Honoring the Life and Accomplishments of Mrs. Coretta Scott King

Floor Speech

HONORING THE LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MRS. CORETTA SCOTT KING -- (House of Representatives - January 31, 2006)

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me the time. And I thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this resolution to the floor.

I was honored to stand many a time on the west wing of the Capitol of the United States as Mr. Conyers led the effort to ensure that America recognized the extraordinary contributions of one of America's greatest sons, Martin Luther King, Jr., and that we set a day aside to recognize not only his contributions but to recommit ourselves to the objectives that he lived for and died for. And I want to congratulate Mr. Conyers and thank him for the contributions that he has made to live out that commitment of Dr. King's.

Our Nation has lost a true hero. Coretta Scott King was one of the most eloquent and determined civil rights activists in our history, both as a partner to her husband, Dr. King, in the fight for equality and justice in the United States and as a keeper of his legacy after his assassination in Memphis on April 4.

Mrs. King's grace, of which Mr. Watt spoke and of which the resolution speaks, was experienced by all who met her. Her tenacity ensured that the civil rights movement that she helped to pioneer has continued to stay in the
forefront of America's consciousness. She worked closely with JOHN CONYERS and many others in this body and around the world.

A dedicated mother of four children, all of whom I have had the privilege of knowing for some period of time, Coretta Scott King became a symbol of peace and human rights and justice and equality not just here in the United States but around the world. After her husband's death, she devoted her energy to carrying on Dr. King's legacy of nonviolence and his work to create an America in which all people were judged not on the color of their skin but on the content of their character.

She inspired activists from South Africa to Latin America. And what is perhaps one of her greatest accomplishments, she worked with JOHN CONYERS and so many others to ensure that we set aside a day to recognize the contributions, recognize the message, and to recommit ourselves to living out the promises that America made but which Dr. King so eloquently told America we were not living out, that we had made the promises but we were not keeping them, in that extraordinary speech in August of 1963.

Each year this day serves as a reminder to Americans that we must keep working towards equality and justice for all citizens. That is what Coretta Scott King's life was about. It teaches younger Americans about the harrowed journey the country has traveled to fulfill the promise of civil rights.

In addition, she was the driving force in the founding of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. Nonviolent social change. Ghandi changed a nation; Martin Luther King, Jr. changed the world. He and Nelson Mandela and others who believed that by peaceful demonstration, by peaceful action, they could change the world and move mountains.

In addition, Coretta was the driving force in making sure that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was not a holiday, not a day off, but a day of focus, a day of commitment.

Coretta Scott King's poise and determination are qualities that we would all appreciate, admire, and remember each time we met her and talked to her. She carried on Dr. King's legacy, but she had a legacy, certainly, of her own: an extraordinarily accomplished musician; a wonderful and bright, intelligent woman; a leader of our country in her own right.

Today I want to join my colleagues, Mr. Conyers and Mr. Sensenbrenner and all of our colleagues, to express our heartfelt sympathies to Mrs. King's children, Yolanda, Martin Luther III, Dexter, and Bernice, as well as all of her family and friends.

Today a Nation mourns the loss of a great leader and recognizes her extraordinary contributions to making America a better place.

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