Emboldened by a victory in which Russian interference helped elect Donald Trump last year, the President and his allies among the Republican congressional majority continue to attack the legacy of accomplishment that we achieved during Barack Obama’s presidency. Americans have an important legacy of progress to protect: including expanded access to healthcare and an economy […]
Author Archives: Rep. Elijah Cummings
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Restoring Trust in the Police
Here in Baltimore, our work to restore the public’s trust in our police officers – so essential to effective public safety – continues. Elijah Cummings With the full support of Baltimore’s elected and appointed leaders and civil rights advocates from every section of our City, we are proceeding toward enforcement of a judicially supervised and […]
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Defending Democracy Against Voter Suppression
Although President Donald Trump won enough states last year to give him the Electoral College victory, he lost the nationwide popular vote by approximately 2,868,000 votes. Elijah Cummings Nevertheless, the President and his senior political advisor, Stephen Miller, have repeatedly declared (without any apparent foundation in fact) that he only lost the popular vote because […]
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A Lesson from Black History for 2017
In asking America to focus upon the significance to African Americans of gaining an empowering public education, both historically and today, The Association for the Study of African-American Life and History has done our nation another important service. As the ASALH points out, the barriers and accomplishments that have defined our educational struggles call upon […]
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Creating the Black History of our Time
During Feb. of each year, our nation reflects upon the lessons to be drawn from the history of Black Americans – our struggles, our progress and our contributions to the lives of our countrymen and women of every race, gender and creed. Congressman Elijah Cummings Black History Month this year comes at an especially poignant […]
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Our Journey Toward ‘One America’ Is at a Crossroad
When I rose to support the Democratic Party’s Platform at our National Convention in Philadelphia last week, I could not help thinking of my family’s long and continuing march from the fields of South Carolina through the factories of Baltimore – and onward toward the “One America” that should be every American’s dream. Elijah Cummings […]
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We Have the Power to Save Lives
Rep. Elijah Cummings Most Americans already grasp this truth, but it bears repeating. Our families will not be as safe from gun violence as they should be until our National Days of Action for Gun Violence Protection are translated into more effective legislation that better protects us every day of the year. Reflecting their support […]
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Leading America to Higher Ground
Elijah Cummings When I was named as Chair of the National Democratic Party’s 15-person Platform Drafting Committee, there were some who wondered whether we would be able to bring together the strong and principled leaders who would be representing Secretary Clinton, Senator Sanders and the Democratic Party as a whole. For my own part, however, […]
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Harry and Eliza Briggs’ school bus to opportunity
As we celebrate another notable anniversary of the civil rights era – Thurgood Marshall’s 1954 victory in the five cases we know, collectively, as Brown v. Topeka Board of Education – we should take a moment to thank Harry and Eliza Briggs and their neighbors in Clarendon County, S.C. Their efforts to assure that Clarendon […]
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Nelson Mandela’s Legacy
Last week, I was privileged to be included in a U.S. congressional delegation that attended President Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in South Africa. The experience was an inspiring one, just as Nelson Mandela’s life uplifted so many of us in decades past. I readily acknowledge that I was in need of the inspiration I received […]
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Opening the doors to our colleges and universities
“In America today, college is available to everyone prepared to move forward in life,” Dr. Claudio Prieto, then Assistant U.S. Education Secretary, once observed. “For minorities like us, there are still barriers to obtaining an education, but with hard work, those barriers are manageable….” Most of us would agree. Yet, for Americans of color, acknowledging […]
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After the parade is over
As we watched the parades and listened to the speeches on Veterans’ Day, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel offered perhaps the most consequential insight about America’s continuing bond with those who have gone in harm’s way to serve our country. “The United States is now winding down the longest period of sustained combat in our […]