1989, when i was in mobile, alabama, in a case that use your credit -- in a case that you supported 100% of the way. i appreciate your acknowledgement of dr. height. it has been a sad week for the civil rights division. what today is equal pay day, and when that act was signed in 1963 by president kennedy, who was standing next to him?

dorothy i. height, our rules of the rights icon -- a real civil rights icon. i had three wonderful days meeting with civil rights leaders. i met an old colleague of mine that i had prosecuted the case with in 1991, when i was a career civil servant. it was great to get reacquainted. i had one of the best meals i have ever had in birmingham that evening. good vittles -- as we say in the business. >> i would say how proud i am a birmingham for its principled and sincere effort to confront its past, where racial discrimination was far too prevalent. much of it was very, very destructive and damaging to that whole city.

it has confronted its past in an honest and forthright way. i think other cities can learn from what birmingham has done. >> i look forward to bring my children there into the museum in greensboro, which i had the privilege of participating in the grand opening for. it is remarkable to be part of our nation's history. the attorney general has called our division the crown jewel of the apartment of justice. the president singled out that civil-rights division in his state of the union. you have been very supportive of our budget request. we're very grateful. that enables us to increase our efforts in a number of ways. my first party was to take immediate steps to restore trust between career staff and political leadership, to restore public confidence come into the politicize decision making. we worked quickly to return -- to restore public confidence, and to depoliticize decision-

making. we worked quickly to return to the hands of career people, hiring a bumper crop of 16 new law graduates who will start this summer and fall. we have made it easier for lawyers to do their jobs by elevating a wide range of needless bureaucratic obstacles that or in their way. we restore communication between career and non-career staff. -- we have restored communication between iran and non-career staff. i will always consider myself -- between career and non-career staff. i will always consider myself an attorney. we have an open to hearing what policies or, s were. we may not always agree, but

every voice will be heard. we encourage our lawyers, rather than forbidding them to conduct aggressive outreach to key stakeholders and communities across this country. stepped-up enforcement across the board. we're focused not on quantity, -- we have a step up enforcement across the board. we're not focused on quantity, but on quality. i want to give you some highlights. in the wake of the national housing crisis, the enforcement of the fair housing and their lending protections are among our top priorities. working with the president's financial fraud enforcement task force, which established a dedicated fair lending unit and hired a special counsel for fair lending. we have 39 open matters in that unit. we announced a landmark settlement last month with two subsidiaries of aig to resolve allegations of discrimination against african that american borrowers --

against african american borrowers who were being subjected to excessive fees. we've sent a clear statement that lenders must take steps to ensure that brokers with whom they partner are not engaged in discrimination. 2500 african-american borrowers who were subjected to an necessarily excessive fees will receive relief in the context of the settlement. in california, we reached the largest settlement ever in a case involving rental discrimination. meanwhile, as president obama said in the state of the union, we are once again working to combat all forms of employment discrimination. of in -- we have reinvigorated our employment litigation section. in a significant case against the new york fire department for hiring discrimination, the trial judge granted summary judgment to the united states, after an

explicit decision where he discussed how bthat did not apply to the fact of this particular case pretty down so much evidence of difficulty -- particular case. he found so much difficulty that he ruled that it constituted evidence of intentional discrimination, not disparate impact. with roundup our enforcement of the uniformed services employment and reemployment -- we have ramped up our enforcement of the uniformed services employment and reemployment act. in addition, just last week, we closed an investigation of the state of oregon regarding a law dating back to 1923 that banned public schoolteachers from wearing religious clothing. we worked heavily on that case because we felt it was discriminatory. the governor signed a bill repealing the law and we were able to settle the case. in the education context, look

no further than the front page of today's newspaper to see the work we're doing in that section. regrettably and very troubling, we continue to see a need to combat the resegregation of schools, to ensure that all students have equal access to quality education. one is a city school district case is a case that is an outgrowth -- one of mississippi -- one mississippi school district case is a case that is an outgrowth of an old case. there are "white schools" and "black schoolsç." the segregation of the schools was happening again. to make matters worse, in the predominantly african-american schools, classrooms were being segregated by race, so that the remaining non-minority students anwere being segregated.

it was wrong and illegal. we attempted to settle the case with the school district. we were forced to go to court. the court ordered the relief that is noted in the paper today. i wish i could say that was the only case of this nature. in louisiana, we had a case involving a school district where 87% -- which was 87% african-american. they have to go high schools -- two high schools. in the school district that has 100% african-american students, there were no ap class is offered and by the gifted and talented horses. in the other school-- and five gifted and talented courses. this was not fair and we reach a settlement. -- we reached a settlement.

in criminal enforcement, the prosecution of the crimes remains a top priority. we're working to implement the hate crimes prevention after 2009, turning lawyers, law enforcement officers, state and local, across theç country. we've seen an increase in the number of hate crimes cases we have brought. we announced the indictment of the five individuals, including three police officers, on charges related to the fatal, racially-motivated beating of a latino immigrant. there was a cover-up of the incident by three members of the police department. it was a very troubling incident. i have great respect for law enforcement officers and the work that they do. when they crossed the line, they must be held accountable for their actions. in addition, we have a number of cases pending against the new orleans police department, in one case involving police- involved fatal shootings following hurricane rita.

-- hurricane katrina. at the most recent plea hearing, the district judge said the following, after our attorney read the underlying facts into the record, "i do not think you can listen to that account with that -- without being sickened by the raw brutality of the shooting and the craven lawlessness of the cover-up." we will continue our work in new orleans. on the voting front, we are actively preparing for the upcoming round of critics as being -- of redistricting. we will be prepared. we're continuing the critical work of protecting the rights of minorities to access the ballot, while stepping up our enforcement of section 2. we are paring guidance on section 7, section 8, so that states and others understand their obligations in that area.

there are initiatives underway to ensure compliance with critical provisions, requiring that eligible voters be able to register at state social service agencies. will expand our inquiries -- we will expand our increasquiries. we want motor voter to be available to state-funded institutions of higher education. we have verbose -- a robust act as we prepare for the 20th anniversary of being a.d.a. we've stepped up efforts to prevent the unnecessary institutional as asian of people with disabilities, including significant -- and since june the -- unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities.

there was a 14-year-old girl in an institution in georgia. she did not need to be there. she a treatment for her condition pared one side effect was constipation -- she had treatment for her condition. one side effect was come -- one side effect was as a paconstipa. she literally imploded and died. i cannot sleep that night when i think about things like that happening across this country. we will continue to work on efforts to make sure that institutions are safe and that only people who should be there are there. in short, the civil rights division is open for business. we're using all the tools in our arsenal, including litigation, education and outreach, and technical assistance.

for new partnerships with state and local partnerships -- we have new partnerships with state and local law enforcement. we discussed many issues with them. with numerous partnerships with federal partnerships. as senator kennedy said, "civil rights remains the unfinished business of america where i wish i could be the maytag repairman waiting for the -- as senator kennedy said, "civil rights remains the unfinished business of america." i wish i could be the maytag repair man waiting for the phone call, but we're more like toyota. >> i appreciate you being here. i very much acknowledge the great results on recruitment.

that is a clear sign that the right climate has returned to the civil rights division. we have heard and you have told us about the regular meetings between the career attorneys and the political appointments, so that you have a seamless system, taking the best advice from the career attorneys. we very much appreciate that and applaud your efforts in that regard. i also appreciate that you started with fair lending appeared in these economic times, -- i also appreciate that he started with their lending. -- i also appreciate that you started with fair lending. we did not want to create a climate that is irresponsible -- ss politic i ss politicizati you go back to before world war ii where we had housing programs administered by f.h.a. and the color coding was adapted in

red-lining which had at least tried to be justified based pop economic realities but what it did is hold down a class of people. the net result was that wealth accumulation, which many times was based upon the ability to own a hoeme and get the equity out of that home, was denied to minority populations in our country. statistics showed that by 1980, when the g.i. bill mortgages matured the net worth of white families was close to $40,000 compared to black households was a little over $3,000. that has its own rippling effect as we look for businesses to develop the first source of capital is the wealth accumulated within your own community and if you don't have wealth accumulations it holds down business growth an holds down the whole economy.

the same types of issues could be mentioned in other areas. predatory lending occurred during this period. there were black families in maryland that were targeted in minority communities that could have gotten traditional loans but instead were steered by brokers into more expensive types of financing and ultimately fountain themselves in a situation that they could not get out of. themselve ituation they could not get out of. i want to applaud you for focusing on the lending issue, setting up a separate unit. the lending discriminations in this country as a profound effect -- has a profound effect. i want to encourage you to continue. i want to give you more time to talk about what you are doing

about the predatory lending practices to make sure that all communities in our country have equal access to credit. >> thank you for that question and for your longstanding support of these efforts to curb predatory lending. i had the privilege of serving as governor o'malley's point person for foreclosure prevention. i met with families who work hours and days within losing their homes. -- who were hours and days within losing their homes. consumer protection and preserving a sound lending climate go hand in hand. we sometimes live in an unnecessarily binary universe. we say you can either do one or the other pretty we can and must do both -- we say you can either

do one or the other. we can and must do both. the mortgage brokers gave me an award for the work we did. when you do not have sound consumer protections, that can undermine the system at large. the work we're doing builds on that. the data is clear. the foreclosure crisis has touched virtually every community in this country, but disproportionately touching communities of color, particularly african-americans and latinos. 34% of the foreclosure activity was in a predominantly african- american suburb in the state of maryland. we've seen in the aig case that the brokers were understood -- that they understood they could

take advantage of african- american borrowers. it is a very overt form of bigotry. lending discrimination is discrimination with a smile. they're happy to be in a home. they do not realize that the 8% interest rate is far worse than what they were eligible for. i truly believe that the work we're doing on the president's financial fraud task force, the partnerships we have -- i will be with the attorney-general from illinois tomorrow. those partnerships are critical. we have seen, regrettably, that this issue has a very, very strong civil rights dimension. it calls for us to use the tools

in our arsenal -- but there housing act and the equal credit opportunity act -- the fair housing act and the equal credit opportunity act. >> i want to talk about the implementation of two acts. you noted in your opening comments about pieces that have been -- cases that have been filed by your division. that bill was passed for two purposes -- to make it clear that the federal government would be available to deal with those activities and also to enhance the partnership between federal and local governments. could you share with us what your division is doing in working with the local prosecutor to enhance their capacity to deal with this? >> that is a great question. i was in birmingham the week

before last with a number of key stakeholders. we had a very robust session with local law enforcement. i do not measure success of that act by the number of federal prosecutions that are brought. i measure it by the number of cases we can bring. in every case i do, i ask what is in the best interests of the case. church arsons -- wants to solve the case, it was in the best interest to give it to the local authorities so they could prosecute it faster. some hate crimes cases are easier to give to local authorities. laramie, wyoming, almost went bankrupt in the prosecution of matthew shepard because it was a small community. the average d.a. office has something like nine employees. we are now a resource for local law enforcement. that is why i travel the country to deliver that message and work with colleagues, including

nonprofit partners. what are your first impressions on the job, mr. chairman? one of my first impressions is, the more things change, the more they stay the same period in south carolina, there will be the sentencing in a eight -- the more they stay the same. in south carolina, there will be the sentencing in the hate crimes case assaulted in of hate crimes case -- there will be a sentencing in a hate crimes case. they attacked him with a chainsaw. hthey pled guilty. i thought the cancer of the soul was behind us, but it continues to rear its ugly head.

he crimes are on the rise. this bill is a critical tool -- hate crimes are on the rise. this bill is a critical tool. we look forward to empower and people to do what needs to be done to combat a crimes -- and powering -- empowering people to do what needs to be done to combat hate crimes. >> a couple of years ago, some of our republican colleagues raise the issue of access to voting by our military -- raised the issue of access to voting by our military. we took steps to make sure they could participate in local elections. there could be a problem with states that have late primaries, as to how they comply with time limits. we need to make sure our military are fully empowered

-- that all voters are fully empowered during the 2010 elections. i want to remind the committee about the type of innovative deception that seems to come about every election. how we seem mysterious elections appear in every community telling them that the election will change from tuesday to wednesday. or people with outstanding parking tickets who are told not to show up for the election. it is aimed at a segment of voters who are likely to be intimidated by that use of material. i think we all condemn and that. -- condemned that. this should be a national priority, to make sure it is clear that we have the capacity of the federal government to support our states.

we need to make it abundantly obvious that people who participate in this will be held accountable and that it should have no place in american elections. what are you doing in preparation for the 2010 elections? >> i completely agree with what you said. we're working hard to implement the voting act, and to ensure that oversees military can vote in the upcoming primaries -- overseas military can vote in the upcoming primaries. i share your concerns about voter intimidation. i have the literature from prince georges county that i suspect you also have. >> i keep it as a constant reminder. >> i have seen those and we will continue to be very vigilant in

the prosecution of all forms of voter intimidation. we share that responsibility with the criminal division. we coordinate closely with the criminal division. we have jurisdiction over intimidation that has a civil rights dimension. they have jurisdiction over a broader array of statutes. we continue to ensure that is a top priority. >> my request is that if you believe you needed stronger tools -- believe you need startles, let us know. president obama -- believe you need stronger tools, let us know. >> i will. >> senator sessions. >> i like your enthusiasm and experience. i like the idea that, i think i hear you say that you work

closely with your prosecutors to get involved in the cases yourself. you are responsible to answer and make decisions and set a good policy for the department. i am a strong believer that many people are discriminated against and unfairly handled with regard to big items like homes, and pay more interest. they may not know how significant that is -- how every month they made py be paying extra money that they do not have. that can be avoided. i have spent a lot of time having meetings to make sure that our african-american community can take advantage of the housing opportunities the

better government had provided. i believe strongly in that. i could be criticized for being aware that -- being unaware that they were making loans to people who could not afford them, or that the backgrounds were not being done sufficiently to make good loans. it does not help people to make loans that they cannot reasonably be expected to pay back. it is a difficult issue. i certainly appreciate your work against the redlining and things that are clearly discriminatory were clearly discriminatory -- and things that were clearly discriminatory.

it was reported in the media that a political appointee in your division assemble an entire voting -- assembled an entire voting section. section 8 gives the attorney general power to ensure that states are complying and moving dead and duplicate voters off of the roles. it is easier to slip in and have someone vote in that name. it creates a risk. section 8 "has nothing to do with increasing turnout of minority voters, so there is no intest >> i have not actually, senator.

what is interesting about that, we are right in the middle of preparing guidance because we can't simply -- i'm a firm believer that the way to ensure full enforcement of our laws is through some litigation activity but technical assistance and other guidance. so we are in the middle of preparing guidance on section 7 of the voters, section 8, section 5. >> just talking about section 8. did this employee make such a statement? >> i'm unaware of that. >> will you check and see? >> i certainly will. >> that is against your view. that is correct? >> i will share with you our section 8 guidance when it is release and i anticipate it will be released in the near future because our job is to enforce all the laws. >> i just want to ask a

question. you think that it is inappropriate, if this individual -- i believe it is supposed to be julie fernandez -- had said that the obama administration "had no interest in enforcing section 8"? >> i'm confident given the conversations i have had with julie because she is helping to prepare the guidance i'm quite confident you are going to see an aggressive statement of what states can do and what states shouldn't do in the voter purging context of section 8. i think our actions will speak for themselves. context. >> have you brought lawsuits to ensure that these roles remove the dead and duplicate voters? >> the guidance we are trying to bring now is to prevent problems from happening. we have heard of situations where there have been improper purging of voter rollls.

>> i am seeing that happen from the department of justice have been quite a lot. do you have proof that they have removed people improperly? >> the way i approach this is, whether it is section 4, section 5, section 7, section 8 -- we need to have transparent guidance for state authorities to make sure that they know what the rules of engagement are. we're treating section 8 enforcement exactly how we treat every other section -- which is to make sure that we a transparent guidance, that we get feedback from the state's -- we have transparent guidance and that we get feedback from the states. >> if you are finished, i would like to follow up and remind you that congress is part of thas pe

legislation insisted that the voter rolls be cleaned up. >> we're committed to the enforcement of that. >> the the car and a justice has -- the department of justice has had more emphasis on trying to block the removal of to p duplicate names, then they have of the enforcement of this section. but you act to have them removed -- will you act to have dead and duplicate voters removed? >> yes, sir. >> you have given speeches about being back open for business, or that the voting booth is being

protected again. since the inauguration, the voting rights section, according to the information i have, has brought only four cases and dismissed another -- that is against the black panther party for voter intimidation. it was an infamous case. three of those four cases were instigated during the bush administration. vote dilution, spanish language enforcement. i do not think it fair to say that they shut down civil rights enforcement and i reject that. i believe that is an overstatement. i believe it is a danger -- it is in danger of politicizing your office, frankly. what about the overseas uniformed voting right act

cases? the civil rights division will now be implementing the new provisions of the recently passed act which was intended to secure voting for over 25% of military overseas voters who were unable to cast a ballot in 2008. that is -- certainly, we should take every effort to make sure that those who are serving us abroad have the opportunity to vote. does your voting section have any attorneys with military experience? are they experience -- is their experience been used in the implementation of this act? i understand the voting section

has only four attorneys that are -- that are monitoring this. i understand you will be hiring a lot of attorneys for redistricting. do you have enough attorneys to enforce these laws? >> absolutely. i am confident in our people who are working on that act, and we just got a very good verdict. we aggressively enforce that and will continue to do so. i appreciate the leadership of senator schumer and others in the passage of that act. it was a bipartisan bill. we will fully and aggressively enforce it. i look forward to doing so. >> the election is coming up in november. we do not want another election with 25 present and our

military not able to vote -- 25% of our military not able to vote. on this new black panther party case dismissal, you told the house judiciary committee that the maximum penalty was saw in that case -- sought in that case. could you compare the remedy saw with the actual remedy obtained -- sought with the actual remedy obtained? the of the injection -- the ultimate injunction was only for a few years. >> you indicated in your opening statement that we had erected a steel barrier paired for the record, -- erected a steel

barrier. for theç record, we have provid thousands of documents to them. i have offered to come to testify on that. with all due respect, i would not call that a steel barrier. >> what about the people who make decisions in the case? those who are involved in it and had discussions with other members of the department and political appointees of of them who did not agree with the dismissal of the case -- political appointees who did not agree with the dismissal of the case. >> the people who made the decision came to the hillç and briefed congressman wolfe at his request. you know that there is a longstanding department position that was applied in the republican and democratic administrations, that front line

trial attorneys are not brought before committees, because we want to make sure that they have the ability to make their decisions, and not be looking over their shoulder wondering whether they will be asked to testify. and at i am not come -- >> i am not comfortable with the powers we give to the quiet side -- quasi-independent agencies. you have issued subpoenas to have employees testified against this case, but you have not responded or have not -- or maybe have opposed it. >> we did respond, senator. those regulations that have been in place since the mid-1950's apply in this situation as well. part of our response has been to offer and submit over 4000

pages of documents. you will be getting those as well. we have directed -- the civil division handles the request of this nature. they inform people that the front line trial attorneys are not going to be produced. >> you are asserting that you do not have to comply with subpoenas from the u.s. civil rights commission. >> we are applying the two regulations -- the regulation that pertains to a supreme court case that -- when front-line trial attorneys are subpoenaed to talk about case-related decisions, there is a certain process that must be followed. to the extent that there are questions of a body, this committee or a civil rights commission, seeking to be asked

about the deliberative process, the privilege has been asserted by administrations of four decades. it is being asserted again here. i've offered to come up, and they have accepted that offer. >> you had certain attorneys come and provide information to the congress, but not certain attorneys. my understanding is we are involved in the handling of this case -- but not certain attorneys who were involved in the handling of this case. >> the acting attorneys came up. a front-line trial attorneys did not, as is the case in the republican and democratic administrations for decades. .

>> the authority of the civil rights commission, as i understand it, does not exceed the authority of the united states senate. we have spent considerable time attempting to work with the commission. that is why we provided the 4000 pages of documents. that is why i offered to come up. i have great respect for the

institution of the civil rights commission, and that is one reason why i am more than willing to come up and explain why we reached the decision that we reached. as you know, senator, that is why we have political leadership in place to come up and explain those things. we are treating the civil rights commission with great respect. we are applying the same principles to them that we would apply to any request that we would get from another commission. >> i have concerns about how this case was handled and i do not think they are going to be resolved, and that is just the way it is going to be, i suppose. when we dealt with the hate crimes legislation, i think the fbi statistics showed a slight decline in the crime cases. have they gone up in recent months, or what numbers are you facing? >> if you look at the hate

crimes against latinos, for instance, they have gone up four years in a row. we have now seen a significant case that we indicted in new jersey. >> where the get the numbers? >> the hit crimes division, and the southern poverty law center have the numbers they are tracking. >> and they both show that there has been an increase? >> i know in the context of latino -- >> i mean over all. >> let me get the figures. >> you are claiming that the figures are up. one category is not all of the categories, and we need the figures to see what needs attention. >> i will get you all of the sources that collect that data. i will also get you the data on

the hate crimes prosecutions we have done, and what you will see is that in the cases that have been brought, there has been indeed a significant rise in the number of cases. when i was a deputy chief in the criminal section in 1996 we hammed in the vicinity of 50 cases. a decade later there were about a dozen cases that were prosecuted. >> i believe the federal government is doing a more aggressive job of prosecuting and identifying these case. i would hope and pray the amount of hate crimes is down and not up. my understanding is that the f.b.i. numbers don't show that. i assume they are the most authoritative. i will look at that. thank you very much and i appreciate this. mr. chairman, i do have a very important armed services committee meeting i will have to slip out. >> we understand. >> if you will allow me to go

over. >> thank you, senator for coming. when i get you the data on section 8 i will get you the information on the current section 8 case we have going on. thank you for your time. >> i just would point out that the southern poverty law center has supplied information to this committee that shows an increase in hate crime activities. we would also point out many local jurisdictions do not bring the f.b.i. with information. i have tried to work with members of the judiciary committee to increase the information made available to the f.b.i. so we have more reliable information on hate crime activity. i have met resistance from my republican colleagues on this committee to get that information to the f.b.i. let me also point out in conversations that i have had with local law enforcement officials and with local advocacy groups there's no question there's been an alarming increase in hate crime

activities in this country, something i think has been well not only documented but acknowledged as far as the problems being confronted by law enforcement around this country. senator franken. >> bros is -- thank you. i apologize. i was in the health committee meeting, and i just got here. i assume i have 60 minutes. i am joking. i know he had to leave. mr. perez, last month your division settled a case against the school district. you mentioned the case in your opening testimony. it involved a 14 year-old student from upstate new york. the student is gay.

because he is gay, his classmates destroyed his clothes, his phone, his music player, one student knocked him down a flight of stairs, another brought a knife to school and threatened to kill him. when the student and his parents complained to school officials, the school principal just told him, "boys will be boys exhibiting -- boys will be boys ." you helped broker a settlement. unfortunately, this case is hardly unique. a similar case came up in my state. unfortunately, discrimination is a fact of life for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students across the country, yet there is no explicit protection in federal law that bars discrimination and harassment against lgbt students in public

schools. what do you think of this? do we need an explicit ban on discrimination in public schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity? >> thank you for your question, senator. i was in seattle about three weeks ago, at a middle school, as part of an anti-bullying campaign. i told students that today's belize are tomorrow's -- today's bullies art tomorrow's civil rights defendants. i believe we need to start early on in our prevention efforts. i am very proud of the work we did in the case you mentioned. until we intervened in that case, it was languishing. the federal government can make

a difference. i have an 11 year-old and a seven year-old, and i have every right to believe that they will be safe in school. we used title nine as the defense of gender nonconformity. it is not the first time we have used a title 9 theory. in my first year of duty in the clinton administration, working with the education section, we used it. i will continue to monitor those, and i would be happy to work with you on the underlying issue of ensuring that everybody going to school can have the reality of a learning environment that is nurturing, nondiscriminatory, -- 9 >> do we not have explicit laws against bullying people on race --

>> depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, there may be local, state laws, or potentially federal civil rights laws. again, we have had cases before involving racially motivated violence committed by it school- aged kids. oftentimes, it has been arson of schools or churches, a pretty significant assault. >> i am talking about bullying. right now, title 9 covers sex discrimination. while some have interpreted that to include discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, not one that circuit has found that to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. >> that is correct. our theory was a theory of gender non-conformity, which is

a form of sex discrimination. it is not a theory of discrimination based on sunday's -- based on the fact that somebody is gay. >> i would like to work with you on this onç explicit protectios for folks who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered kids. it is a very real thing that there is this bullying in schools. >> i would be happy to. >> let's turn to a couple of other matters. as you know, the u.s. commission on civil rights was founded by president eisenhower to promote civil rights. that may sound self-evident, but let me list some of the recent actions by the commission and

commission members. they include, one, testifying against the reauthorization of the voting rights act, to do, opposing the matthew shepard hate crimes bill, and three, opposing legislation to protect diversity. that is the civil rights commission there. as the nation poser chief enforcer of civil rights, -- as the nation's chief enforcer of several -- a civil rights, can you tell me what is happening there? i would also like to talk to about the voting rights act. are those pieces of legislation central to your mission?

>> absolutely. in the voting context, we are feverishly preparing for redistricting. senator sessions mentioned some voting cases. i look forward to giving him the full and monopoly of a voting cases that we are -- the full panopoly of a voting cases that we are working on. we are working on a case in south dakota to make sure that people living in indian country have access to the ballot. i would be happy to share the full load of cases that we are working on in the obama administration. i had the privilege during transition of overseeing the obama transition of all of the

agencies that have a robust civil rights presence, large agencies, such as the department of justice, smaller agencies such as the civil rights commission. i actually got a history lesson on the civil rights commission and the creation. civil rights has always been bipartisan in our country. if you look at all of the pieces of civil rights legislation, they have been a function of bipartisan work. i look forward to the 20th anniversary of the ada this summer, a bill signed by george herbert walker bush. i have profound respect for the tradition and the history of the civil rights commission. that is why, when they ask me to come over recently to talk about the work in the new black panther party case, i said of course. i will be over there in a few weeks to discuss our actions

there. i hope that we can reach a point where we can return to our bipartisan routes, because really, civil rights is about bipartisan coalition building. that is what i have learned from the movement, and that is what it is, and that is what i hope it will return to. >> thank you. >> i would remind the senator, he went 16 seconds over his allotted time. >> i guess i am not the ranking member. >> that was not your fault senator, it was mine. >> let me first say, you are being very diplomatic on civil rights. i understand your position on testifying before us. i think senator frank and was correct in the manner he presented that. çthe civil rights commission is an important institution, and it

is one that should be on the forefront of advocacy for civil rights for all americans. looking at its recent actions, it calls into question whether it is carrying out its intended responsibility. now, that is our responsibility as congress, to oversight that commission, and it is an issue of great concern to me. i know it is to this committee as well. in thank senator franken for the manner in which he presented his question. in the black panther party case, it was a career attorney that made that judgment. and it should have been. i applaud you for keeping this out of the political arena. i want to go back to senator sessions points on the enforcement of section 8.

i certainly agree with senator sessions. anyone who has died or moved should be taken off the rolls. the roles should be accurate. i certainly agree with that. but i can tell you, after every election, and get more complaints -- i get more complaints about people who were eligible to vote and who were inappropriately taken off upper -- off a roll, and who had to fill out a provisional ballot, or who were harassed to the point where they just left. after every election there is always these accusations the people fraudulently voted, and then we take a look at it, and we do not find it. there have been a lot of studies done. the number of people who are fraudulently voting are

miniscule compared to those who are eligible to vote and either can or their boats do not get counted -- and either cannot or if their votes do notç get counted properly. i would hope that we would be empowering people to vote who are eligible to vote, and spending our resources to do that, and not spending a lot of effort on a problem that really does not exist, or exists in such a minor way that we should be very surgical about how we go about it. i think i share -- there are many who share my view and i didn't want senator sessions comments to go without being responded to. >> when you asked me a fair lending question i said consumer protection and preserving a sound lending climate go hand in hand. there is a tendency to create this unhealthy binary world where you do