Donald Scott, Dr. Billington and Vice President Al Gore meet in the lower level of the Jefferson Building.- Photos by Yusef El-Amin
The Library welcomed Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. and members of Congress at several events in the Jefferson and Madison buildings to mark the convening of the 105th Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
The Vice President greeted new House Democratic freshman and some 600 of their constituents at a celebration of their swearing-in during an afternoon program in the Jefferson Building Tuesday.
Acknowledging that the "the Library is completely nonpartisan," Gore expressed his gratitude to Dr. Billington and Deputy Librarian of Congress Donald Scott for their "understanding of our enthusiasm today -- " a celebration for those Democrats newly elected to the House as well as the re-election of the President, which Gore noted was in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson, the first Democrat to be elected to two terms.
The Vice President recalled that Jefferson said, "One of our duties is to promote harmony and conciliation" and to make love of country an overriding priority.
However, he noted that the reason for the Jefferson Building celebration was the election and swearing in of freshman Democrats, including Rep. Robert A. Weygand (D-R.I.), acting president of the freshman class of House Democrats, who organized the event, and Marion Berry (D-Ark.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), Alan Boyd, Jr. (D-Fla.), Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas), Chris John (D-La.), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), Steven R. Rothman (D-N.J.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).
To their constituents, Gore said "You are rekindling the promise of democracy . . . and the spirit of America."
Other guests included Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Bob Graham (D-Fla.), and former Senators Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) and Bill Bradley (D-N.J.).
Dr. Billington opened the program by welcoming the new House members, their guests, and Vice President Gore to the Library. Saying he was pleased the new members would begin their congressional careers at the Library, Dr. Billington noted that LC "is the Library for the Congress and for all Americans.
The 3 p.m. program for new House members, preceded by a luncheon, was held in the northwest pavilion and curtain of the Jefferson Building and the north mezzanine of the Great Hall. While the members were sworn in to the 105th Congress on the House floor, their friends and families watched the proceedings on television monitors set up in the Jefferson space.
At left, Jesse Jackson attends his son's swearing in. Rep. Maxine Waters (right) and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus assembled for a ceremonial swearing-in. - Photos by Yusef El-Amin
Members of Congress attended other Jan. 7 events in the Jefferson and Madison buildings. The Congressional Black Caucus spent the morning at the Library, beginning with an 8:30 a.m. coffee with Dr. Billington in the Librarian's Old Office in the Jefferson Building.
Dr. Billington, General Scott, Chief of Staff Jo Ann Jenkins, and other LC managers greeted the guests, who included Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and organizer of the Library event; 39 members of the caucus; Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.); U.S. District Court Judge Constance Baker Motley, who presided at a ceremonial swearing-in that followed for members of the caucus; the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his son, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.); comedian Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille; and Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry and his wife, Cora. Other guests included members of Congress and their constituents.
Adrienne Cannon, African American specialist, Manuscript Division, displayed several historical items from Library collections, including a photograph of a black Civil War regimental officer; a letter of Martin Luther King, Jr., regarding his Nobel Peace Prize, a draft of Frederick Douglass's autobiography, a Langston Hughes poem about Booker T. Washington, and a program signed by Mary Church Terrell, the first president of the National Association of Colored Women.
Dr. Billington, Bill Cosby and Donald Scott chatted during a break in the celebration. - Photo by Yusef El-Amin
Later, Judge Motley, senior judge, U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, presided at a ceremonial swearing-in for members of the Congressional Black Congress, in the center court of the Great Hall. Attending this event and a reception that followed in the south mezzanine of the Great Hall were some 300 guests.
Delegate Norton introduced Judge Motley as a "workhorse litigator," citing her early career as a civil rights lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1945-1965). She worked on major school desegregation cases, which won black students admission to universities in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, and South Carolina. She was the first black woman appointed to a U.S. District Court (September 1966), the first black woman in the New York State Senate (1964-65), and the only woman to hold office as president of the Manhattan Borough (1965-66).
After the program, Representative Waters said there are "growing expectations for the Congressional Black Caucus." She said the purpose of the swearing-in ceremony was to help the caucus "start out with a unified spirit." She said the ceremony was important because "sometimes, in our ceremony, we need to speak to each other in a way that will empower each other."
The Members Room in the Jefferson Building was open from 12:30 to 3 p.m. for members of Congress and their constituents to view historical items from LC's collections. One notable display was the contents of President Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated. On hand to describe the items were Harry Katz of Prints and Photographs Division, Rosemary Plakas of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Marvin Kranz of the Manuscript Division, Ronald Grim of the Geography and Map Division, and Peter Bartis and Camilla Bryce-Laporte of the American Folklife Center.
Other events held at the Library on Tuesday included a breakfast for the Tennessee House and Senate delegation in the Members Room; an evening reception for the New Jersey delegation in the Montpelier Room; tours of the Library for members of Congress and their constituents; and meetings and receptions given by individual members of Congress for their constituents.
On Jan. 9 and 10, a Senate Republican Conference Retreat for the 105th Congress was held in the Members' Room. Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) is chair of the Republican Conference.
Acting as liaison between the Library and congressional offices planning the events were the Library's Congressional Relations Office (CRO) and Special Events Office. "We have been working on these events for the past six weeks," said Otremba. "We are very pleased that so many members of Congress visited their Library on Tuesday."
