Good morning everyone. Without objection the chairs authorized to declare recess of his committee at any time. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good morning, i thank all of you for being here today. Good morning, today we are examining our nations history of Voter Suppression as well as the obstacles that many minority communities continue to face to this day. In exercising their fundamental right to vote. Tomorrow we will be holding a ceremony to honor our dear friend and colleague and a former chairman Elijah Cummings. We will be renaming this hearing room after him and commending everything he stood for. Todays hearing is part of our efforts to honor his legacy. Protecting the right to vote was one of the most important issues if not the most important issue he fought for during his decades of service. We are holding this hearing in a gory during black History Month with black americans whose voices were stifled, blocks and silenced for centuries. It is black america