Recognizing the Martin Luther King Commemorative Committee of the Coachella Valley

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Martin Luther King Commemorative Committee of the Coachella Valley for their dedication to celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. King.

Since 1986, the MLK Commemorative Committee has kept Dr. King's commitment to civil rights, nonviolence, and grassroots activism alive. Every year, they have demonstrated to our Desert community that the values Dr. King preached--justice, love, respect--are as important today as they were during his lifetime.

This committee was born from the vision and service of Mr. Joseph Beaver, a lifetime civil rights advocate and community leader. Answering the call to service during World War II, Mr. Beaver was one of the first African Americans to join the Marine Corps.

We are blessed by Mr. Beaver's advocacy for social justice, which has inspired and enriched our valley. To this day, he remains on the frontlines fighting for civil rights here in our community. In 2014, it was my honor to present Mr. Beaver with the Congressional Gold Medal for his accomplishments as a service member and civil rights leader.

While the manifestations of racism and prejudice may have changed, the injustice Dr. King battled endures today. Racism endures. Inequality endures. Dr. King prophesized that the arc of history bends toward justice, but the road there has never been smooth.

As we remember Dr. King, we cannot relegate him to the history books. To keep his legacy alive, we must stand up to hatred, white supremacy, and the systematic racism that continues to plague our nation. In doing so, we embrace the values Dr. King lived: justice, equality, and the courage to do what is right.

That is the mission of the Commemorative Committee: not to simply remember Dr. King once a year, but to inspire us to carry on his spirit in our hearts and enact his vision of love and equality. It's a message of freedom that, through their efforts, rings across the Coachella Valley and every valley, hill, and stream across our nation.

On behalf of the residents of California's thirty-sixth congressional district, I congratulate the Martin Luther King Commemorative Committee of the Coachella Valley for their commitment to celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. I thank them for their service to our community.

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