Defending Democracy
Explore a tradition of courage, conscience, and leadership in the speeches of African Americans in Congress.
African American members of Congress have long used the power of speech to confront injustice and defend the institutions of American democracy. Speaking from the House and Senate floors and in committee rooms across Capitol Hill, they have challenged efforts to restrict participation in the democratic process, called out abuses of power, and demanded that the federal government represent and serve all Americans. Their words, often spoken in moments of national crisis or transformation, stand as enduring markers of courage and conscience within the official record of the United States Congress.
Spanning from the Reconstruction era to the present, the speeches featured in this Avoice exhibit reveal how Black legislators made the halls of Congress a vital arena for mobilizing the public conscience and insisting that the nation live up to the promises of its founding documents. Together, they testify to a tradition rooted in constitutional faith, civic responsibility, and principled leadership, and to the conviction that defending democracy is the work of every generation.
Please check back as this exhibit expands to include additional speeches.
“This…is perhaps the negroes’ temporary farewell to the American Congress; but let me say, Phoenix-like he will rise up some day and come again.”
Representative George H. White (R-NC)
Farewell to Congress [Defense of the Negro Race—Charges Answered]
January 29, 1901
“My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.”
Representative Barbara C. Jordan (D-TX)
Opening Statement, Nixon Impeachment Hearings
July 24, 1974
“However difficult this vote may be, some of us must urge the use of restraint…let’s just pause, just for a minute and think through the implications of our actions today…”
Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Statement in Opposition to the Authorization for Use of Military Force
September 14, 2001
“So tonight I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis…”
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Floor Statement Protesting Actions of the Trump Administration
March 31, 2025—April 1, 2025