[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. STEVEN HORSFORD

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 24, 2025

  Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues in the 
Congressional Black Caucus to honor my history--our history--American 
history . . .
  I'm here to honor Black history during Black History Month.
  This is a time to honor our elders, and the struggles they endured 
bringing us to this moment.
  My home of Las Vegas is rich with contributions, milestones and 
heroes that advanced equity in our society.
  People like Hattie Canty--who led the Culinary Workers Union Local 
226 to fight for better wages and job security, including the longest 
strike in American history against unfair labor conditions--six and a 
half years.
  Places like West Las Vegas, which became the heart of the city's 
Black community during segregation.
  Black-owned businesses and venues along the Black Strip on Jackson 
Avenue allowed culture to thrive . . .
  . . . while entrepreneurship and homeownership helped local community 
members begin to accumulate wealth.
  And breakthroughs, like the Sands Hotel allowing Nat King Cole to 
stay and perform there in 1955, challenging racial segregation to its 
core at the time.
  Las Vegas is one of so many, pillars of progress--progress made over 
generations--and progress that is under threat right now by forces who 
want to take our country backwards.
  . . . Denigrating civil rights . . .
  . . . Undermining racial diversity . . .
  . . . Eroding opportunities to grow wealth and better oneself with an 
education.
  What the forces against progress don't seem to realize, is the spirit 
of progress is alive and well today--every bit as much as it was for my 
parents' generation, and the generations before them.
  I mentioned Hattie Canty--I stand on her shoulders to this day.
  I spent a decade leading the Culinary Training Academy of Las Vegas 
that she helped found in 1993.
  It trains thousands of people every year with vocational skills that 
help local youths, adults, and displaced workers find work in the 
hospitality industry.
  The spirit of Black History Month is the spirit of progress--it's a 
flame that cannot be blown out.
  I am grateful for all of the leaders who came before me.
  And my commitment is to stand steadfast for future generations in 
this time of need, just as past generations did for me.

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