Education

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today attended the funeral service for the late Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once pastored. Congressman Cohen was invited to attend the service as part of the official Congressional delegation honoring Lewis' memory.

After the service, Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today paid his respects to the late John Lewis at a ceremony held in the Capitol Rotunda, where the legendary Civil Rights leader and Georgia Congressman will lie in state.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"America has lost a hero. I have lost a hero, a dear friend, and an inspiration to continue to get into ‘good trouble' to overcome injustice. It was an honor to serve with this gentleman. He was the embodiment of Dr. King's beloved community and will never be forgotten."

WASHINGTON – Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Terri Sewell (AL-07) today led a letter from the entire Alabama Congressional Delegation and Washington's Congressional delegate to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, asking that U.S. Highway 80 be named the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Highway. Representatives Cohen and Sewell also introduced a bill Friday to name the highway "The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Highway."

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, today chaired a hearing on press freedom in the United States. Congressman Cohen noted that, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, there have been more than 500 attacks on journalists during Black Lives Matter protests since May 26. Congressman Cohen also expressed his concern about Trump Administration efforts to muzzle the Voice of America.

In his opening remarks, Congressman Cohen said:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today introduced the Share America's Diverse History in the Capitol Act, which would allow states to send three statues to be displayed in the National Statuary Collection. The bill also encourages them to honor women and members of ethnic and racial minority groups, now underrepresented in memorials inside the U.S. Capitol, to celebrate their contributions to our shared heritage.

States currently send two statues for placement in Statuary Hall, Emancipation Hall and elsewhere in the U.S. Capitol complex.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who has long advocated removal of the bust of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Grand Wizard, Confederate general and slave trader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the State Capitol, today commended the State Capitol Commission for its vote to petition the State Historical Commission for permission to remove the bust. The vote was 7 to 2.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today commended Governor Bill Lee for stating that he will recommend the bust of Confederate General and slave-trader Nathan Bedford Forrest be removed from the State Capitol and placed in the Tennessee State Museum when the State Capitol Commission meets on Thursday. Congressman Cohen, a former member of the State Senate, has long opposed the bust's place of honor in the State Capitol and has written a series of letters to both Lee and his predecessor, Governor Bill Haslam, asking for its removal.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that the Shelby County Board of Education will receive a grant of $4,144,250 from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Head Start for its early childhood programs.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement: