Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) addressed those in attendance of the service for Black history month at the Raindrop Turkish House on Sunday, March 6, 2011. Congressman Cleaver, in addition to businessmen, academics, and community members shared a light meal and conversation before a brief address. Born in Texas, Cleaver was a trend setter and ground breaker in the civil rights movement and was the first black mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. Cleaver spoke passionately about the poignant origin of blacks in the U.S., who first arrived in slave ships in the 16th Century colonial America. Speaking about the history in detail, Cleaver related the trials African-Americans confronted as they were freed from slavery only to face harsh social norms and the much regrettable Jim Crow laws.