{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://johnlewis.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-john-lewis-remarks-dedication-national-museum-african-american", "Rep. John Lewis' Remarks at the Dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture", "2016-09-24", "2016", "2016-09", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "John Lewis", "L000287", "johnlewis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Watch Congressman Lewis' Remarks Here\nPresident and Mrs. Obama, Vice President Biden, Dr. Jill Biden,\u00a0President and Mrs. Bush, President Clinton,\u00a0Mr. Chief Justice and members of the Board of Regents...\u00a0 To the museum Advisory Council, Secretary David Skorton, and Dr. Lonnie Bunch... \u00a0To the leadership of the U.S. Congress, and all my colleagues in both the House and Senate... In memory of the late Rep. Mickey Leland of Texas... To the District of Columbia, the architects of this incredible building... To all the staff of the White House, the federal agencies, the Congress, the Smithsonian who pushed and pulled together to help make this moment happen, and to all the construction companies and their crews -- I say\u00a0thank you. \u00a0\nThank you for all you did to help lead our society to this magnificent day. \u00a0As long as there is a United States of America, now there will be a National Museum of African American History and Culture. \u00a0This is a great achievement. \u00a0\nI tell you, I feel like singing the song Mahalia Jackson sung at the March on Washington over 50 years ago, \"How We Got Over.\"\u00a0 There were some who said it couldn't happen, who said \"You can't do it,\"\u00a0but we did it, we did it!\nWe are gathered here today to dedicate a building, but this place is more than a building. \u00a0It is a dream come true. \u00a0You and I -- each and every one of us -- were caught up in a seed of light. \u00a0We were a vision, born in the minds of black Civil War veterans and their supporters. \u00a0They met right here in Washington, DC, in 1916, exactly 100 years ago, at 19th Street Baptist Church, still in existence today. \u00a0Oh say! \u00a0Oh say! \u00a0See what a dream can do!\nIf you could roll up the sleeves of those veterans or touch the rubble on their backs, you might find the wounds of shackles and whips. \u00a0Most could not read the Declaration of Independence or write their own\u00a0names, but in their hearts burned an enduring vision of true democracy that no threat of death could ever erase. \u00a0They understood the meaning of their contribution. \u00a0They set a possibility in motion --\u00a0passing\u00a0down through the ages from heart to heart and breath to breath -- that we are giving birth to today.\nThis museum is a testament to the dignity of the dispossessed in every corner of the globe who yearn for freedom. \u00a0It is a song to the scholars and scribes, scientists and teachers, to the revolutionaries and the voices of protest, to the ministers and the authors of peace. \u00a0It is the story of life -- the story of our lives -- wrapped up in a beautiful, golden crown of grace.\u00a0\nI can hear the distant voice of our ancestors whispering by the night fire, \"Steal away, Steal away home. \u00a0We ain't got long\u00a0to stay here.\"\u00a0 Or a big, bold choir shouting, \"I woke up this morning with my mind stayed\u00a0on freedom.\" \u00a0All their voices -- roaming for centuries -- have finally found their home here, in this great monument to our pain, our suffering, and our victory.\nWhen I was a little child growing up in rural Alabama, a short walk to the cotton fields, but hundreds of miles from the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial, my teachers would tell us to cut out photographs and pictures of great African Americans for Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, now called African American History Month.\u00a0\nI became inspired by the stories of George Washington Carver, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, and so many others whose life and work will be enshrined in this museum. \u00a0As these doors open, it is my hope that each and every person who visits this beautiful museum will walk away deeply inspired -- filled with a greater respect for the dignity and the worth of every human being and a stronger commitment to the ideals of justice, equality, and true democracy. \u00a0\nThank you.\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 #####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://johnlewis.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-john-lewis-remarks-dedication-national-museum-african-american"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6848058439791203, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}