Congresswoman Alma S. Adams
On Jan. 6, 2022, on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the United States Capitol, Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) issued the following statement:
“Earlier today, President Biden told us ‘the way forward is to recognize the truth and live by it.’ We must honor and tell the truth, even when it makes us uncomfortable.
“This story won’t get as much attention in light of today’s anniversary, but at least eight Historically Black Colleges & Universities received bomb threats yesterday. These threats targeted Black and minority students as they returned to school to enrich their lives. Race-based attacks like these are more common than many think.
“The truth that must be told is that racism, prejudice and hate are still alive in America, as demonstrated by the mob that attacked the Capitol one year ago. The attackers carried confederate flags, wore Nazi t-shirts and called Black Capitol Police Officers the worst word in the English language. We know the attackers were organized, and that white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were involved in helping their supporters breach the walls and windows of the Capitol.
“We cannot forget that the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was instigated in part by President Trump’s claims that Black votes were illegitimate. The 2020 election saw historic participation from Black voters in Georgia and other battleground states, and the result was the election of the first Black woman as vice president. That was a truth the former president could not accept. Black voters made their voices heard, and when the former president and his allies didn’t like the result, they called it voter fraud.
“Even after we were attacked and Americans lost their lives, over 100 Congressional Republicans voted against certifying the election. The end goal of the attack was to prevent the election of President Biden and Vice President Harris, so while my colleagues didn’t participate in the attack, over 100 supported its cause. While many conservative politicians and pundits acknowledged the truth of Jan. 6 when it happened, they couldn’t cope with the knowledge that they fanned the flames of a white supremacist insurrection. In the months that followed, some belittled the impact of the event, some denied it even happened, and some said it couldn’t have been perpetrated by President Trump’s supporters.
“That’s not the truth. We must remember the Jan. 6 attack and the motivations behind it, because we cannot change these attitudes until they are acknowledged by Democrats, Republicans and independents alike. Racism and white supremacy have always been friends of authoritarianism and enemies of democracy and voting. We need to come together, united, to preserve American democracy, but that unity requires protecting our right to vote and permanently removing racism and white supremacy from our politics.”