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RECOGNIZING SALIM BAMOUE, BLACK HISTORY MONTH ESSAY CONTEST WINNER
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HON. A. DONALD McEACHIN
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 28, 2022
Mr. McEACHIN. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the exemplary work of Salim Bamoue, an 8th grade student at Vernon Johns Middle School in Petersburg, Virginia, and the middle school winner of the Black History Month essay contest I hosted earlier this month. Mr. Bamoue wrote a powerful essay on the legacy of my former colleague John Lewis and why his lifelong work on voting rights is still important today. I am inspired by Mr. Bamoue's words, and I encourage young people across our country to reflect on what this month means to them.
Since its creation less than 50 years ago, Black History Month has been a time to honor and reflect upon the remarkable achievements of the African-American community. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Salim Bamoue's exceptional work in celebration of Black History Month.
VA04 High School Black History Month Essay Contest
(By Salim Bamoue)
The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by human beings for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison people because they are different from others.--Martin Luther King Jr. Many people consider voting to be the most prominent voice us citizens have in office. While this is true, people of color do not have equal opportunity to voice their opinions. John Lewis fought for most of his life to preserve the voting rights of his African American brothers and sisters. John Lewis's impact on voting rights can not be taken away. He has influenced changes that have been made and changes to be made in American society for years to come. The struggle for voting rights has always been long and arduous, and John Lewis despite all the adversity, fought through it so that minorities in America had equal opportunity to vote in the United States of America.
John Lewis was born on February 21, 1940 in a heavily segregated Alabama. He was born into terrible circumstances as he would grow up to be a victim of prejudice. When Jim Crow laws were in full effect and white superiority was preached everywhere and blacks were brutally persecuted due to the forceful stereotypes and rhetoric spread by white supremacists. Most people of color were gaslighted into believing they were actually inferior to whites. This genuinely applied to most things a normal American citizen would do. Voting especially was a huge issue. The issue of voting disproportionately benefited whites in a way which might have seemed minute. John Lewis saw this and decided his activism to the issue of voting rights. One of John Lewis' most prominent and notable moments in his life was Bloody Sunday. On March 7th, 1965, John Lewis and other activists were brutally beaten for protesting their voting rights. Voting rights have always been complicated. This did not deter John Lewis though as he's been fighting for this up until his passing.
John Lewis' legacy is still integral in our fight for voting rights. A bill is being worked on in his name to secure the votes of African American citizens. While for the most part the disparity between whites and blacks isn't as notable, we are still currently struggling to attain our voting rights in a way in which we feel secured and just as considered as our white counterparts. John Lewis has fought for many years to attain voting rights for his people, even becoming a U.S. Representative so that people may look up to him and strive for what he strived for. The future looks promising as this new bill that may be passed in his name may directly affect black voters in such a way that more and more black voters are accounted for.
Throughout history, people of color have notably been on the short end of the stick and we still struggle to attain even our voting rights, But late John Lewis has dedicated his life to the cost in order to give black people an equal voice as to who we should place in our offices. The current state of the bill working on to be passed in John Lewis's name doesn't look so good as it has failed the senate vote twice and is exempt from filibuster, but that doesn't mean we sit down and act as if we cannot find a compromise or some sort of way to finally secure our voting rights as we as black Americans should always strive to secure the rights given to us and the fruits of our liberty. So I call upon black Americans to keep on fighting the persecution even through the face of adversity. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 36
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