Dr. Cameron was born in LaCrosse, WI, in 1914 and moved to Indiana as a teenager. In Indiana, he accompanied two friends involved in an armed robbery that turned to rape and murder. Though Dr. Cameron ran away well before the crime was committed, all three young men were taken to jail. The Ku Klux Klan stormed that jail on August 7, 1930, hung Dr. Cameron's two friends and beat Dr. Cameron severely. Dr. Cameron survived but spent another 6 years in jail for crimes he did not commit.

   Dr. Cameron has never let us forget the injustice done to him and to too many other victims of lynching and other forms of racial violence. After moving back to his home State of Wisconsin, he founded the Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. This unique museum lays bare our Nation's violent past of racism and slavery. Dr. Cameron's efforts to shine a light on this disturbing aspect of our history have opened the eyes of thousands to the suffering of African-Americans--not only in the age of slavery but also in

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   Because of my great respect for Dr. Cameron--and because he has opened our eyes to the great crimes committed by this nation by not ending lynching--I am cosponsoring S. Res. 39, a resolution apologizing to the victims of lynching and the descendants of those victims for the failure of the Senate to enact antilynching legislation. The history of lynching in America is an atrocious one indeed. Between the years 1882 and 1968, some 4,700 people were lynched. And though, over that same period, nearly 200 antilynching bills were proposed, none made it past the Senate.

   That lack of action is truly a black mark on this institution's history and legacy. An apology cannot erase our crimes--but an acknowledgment of the costs of our inaction is a first step toward ensuring we never again let hate and racism run unchecked through our great Nation.

   Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today as a cosponsor and strong supporter of S. Res. 39, an apology on behalf of the United States Senate, for its inaction during one of this Nation's darkest chapters. Today, my colleagues and I, through this legislation, offer an apology to the victims of lynching, and their families and descendants, for the Senate's failure to enact antilynching legislation throughout the course of this Nation's history. Despite the fact that, at key junctures in our Nation's history, the House of Representatives passed, and the President stood ready to sign, Federal law to actively eliminate lynching throughout the country, such legislation died in the Senate, as did the many victims of this heinous crime who might have been saved by the passage of such law.

   Following the Civil War, and as Reconstruction ended Federal troops withdrew their presence from the States that had been in rebellion, lynching became the most extreme form of racial oppression in the South. Between 1881 and 1964, at least 4,749 reported lynchings took place, with most of the victims being black; all but four States had at least one lynching on record. However, 99 percent of the perpetrators of these crimes escaped any punishment, as State and local authorities refused to investigate and prosecute these cases, and those who were charged with lynching were regularly acquitted by all-white juries.

   Unprotected by State authorities, African-Americans and civil rights groups sought protection from the Federal Government, the same authority that rid this Nation of the scourge of slavery. As a result of the Reconstruction amendments to the Constitution, the Federal Government had the express power to pass legislation under the 13th and 14th Amendments to use the full force of the Federal Government's law enforcement authority to put an end to lynching. In fact, between 1890 and 1952, seven Presidents petitioned Congress to halt lynching, and almost 200 antilynching bills were introduced in Congress. Most notably, on three on three occasions between 1920 and 1940, the House of Representatives passed strong antilynching bills. And equally as regrettably, all three of these bills died in the United States Senate.

   That is why I find S. Res. 39 to be entirely appropriate, and frankly long overdue. This resolution, offered by my colleagues Senator LANDRIEU and Senator ALLEN, constitutes a formal apology by the Senate ``to the victims and survivors of lynching for its failure to enact antlynching legislation.'' It further expresses this Chamber's sympathy and regret to the descendants of these victims. Undoubtedly, a measure of this nature may stand as insignificant when compared to the sad legacy of men, women, and children dying at the hands of racist, bigoted vigilantism. Yet it is my hope that this resolution, which we will pass tonight, will help heal some of the wounds for the surviving family members of the victims of lynching.

   This effort has been a long time coming, and I am thankful for the involvement of my colleagues, present and former, who have taken part in supporting this effort. I thank the sponsors of this resolution, Senators ALLEN and LANDRIEU, as well as all other cosponsors of this resolution, 60 in number altogether. I also want to thank Janet Langhart Cohen and her husband, our former colleague and fellow Mainer Bill Cohen. Their devotion to championing this cause helped to raise my awareness of this issue, and I am sure many of my colleagues have similar feelings.

   For decades after the Civil War, too many of our fellow Americans suffered from the murderous actions of lynching bees and the fear and intimidation that accompanied those actions. People of all backgrounds fell victim to lynch mobs in nearly every State, but this burden fell especially hard on our fellow citizens in the African American community. Needless to say, the Senate bears no direct responsibility for these crimes, nor does this resolution suggest anything along those lines. However, the Senate's sin was one of omission. At critical junctures in our history, when the tide of the terror wrought by lynching could have been stemmed by passage of Federal legislation, the Senate single-handedly blocked such action. For this inaction, at times when this legislative body was needed the most, we in the Senate express our heart-felt apology to those whose suffering could have been avoided.

   I yield the floor.

   Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I would like to state my support for the nomination of Thomas B. Griffith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. I believe that Mr. Griffith will serve the Federal judiciary with honor and distinction.

   Mr. Griffith served as Senate Legal Counsel while I was majority leader, and I found him to be intelligent, honorable, and supremely qualified for this position on the Federal bench. As Senate Legal Counsel, he represented the Senate, its committees, Members, officers, and employees in litigation relating to their constitutional powers and privileges; advised committees about their investigatory powers and procedures; and represented the institutional interests of the Senate with honor.

   He was appointed to that nonpartisan position by a unanimous resolution sponsored by the leaders on both sides of the aisle. In addition to his service to this body, Mr. Griffith has obtained extensive legal experience in private practice in civil, criminal and regulatory matters.

   Mr. Griffith currently serves as assistant to the president and general counsel of Brigham Young University, a position he has held since August of 2000. As general counsel for BYU he is responsible for advising the university on all legal matters, including the management of all litigation involving the university.

   Evidence of qualification can also be found in Mr. Griffith's outstanding academic record. He graduated summa cum laude from BYU, receiving high honors with distinction from its Honors Program. He later received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and served on the editorial and articles review board of the Virginia Law Review.

   Mr. Griffith has the support of a broad, bipartisan group of attorneys and law professors, including Abner Mikva, former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

   This nominee has also served on the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative's Advisory Board. With the CEELI, he participated in the training of judges and lawyers in Croatia, Serbia, Russia, the Czech Republic and several other countries and has actively worked to establish a regional judicial training institute in Prague. His experiences in these unique endeavors should be of particular value during his tenure on the bench.

   Additionally, between 1991 and 1995, Mr. Griffith dedicated hundreds of hours in the pro bono representation. He has also represented disadvantaged students in the public school system in North Carolina during due process hearings that accompanied disciplinary actions.

   The American Bar Association has stated that Mr. Griffith is qualified for this position in the Federal judiciary, and I concur.

   Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the resolution for consideration today details the Senate's shameful failure to pass

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   At least 4,749 people were reported lynched between 1881 and 1964, with the vast majority of the victims being African-American. Shockingly, 99 percent of the perpetrators of these horrible acts escaped punishment from State or local authorities.

   My State was one of only four or five States that did not have a lynching during that time. It wasn't just one or two States. It was every State in the Union, every State of the then-48 States with the exception of only four or five.

   Even though my State did not have any, I cosponsored this resolution because I believe an apology is in order. I have cosponsored this resolution because an apology is surely in order, and I believe Senator LANDRIEU deserves great credit for bringing this important issue to the Senate's attention.

   This public act of contrition is an important gesture today to take responsibility for the civil rights misdeeds of the past. But it is also an opportunity for Congress to show the country that we will not tolerate similar offenses. As we pass this resolution, it is fitting to carry this principle to the present and act in kind to prevent civil rights and human rights abuses occurring now in this country and around the world.

   As we pass this resolution, we should also recognize that it is long past the time to pass the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, which would strengthen and extend our Federal hate crimes law. The Senate has repeatedly passed this bill, with 65 votes in the last Congress. The Republican leadership in the House, with the acquiescence of the Bush White House, has killed it. It is fitting that we apologize for past inaction, but that does not obviate the need to solve today's problems.

   By the same token, we should reauthorize the Voting Rights Act in this Congress and not wait for 2007. We need to ensure that this law, one of the most important bills of the 20th century, remains in effect to safeguard the fundamental right of all citizens to participate fully in our democracy.

   We should also remember the leading role this country played in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was modeled on our own Bill of Rights. As the country that, especially since the Second World War, has been looked to around the world as a beacon of hope for victims of arbitrary arrest, torture, and the denial of fundamental freedoms, we need to set a far better example than we are today. The atrocities and dehumanizing mistreatment that have occurred in U.S. military detention facilities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo, are eerily reminiscent of some of the despicable acts described in this resolution. In addition, the continued assistance the administration is providing to foreign security forces that violate human rights, directly contradict the message we are trying to send with this resolution. We should not be satisfied with long overdue apologies. There are serious human rights problems that we need to address today.

   A few years ago, I had the opportunity to examine the book ``Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America,'' which is referred to in this resolution. The haunting photographs in this book make plain the evil that lurked in this Nation not very long ago, and make it impossible to accept the fact that the individuals and mobs that committed these heinous acts by and large suffered no consequences. This resolution deserves our immediate approval, and I hope it provides some comfort to the descendants of the victims of these horrible crimes.

   Mr. KYL. Mr. President, it is every citizen's duty to know American history. One fact we must reckon with is that our experiment in self-government began in a compromise with the existence of slavery. As the American experiment went forward, protections granted to slavery in the Constitution--a document that never explicitly mentioned slavery--were dismantled. The cost was great: Brother fought against brother in the Civil War, largely over whether ``the peculiar institution'' would be allowed to thrive in the United States. When, at the end of that terrible conflict, the 13th amendment was put in the Constitution, slavery was abolished.

   Yet while a pernicious institution was now, thankfully, illegal, its aftereffects were still felt in the former slave States. Postwar reconstruction was supposed to restore the natural and the civil rights of the former slaves and their descendents; but State and local authorities did not enforce those rights. The lynching of African Americans, and other forms of persecution, would persist into the 20th century, to the shame of every decent citizen.

   Candidly facing this history is important. We must not forget the wrongs of the past--nor that we have had leaders willing to come forward and stand against those wrongs. From the Continental Congress passing the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which banned slavery in the region northwest of the Ohio River, to the words and deeds of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, brave men and women reaffirmed for all of us the principles of human equality and consent of the governed on which our Nation was founded.

   Lincoln declared: ``Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and under a just God, cannot long retain it.''

   I support Senate Resolution 39 in the name of honesty and national unity. As Senators representing Americans of all colors and creeds, we ought to give due recognition to past injustices. Even more importantly, we ought to live today by Lincoln's dictum. We must make sure our laws and our practices always reflect our belief in individual worth and equality under the law. This belief held in common is what has helped Americans--whatever their race, religion, or background--to succeed.

   Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, the Senate has accomplished some wonderful things for this country. But sometimes this body makes grave mistakes. Today, by passing the resolution apologizing to the victims of lynching, we acknowledge one of the gravest. The use of the filibuster and other dilatory tactics to prevent the enactment of a law criminalizing lynching is among the darkest chapters in the history of the U.S. Senate. This resolution is a small but important step toward helping us come to terms with the Senate's disgraceful failure over a period of many years, at the beginning of this century, to protect our citizens. I congratulate Senators LANDRIEU and ALLEN for their work to bring this resolution before the Senate.

   There are few crimes as despicable and contrary to the rule of law as lynching. The practice was born of hatred, racial or otherwise, and disdain for our criminal justice institutions. Unfortunately, lynching occurred throughout the United States, with cases documented in all but four states. From 1881 to 1964, there were 4,749 recorded victims of lynching. Of these victims, 3,452 were African Americans. Worse still, in nearly all cases of lynching before 1968, local and state law enforcement officials failed to investigate or prosecute the perpetrators.

   An anti-lynching law would have allowed Federal prosecutors to bring the perpetrators of lynching to justice. On three occasions, the House passed anti-lynching bills, but each time a small group of Senators filibustered the proposals in the Senate.

   Although a resolution cannot make up for the terrible injustice perpetrated against the victims of lynching and their families, this resolution is, at least, a positive step toward recognizing the Senate's past mistakes. There is much more that the Senate must do to address continuing racial injustice in this country. But this resolution is a worthy effort. I am proud to support it, and I am pleased that the Senate will pass it tonight.

   Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President. I rise today in support of Senate Resolution 39.

   This resolution acknowledges a dark period in the history of our Nation and the history of this institution. It was a time of racial intolerance, hatred and violence, that took the lives of 4,742 people, mostly African Americans, between 1882 and 1968. It was also a time when this body failed to fulfill its moral and constitutional responsibilities to pass significant legislation

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   During this time, there were 284 victims of lynching in my home State of Arkansas. It was a crime that was documented in over 46 States. To properly punish those responsible, Congress tried on over 200 occasions to pass antilynching legislation but on each occasion it came to the Senate floor, it was defeated.

   While we can never adequately express the deep sympathy and regret in our hearts, I am hopeful this long overdue acknowledgment and apology brings some sense of solace to the descendants of victims of lynching. This was a moment in our nation's history that was at odds with the principles upon which we were founded, and a moment at odds with our future. When we acknowledge the misdeeds of our past and demonstrate a willingness to learn the lessons from those actions, we build upon the many things that unite us all to make our Nation stronger and a better place to live.

   Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today we in the Senate are finally apologizing to the descendants of the nearly 5,000 victims of lynching, primarily African Americans, for our failure to enact antilynching legislation.

   Even though the House of Representatives passed three strong antilynching measures between 1920 and 1940, the Senate filibustered all of those measures. This was wrong, and this resolution is long overdue.

   Lynching, a widely acknowledged practice that continued until the middle of the 20th century, was a shameful chapter in our history. It was mob justice at its most heinous, motivated by racial and ethnic hatred. And it was a national problem occurring in all but four States in our country.

   While passing this apology is important, it not going to right every wrong. And it does not absolve us of our responsibility to continue to work to provide justice in American society.

   Justice at the polls for those who are made to stand in line for hours to exercise their right to vote.

   Justice in the schools so that every child has an equal educational opportunity.

   Justice in the workplace so that no worker will face discrimination.

   Let us use this opportunity not only to apologize for a shameful injustice but to dedicate ourselves to eradicating the remaining injustices in our society.

   Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am here to speak on the Senate's need to redress a past wrong. For more than 6 decades, the Senate attempted to pass legislation outlawing the terrible act of lynching. And for more than six decades, against the wishes of many Presidents and a majority of Congressmen and Senators, a small minority of Senators prevented any antilynching legislation from passing this body. Three times the House passed bills with severe penalties for perpetrators of this crime, and three times companion bills failed to garner enough support to stop a filibuster in the Senate. Today, it is time for atonement--and for a belated apology on behalf of the United States Senate.

   My colleagues and I have drafted this resolution to apologize for the past mistakes of this governing body. This terrible crime was a widespread phenomenon in the late 19th century and throughout the first half of the 20 century. It was practiced in some 46 states.

   Mark Twain once termed lynching as an ``epidemic of bloody insanities.'' Compounding the tragedy of lynching is that fact that some 99 percent of the perpetrators of these crimes failed to receive any punishment for their actions.

   This resolution cannot make up for the Senate's past failures, but it will serve as a statement of remorse from this body. It has been said that one cannot judge the past through the lens of the present, but lynching should have been viewed as a crime in any time. The Senate, through this legislation, apologizes for its past mistakes, and seeks to redress the failure of this body to protect Americans from violent and sadistic behavior.

   No longer will this body permit an ``epidemic of bloody insanities'' to overtake this Nation.

   Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I would like to express my support for Senate passage of S. Res. 39, a resolution of apology for the Senate's failure to pass anti-lynching legislation.

   Some may wonder about the need to pass this resolution concerning events that occurred decades ago. I believe it is important that light be shown upon, and a discussion occur, about these horrific events. As the famous saying goes, ``Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.'' There were almost 5,000 documented cases of mob lynching in the United States since the Civil War. It is important to note that many historians believe this number should be doubled to include the undocumented cases that occurred.

   Lynchings occurred almost everywhere in the United States, and were in many cases examples of so-called mob justice which thwarted the decisions of or shortcut the American judicial system. Despite the national scope of these events, the Senate refused to pass anti-lynching legislation that would provide greater protection to innocent victims and bring the guilty to justice.

   While we cannot reverse the decisions made by previous Senates, we can at the very least, offer our apologies and highlight this shameful period in American history. Only by exposing these terrible events, discussing how they occurred, and learning from them can we hope to avoid repeating them in the future.

   Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today the Senate acknowledges the dark side of our history. We apologize for a terrible wrong--the Senate's repeated failure to adopt anti-lynching legislation. This legislation is long, long overdue. I join my colleagues in offering this resolution as a way of saying how profoundly sorry we are that the Senate did not act decades earlier--when action might have saved lives. We also recommit ourselves to ensuring that this will never happen again.

   The horrific practice of lynching is a stain on our Nation--and on our souls. There were over 4,700 documented lynchings in the United States. There were 29 documented lynchings in Maryland. These lynchings were public events, with members of the community colluding--either directly or indirectly--in this horrifying practice. It was no accident that they made them public--they were sending a message to other African Americans in the community. These crimes left thousands of people dead and families and communities scarred. Yet 99 percent of these murderers were never arrested or tried for their crimes.

   For many in Maryland, the history of lynchings is not an abstraction--it is the history of their family or their community. The Washington Post reported about a 1906 lynching in Annapolis, where Henry Davis was lynched on a bluff near College Creek just days before Christmas. There was George Armwood, who was lynched and burned by a mob in Princess Anne's County, and King Davis--who was lynched in Brooklyn, MD on Christmas Day in 1911. Many institutions throughout the Nation have tried to document the extent of this racial violence--but so many incidents went unreported that we will never have a true account of how many African Americans were murdered.

   Billie Holiday, a Baltimore native, tried to capture the despicable practice of lynching in her 1939 song ``Strange Fruit.'' Her career suffered because of the painful honesty of this song. Her record label refused to record it, and some of her concerts were cancelled. Yet Holiday's perseverance turned ``Strange Fruit'' into one of the ``most influential protest songs ever written'' and an inspiration for those fighting for racial justice.

   The Senate tried several times to put an end to this monstrous practice by outlawing it, but each time the measure died. This is a horrific failure that cost American lives. This failure will always be a scar on the record of the United States Senate.

   Today we apologize for this tragedy, though no action now can right this wrong. Although we acknowledge this dark side of our history, we cannot and should not want to erase it. We must ensure that it serves as a lesson about a time when we failed to protect individual rights and preserve freedom.

   This legislation is important to recognizing the evil of lynching and the failure of government to protect its citizens. It also stands as a symbol of our commitment to move our Nation

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   Next week in Baltimore, we will open the Reginald Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture. It will be a proud day--the celebration of a strong and proud history that has made our Nation great. This museum documents the courageous journeys toward freedom and self-determination for African Americans in Maryland and in America. Yet history must also acknowledge this dark side of our history. We must educate the next generations about the proud history, and mighty struggle that African Americans have endured in the United States.

   Today, this resolution stands as a painful reminder of that history. Yet it should also stand as a guiding principle--that we must always fight to protect the rights of all Americans. This resolution acknowledges that the Senate was wrong when it failed to enact anti-lynching laws. But it also empowers us to move forward to do all that we can to strengthen opportunity for all Americans, to fight discrimination in every form and to ensure that we vigorously protect the rights of all Americans.

   Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, this past February, I introduced the resolution celebrating Black History Month that follows these remarks. Thirty five other Senators have joined me in this effort. I offered this resolution in the spirit of my late friend Alex Haley, who lived his life by the words ``Find the Good and Praise It''. These six words are etched on his tombstone in the front yard of his grandparents' home in Henning, TN. When Alex was a boy, he would sit on the front porch steps of that home on summer evenings listening to his great aunts rock in their chairs and tell the stories that eventually became Roots, the story of the struggle for freedom and equality.

   It is in that spirit that the Black History Month resolution honors the contributions of African Americans throughout our history, recommits the United States Senate to the goals of liberty and equal opportunity for every American, condemns the horrors of slavery, lynching, segregation, and other instances in which our country has failed to measure up to its noble goals, and pledges to work to improve educational, health, and job opportunities for African Americans and for all Americans.

   African Americans were brought forcibly to these shores in the 17th century. From that dark beginning, however, these men and women and their descendants have overcome great obstacles. They continue to do so, and have taken a prominent place among the many people of diverse backgrounds who have come together here to form a single nation. African Americans have made and continue to make significant contributions to the economic, educational, political, artistic, literary, scientific, and technological advancement of the United States of America.

   Black History Month, and this discussion in the Senate today, offer an opportunity to remind ourselves that the United States of America is a work in progress. Ours is the story of a people establishing high ideals, and then struggling to reach them, often falling short, rarely achieving them, but always recommitting ourselves to trying again. This is why we continue to say that anything is possible in America, that no child shall be left behind, and that we will pay any price to defend freedom, although we well know that we will never quite reach such lofty ideals.

   Perhaps the most ambitious of our goals is the proposition, expressed in the Declaration of Independence, that ``all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. . . . .'' Our most conspicuous failure to reach this goal is the treatment of African Americans. Slavery, lynching, and segregation are all disgraceful examples of times when this Nation failed African Americans, when we failed to live up to our own promise of that fundamental truth that all men are created equal.

   However, for almost every time that we have failed, we have then struggled to come to terms with the disappointment of that failure and recommitted ourselves to trying again. Where there once was slavery, we enacted the 13th and 14th amendments abolishing slavery and declaring equal protection under the law for all races. After segregation, came Brown v. Board of Education and the Voting Rights Act. There are so many moments like these in our history. We should celebrate these moments, but we should not stop there. We celebrate and remember our history so that we can learn its lessons and apply them today. Today's wrongs are begging for attention. African Americans in this country face significant and often crippling disparities in education, health care, quality of life, and other areas where the Federal Government can play a role.

   There are different ways to acknowledge those times when Americans have failed to live up to our lofty goals. The Senators from Louisiana and Virginia, who are also co-sponsors of our Black History Month resolution, have chosen to apologize for the actions of some earlier Senators as a way of expressing their revulsion to lynching. I also condemn lynching, and this Black History Month resolution condemns lynching. But, rather than begin to catalog and apologize for all those times that some Americans have failed to reach our goals, I prefer to look ahead. I prefer to look to correct current injustices rather than to look to the past. Maya Angelou once wrote, ``History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.''

   There is no resolution of apology that we can pass today that will teach one more child to read, prevent one more case of AIDS, or stop one more violent crime. The best way for the United States Senate to condemn lynching is to get to work on legislation that would offer African Americans and other Americans better access to good schools, quality health care and decent jobs. By joining together in our Black History Month resolution, 35 members of this body commit ourselves to do just that, to find more ways to look to the future, and to continue to contribute to this work in progress that is the United States of America.

   I don't know what my friend Alex Haley would say about this Senate resolution or that Senate resolution. But I do know how he celebrated Black History Month. He told wonderful stories about African Americans and other Americans who believed in the struggle for freedom and the struggle for equality; he minced no words in describing the terrible injustices they overcame. He said to children that they were living in a wonderful country of great goals, and that while many in the past often had failed to reach those goals, that we Americans always recommit ourselves to keep trying.

   Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I wish to associate myself with the articulate and poignant remarks of the junior Senator from Tennessee. He is absolutely right, of course, that the era of widespread lynching in our nation's history is deplorable. And he is right that we must look to the future, to ensure that such crimes are never again allowed to occur.

   There are different ways to acknowledge those times when Americans have failed to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. The Senator from Tennessee quotes Maya Angelou, who once wrote, ``History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.'' Indeed, let us learn from the past, and look forward with such courage.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ISAKSON). The Senator from Arkansas.

   Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I know we have other Senators on their way to the Chamber to speak.

   I suggest the absence of a quorum.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

   The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

   Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

   Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I am here tonight on behalf of my colleague from Virginia, Senator Allen, and all of our colleagues who participated in the debate to close out this evening on this very important and historic resolution, S. Res. 39, which has apologized formally, officially, and with great sincerity to the thousands of victims of

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   Tonight the Senate has admitted its mistake and has taken a very positive step in admitting failure so that we can have a brighter future. I know that many of these victims and their families--``survivors'' is really a better word--have triumphed against this evil. Many were African Americans, but they were people of all different races and religious backgrounds. Many of them were here tonight and have been with us all day today.

   I know their names are part of the record, but again they were James Cameron, 91 years old, a victim of lynching who miraculously survived to tell his story; Doria Johnson, the great-granddaughter of Anthony Crawford--Grandpa Crawford, as he has been called--from Abbeville, SC--what a story that family has to tell. Dan Distel, the great-grandson of Ida Wells. What a brave and historic journalist she was. In the face of literally constant threats to her life, she continued to write. What a role model for journalists everywhere of the courage of what it really takes to tell a story. And she did it.

   We had many other family members and history professors with us today. There was a tremendous effort that enabled us to get to the floor tonight. As I wrap up, I want to again thank the staff. I thank my staff, including Jason Matthews, my deputy chief of staff; Kathleen Strottman, legislative director; Nash Molpus, who is with me on the floor. Our staff has been very helpful. Senator Allen's staff has also been remarkable and so many have contributed to this effort.

   I had many quotes to choose from, Mr. President, to end tonight. Really, there were hundreds of them that would be appropriate. But one was especially appropriate, for the close of this debate because, while it ends one chapter, it begins many new chapters in the history of our Nation. The woman I will quote from is one I have admired my whole life. I have read much about her and have been taught a lot about her. I will read this quote from this particular woman because it took guts to say what she did, at a time when people in America didn't want to hear it. This came at a time when people didn't want to hear what women had to say, generally, about any subject, let alone the subject of injustice and intolerance not only in our Nation but the world.

   The woman I will quote is Eleanor Roosevelt, who actually led a group of descendants into this Chamber in 1938 to urge the Senate, hopefully by their presence, to

   act--men and women who came with their own being, their own bodies to try to tell the Senate what you are reading about isn't true; these are innocent people. Eleanor Roosevelt escorted them to this Chamber and, of course, through all of their mighty efforts, actions were not taken, but not through any fault of hers. What I want to quote is what she wrote about universal human rights. I read this as a young legislator. Of course, we read lots of things, and some things stick and some don't. This particular quote is seared into my heart. I try to remember it every chance I get. I read it often, and I would like to read it tonight because it is very relevant to the debate that we have had. She wrote:

   Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home--so close and so small they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person, the neighborhood he lives in, the school or college he attends, the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close at home, we shall look for them in vain in the larger world.

   We have heard stories today--hundreds of stories about these small places close to home--trees in a public square, river banks, levees, streets, alleys, open fields, behind school buildings, and in front of stores. This is where people want to experience dignity and justice. Some of these towns are so little they may still not be on any map of the United States. Maybe in some of these towns--because of what happened in the past--there are very few people who live there. And some of these places are quite large, where you can find them on the map. I think it is instructive for the Senate, as we make this sincere apology tonight, that we really take a breath and be very introspective to think about where these small places are in America, where these places of any size are in America, and recommit ourselves to be honest about our failings and our shortcomings, to be honest about the fact that we are not always as courageous as we should be.

   But when we come to a point where we know we made the wrong decision, we didn't act in the best interests of our country or the American citizens who look to us for their protection and their support, we should at least be able to sincerely say we are sorry. That is what we did tonight. I thank Eleanor Roosevelt. I am forever grateful for her great leadership for the country and for thousands of Americans, people of all races, who advocated for justice and freedom at great expense to their own life--which is not what most of us experience today, gratefully--with great expense to their reputation, their livelihood. She was really not understood or appreciated in the world in which she lived.

   There were many children in the Senate today, these children and great, great, great-grandchildren. Some of the victims and some of the journalists who have written about this in the past were here. Let's make sure they know the truth and they know that tonight we apologize.

   Thank you, Mr. President.

   Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I have listened with great interest to the presentations that have been made on the floor and wish to be associated with the sentiments involved.

   I come from a State that does not have a history of lynchings, but that does not mean I should be absolved from the concern that all Americans should have over the lynchings that have occurred. I note that it was the filibuster that made it possible for the Senate to be the body that blocked this legislation in the past. I would hope that in the future, we would all realize that the filibuster should be used for more beneficial purposes than that.