[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4797 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 4797


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 10, 2002

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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''.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 9, 2002.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.