Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Women's History Month.

We cannot forget our history. Yet, over time, the contributions of Black women have been consistently overlooked and forgotten.

I want to do my part to correct that record.

Specifically, I will highlight two trailblazing Black women from Rhode Island.

First, I want to honor Christiana Bannister, a successful businesswoman, abolitionist, and philanthropist. Born in North Kingstown in the early 1800s, Christiana was a successful hair salon owner.

Christiana was a staunch abolitionist and used her wealth to support the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, a unit of Black soldiers during the Civil War.

Dedicated to improving the lives of Black women in her community, Christiana founded the Home for Aged Colored Women in Providence.

Decades later, Maria Lopes, another trailblazer, was the first Black woman elected to the Rhode Island State Legislature and she carried on Christiana's legacy of activism in Rhode Island.

Maria lived in the Valley View housing project in Providence and made a name for herself as a social activist when she successfully blocked the Mayor of Providence from turning the housing project into luxury apartments.

In 1973, Maria stormed the city council chambers with over 400 residents and supporters to prevent the sale of Valley View.

Thanks to Maria's advocacy, when Valley View was eventually sold, 25 percent of the units remained Section 8 housing.

In 1989, Lopes won a seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives where she served for over a decade, championing affordable housing issues.

I certainly would not be standing here today as Rhode Island's first Black Member of Congress if it were not for the tireless work of Maria Lopes and Christiana Bannister.

Women's history extends beyond the confines of March. Women's history is happening every single day and is worth acknowledgement every day, as well.

We must continue to uplift the hidden figures in our history.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Magaziner for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the comments made by my colleague to honor the life and legacy of Senator Frank Lombardo. His compassion, empathy, and purpose serving Rhode Islanders will be dearly missed.

Shiloh Gospel Temple

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the pain that our community is going through on Senator Lombardo's passing, but another issue involves the Shiloh Gospel Temple community. All of our families should be able to gather and worship free from the fear of harm. Our community in North Providence was attacked on February 11.

That someone would set this community ablaze in a hate-fueled act shakes me to my core.

I stand with Pastor Eric Perry and his congregation during this difficult time. The fact that this incident, this fire at the church, happened at all is despicable. That it happened during Black History Month is abhorrent.

This allegedly racist attack has shaken our community. I am glad a suspect has been identified, and I hope that justice will be vigorously pursued.

Madam Speaker, I yield back to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner).

Mr. Speaker, Rhode Islanders know that small businesses are the backbone of every city and town in our great state. It is my distinct pleasure to honor Small Business Administrator District Director for Rhode Island Mark Hayward for his long and important service to our state. Mark's service has benefited small businesses and the constituents of our First Congressional District in innumerable ways. I applaud his decades of commitment, and I express my gratitude on behalf of Rhode Islanders across every community for Mark's dedication.

I understand Mark's retirement has been planned since before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Mark opted to continue to serve an additional few long years to help ensure that the Rhode Island small business community saw its way through the crisis.

Mark's decision to help his community get to the other side of such a major event is the mark of a true public servant--one who is willing to put others first no matter the circumstances.

The success of so many small businesses across our state is because of Mark's many decades of hard work and expertise. For so many small business leaders, Mark's steady leadership was a lifeline. Whether helping small businesses navigate the Paycheck Protection Program or helping new business owners access the technical resources they needed to be successful, Mark has been relentlessly focused on growing our economy through his public service during his long and effective entire career.

I wish Mark some very well-deserved rest and time off with his wife Nancy, his children, and grandchildren. I know Mark's commitment to our community is thread throughout every fiber of his being and that he will continue to serve his fellow Rhode Islanders for many years to come.

Happy retirement to Mark, and I thank him for all he has done for Rhode Island.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for one rollcall vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall vote 705, H.J. Res. 88--Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to ``Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to affirm our ally Israel's right to exist.

The unprovoked October 7 attack by Hamas has left a deep wound. Israel has a right to defend itself against this barbarism consistent with international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

Far too many Israeli families do not know the fate of their loved ones at the hands of Hamas. While some have relief, there are still many who need to be reunited with their families. My hope is that the success President Biden has had will secure the release of all the hostages.

Importantly, the extended pause has meant additional humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the innocent Palestinian families in Gaza for whom Hamas has no regard. There must be sustained and safe access to food, water, and medical care.

Paramount is the prevention of this conflict from spreading, preserving stability in the Middle East, and working toward a durable peace.

These events have brought forward a rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Anti-Semitic incidents have involved violent assaults on Jewish students on college campuses and protesters extolling terrorist organizations.

Close to home, I was especially horrified that this past weekend, three students of Palestinian descent, one a Brown University student, were shot. I pray for their recovery and that the assailant be brought to justice.

This crisis of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia demands an urgent and collective response. There is no place for violence or hate in America.

In recognition of Israel's right to exist and for the immediate release of hostages taken during the October 7 attack, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 888 and H. Res. 793.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Magaziner for the warm introduction. I thank Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, who, alongside Representative Magaziner and I, make up our small but very mighty Rhode Island congressional delegation.

Of course, I am grateful for my predecessor, former Representative David Cicilline. I am grateful for his service to Rhode Island, and I look forward to our work together in both of our new roles.

To my family, friends, community leaders, and all those who have supported me along the way, I thank them. Of course, I thank the people of the First Congressional District and those across Rhode Island for giving me the opportunity to serve in the people's House.

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you a story about Rhode Island. Reverend Mahlon Van Horne was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1885, making him the first Black person elected to serve in the State legislature. Just think, Mr. Speaker, Reverend Van Horne was elected as a Black man nearly two decades after the end of the Civil War.

In an 1887 sermon, the Reverend said: ``I believe the day is coming, is not far off, when in the commonwealth of Rhode Island, the stomping ground of soul liberty will become the home of the free and the land of the truly brave--the home of the free, where fair play in all the walks of life will be accorded.''

Those words are at top of mind for me today.

Reverend Van Horne's dream and the dreams of those who have called Rhode Island home across generations allow me to stand before you today, Mr. Speaker.

While we have not arrived at our final destination in this project of our democracy, I am optimistic. As a Rhode Islander, it is easy for me. After all, our State motto is ``Hope.'' It is hope that led my parents to come from West Africa, my dad from Ghana and my mom from Liberia, to pursue opportunity in the greatest country in the world.

Nevertheless, this is not just my story. It is a Rhode Island story, and it is an American story. That shared story is why today I am proud to be the Representative from Rhode Island's First Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, what is beautiful about hope is that it cares not about your race, your religion, your gender, or where your ancestors came from. This belief has inspired people who arrived in Rhode Island from Italy, Ireland, Portugal, France, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, Armenia, and, yes, countries in West Africa, and so many places in between.

I, of course, must acknowledge those whose family branches extend from the Native Tribes of our shores to the settlers who came for religious freedom to those who did not choose their journey because they were enslaved people but whose hope persisted nonetheless.

Together, and why I am here, is that we ensure our great hope for the future is met with profound action: action to protect and strengthen retirement security, support our seniors, create economic opportunity and good-paying jobs, secure reproductive freedom and keep politics out of the doctor's office, ensure the livability of our planet for our children and their grandchildren, ban assault weapons and end gun violence, and stand up to the threats facing our democracy.

So this hallowed space, this House floor, is where we have always had to work vigorously toward the promise of our Nation's highest ideals and aspirations, and I cannot wait to work on behalf of the people of the First Congressional District, everyone from Woonsocket to Newport, East Providence to Cumberland, Providence to Bristol, and, of course, the great city of Pawtucket.

I thank Rhode Island for putting its trust in me to bring our values of hard work, grit, determination, and resilience in the face of adversity all the way from the Ocean State to the Halls of the United States Congress. I will work hard for those people in Rhode Island and those people across this country every single day. I am grateful for this privilege.