Observing the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
OBSERVING THE BIRTHDAY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
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Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker I rise in strong support of House Resolution 61, a resolution which honors the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for his outstanding contributions to our country in the past and the continuing impact of his life and legacy.
Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr., was destined to follow in his grandfather's and father's footsteps as a Baptist minister, but no one could have known he would play such an important role in this history of our Nation. After graduating from high school at the age of 15, Martin Luther King, Jr., attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA., just as his grandfather and father had done before. He became a pastor in Ebenezer Baptist Church, and quickly rose to become the leader of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, inspiring first the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, and subsequently a nationwide battle to bring an end to racial discrimination in our Nation's laws and public accommodations, and to ensure full voting rights for African Americans. Though bus boycotts had been attempted before, none lasted as long, drew as much attention or were as successful. The Montgomery Bus boycott lasted for almost an entire year and had a profound effect on the businesses in Montgomery.
In recognition of his great leadership, Reverend King was the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35. He donated all of the prize money to the Civil Rights Movement.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a spiritual giant who possessed a keen intellect and remarkable insights on the human condition. In Massachusetts, we feel a sense of privilege knowing that this extraordinary historic figure lived and learned among us during his lifetime. In 1955, he received a Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology from Boston University. He also studied at Harvard University. But most important, it was in Boston that he met Coretta Scott, who became his wife, the mother of his four children, and his indispensable partner in a destiny of struggle, transformation and remarkable achievement.
Many of the words of Dr. King speak greatly to the adversities that we still face today. As we work to change the direction of our country, those of us in government must repeatedly seek out those with whom we may sometimes disagree to accomplish those great things that are most worth doing. ``Like an unchecked cancer,' said Dr. King, ``hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.'
As Dr. King so eloquently put it, ``In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.'
I urge adoption of the resolution.
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