Marcia Fudge

Ms. FUDGE

Ms. FUDGE. Madam Speaker, on Friday, we lost an honorable and decent woman, Justice Ginsburg, a person who changed the world. But for all her successes, those who are bent on choosing her successor have no decency. They have no honor. They have no integrity. It is a shame that they did not learn the lessons of Justice Ginsburg, which were decency and honesty and integrity, one who fought for others. All they want to do is fight for themselves. They want to take away our healthcare. They don't want to help people who are in trouble. They don't care about people who are unemployed. All they want to do is win. But what do they win? What have they won for this Nation? They just want to benefit themselves. We are not here for ourselves. We are here for the people who sent us here. We are here to represent the people. When you lose sight of that, what a shame, what an absolute shame. They are a disgrace to this Nation.

Ms. FUDGE

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5309, the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act--also known as the C.R.O.W.N. Act. Too often African Americans are required to meet unreasonable standards of grooming in the workplace and in the classroom with respect to our hair. Most of those standards are cultural norms that coincide with the texture and style of Black hair. In 2014, my Congressional Black Caucus colleagues and I successfully pushed the U.S. military to reverse its rules classifying hairstyles often worn by female soldiers of color as ``unauthorized''. The military's regulation used words like ``unkempt'' and ``matted'' when referring to traditional African American hairstyles. To require anyone to change their natural appearance to further their career or education is a clear violation of their civil rights. A 2019 study by Dove found Black women are 30 percent more likely to receive a formal grooming policy in the workplace. Black women are also 1.5 times more likely to report being forced to leave work or know of a Black woman who was forced to leave work because of her hair. This is unacceptable. Seven states agree, including California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, and Maryland. All have enacted laws banning racial hair discrimination. It is past time we ban the practice at the federal level. The CROWN Act does that--by federally prohibiting discrimination based on hair styles and hair textures commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. I was proud to introduce this bill with my friend Congressman Richmond, which ensures African Americans no longer have to be afraid to show up to work or the classroom as anything other than who they are. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the CROWN Act.

Ms. FUDGE

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 2639, the Strength in Diversity Act.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1107, I call up the bill (H.R. 2639) to establish the Strength in Diversity Program, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, racial segregation in public education has been illegal for more than 66 years in the United States. Still, American public schools are more segregated today than at any time since the 1960s. The average African-American or Latino student attends schools with a majority of children of their own race. Most of these schools serve a high number of low-income students forced to learn in old, broken-down buildings with fewer resources and disproportionately high rates of discipline. Segregated schools are inherently unequal, creating barriers for the students who reside in underserved communities. It has been 66 years since the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and the promise of equal access to education has yet to be realized. Today, public schools are not segregated because the law requires it, they are segregated by their ZIP Codes. Segregation exists due to the erosion of a middle-class tax base. An erosion that has caused communities of color to become systemically poor. Essential services and public education are continuously underfunded. These communities have been denied access to the intergenerational wealth that comes from homeownership due to discriminatory housing patterns and mortgage lending policies. This is particularly true for Black communities. When districts split schools between affluent and poor neighborhoods, it draws a bright line between the haves and the have-nots. This type of separation inflicts the same harm on students today as legalized segregation did prior to 1954. That is why I introduced H.R. 2639, the Strength in Diversity Act. It directly addresses inequities in public education by authorizing funding to support local education leaders in their efforts to lessen racial and socioeconomic isolation in public schools. The Strength in Diversity Act will ensure every student has equitable access to a quality education. This is one step toward remedying the issue of segregated schools. The bill provides support for school districts that are developing, expanding, or implementing school diversity initiatives. Eligible school districts can devote funding to study the adverse effects of segregation, provide equitable access to transportation, create programs to attract children from neighboring communities, and recruit new specialized teachers. Studies show school integration benefits students of all races. Even the conservative think tank, the Hoover Institution, agrees that diverse learning environments help close the achievement gap and lead to numerous academic, social and cognitive benefits. Research tells us school integration results in cross-racial friendships and a decline in stereotyping, allowing students to better navigate an increasingly diverse society and preparing them for real world experiences. Mr. Speaker, the Strength in Diversity Act is not new policy. It is practically the same policy the Obama administration sought to pursue in its 2016 Opening Doors, Expanding Opportunities program, which provided $12 million to help school districts increase diversity. Nearly 30 school districts from 22 States and the District of Columbia applied for the Obama-era integration grant, but the program was eliminated by the current administration in 2017 without explanation. That decision came at a time when research clearly showed a resurgence in segregated schools. Totally ignoring this increase in separate educational facilities, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos moved to rescind Federal guidance to assist school districts in pursuit of racial diversity. When my Education and Labor Committee colleague Representative Trone asked the Secretary about this rescission, she said she was ``unfamiliar with the guidance.'' That was 2 years ago. Since then, things have gotten worse, not better. Mr. Speaker, we are experiencing a racial reckoning in this country. Despite efforts from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to sow racial division, I remain hopeful. Now is the time to enact the Strength in Diversity Act and provide school districts with the support they need to tackle the task of true integration. This is hard work, but necessary work, and it is past time the Federal Government support local leaders to fulfill the promise of Brown. Today, I urge my colleagues to make a commitment to put an end to racial and socioeconomic isolation and segregation in our Nation's public schools by voting in favor of the Strength in Diversity Act. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I think that we all want commonsense solutions, but as proven by Secretary DeVos, common sense is not always common, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), my good friend.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I have no idea what bill my colleagues are reading. There is nothing in this bill about teachers unions or anything else that they are talking about. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), my colleague, who is also a member of the Education and Labor Committee.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Shalala).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty), my good friend.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we started this out with the ranking member saying we just wanted headlines. I absolutely want headlines to bring to the attention of this country the poverty in our schools. I want headlines about the crumbling schools my children go to school in. I do want headlines about the disinvestment in public education that my colleagues continue to do. I want the headlines. So I admit it. We also talked this afternoon about how equality cannot mean uniformity, but it can also not mean doing nothing but giving lip service to a problem, which is what my colleagues do. They talk and do nothing. Not one solution comes from the other side of the aisle--not one. I didn't hear one today. Then we talk about this amendment that is coming to use another fund to help us do some of these things. They don't tell you, Mr. Speaker, that that fund is a fund that is used for mental health for children. So they want us to choose between integrating schools and the mental health of our children. I think if that is the best they have got then I am so very, very disappointed, Mr. Speaker, because at some point we have to reckon with what is going on in this country today and deal with the racial segregation of my children--and they are all my children. Mr. Speaker, if we fail to begin to address this issue--and this is only a beginning--then we can no longer say we agree that every child should have access to a quality education, that every child should go to a school that has the kind of equipment that they should have, that every child has internet and broadband access, and that every child has an opportunity to succeed. If we don't do this, we don't mean it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chairman.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I just have to say that, once again, my colleagues have put forth an amendment that does nothing to stop or to help with integrating schools. Absolutely nothing. They have had time after time after time to address this issue, even as recently as 2017 when Betsy DeVos decided to eliminate the program, as well as to start to roll back the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Education. So it is not like this just came up. I think part of the problem is when you have never experienced this kind of racism, it is hard to deal with it, but I am giving you an opportunity now to deal with it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 1107, I offer amendments en bloc.

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Brown).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Mucarsel-Powell).

Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).