[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4797 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4797

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
          the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two


                                 An Act


 
To redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located 
at 265 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, as the ``Nat King 
                           Cole Post Office''.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
        (1) Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, 
    Alabama, during the difficult period of segregation in the United 
    States, and was raised in the ghettos of the south side of Chicago, 
    Illinois, where he endured the harshness of poverty.
        (2) Nat King Cole was often confronted with racism during his 
    career, including being attacked by members of a white supremacist 
    group while he was on stage in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1956.
        (3) Nat King Cole allowed neither poverty nor racism to prevent 
    him from sharing his music with people worldwide and from leaving a 
    lasting impression on American culture.
        (4) Nat King Cole established himself as the best selling 
    African-American recording artist of his generation.
        (5) Nat King Cole and his family became the first African-
    American family to integrate the community of Hancock Park in Los 
    Angeles when, despite threats and protests from local residents, 
    they purchased their English Tudor mansion in 1948.
        (6) ``The Nat King Cole Show'', primarily broadcast from 
    Burbank, California, aired nationally for more than a year 
    beginning in 1956 and was the first television show to be hosted by 
    an African-American artist.
        (7) Nat King Cole graced southern California with his music 
    during the formative years of his music career and formed the 
    successful ``King Cole Trio'' in Los Angeles, California.
        (8) Nat King Cole's recording of ``Route 66'' serenaded 
    generations of eager California immigrants.
        (9) Nat King Cole's recorded rendition of ``The Christmas 
    Song'' symbolizes the family warmth of the yuletide season.
        (10) Nat King Cole's disarming delivery teaches people the 
    meaning of ``Unforgettable''.
        (11) Although Nat King Cole died from lung cancer on February 
    15, 1965, the music and embracing baritone voice of Nat King Cole 
    are lasting legacies that continue to be enjoyed by people 
    worldwide.
        (12) Nat King Cole exemplifies the American dream by having 
    overcome societal and other barriers to become one of the great 
    American entertainers.
        (13) Members of the community surrounding the Oakwood Station 
    Post Office in Los Angeles, California, have advocated for the 
    renaming of the post office in honor of Nat King Cole, a former 
    resident of the area.

SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION AND REFERENCES.

    (a) Redesignation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 265 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 
and known as the Oakwood Station Post Office, shall be known and 
designated as the ``Nat King Cole Post Office''.
    (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the facility referred to 
in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Nat King 
Cole Post Office''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.