[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 2 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E46]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  IN HONOR OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

                                 ______


                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, in a few days, Americans will be celebrating 
the national holiday which honors one of our great patriots and moral 
leaders, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  Reverend King was taken from us prematurely over a quarter century 
ago, at far too young an age, in one of the most heartless, senseless, 
and destructive crimes in our national history. It is difficult for us 
to recognize that if his life had not been so tragically snuffed out, 
Dr. King would be only 66 years old on his birthday this month.
  Although the life of Martin Luther King was cut short, his message is 
eternal and will long outlive all of us here today. The simple truth 
that Dr. King worked so hard to make us all recognize is that hatred 
actually harms the hater more than the hated. The evils of racial 
injustice, which were a blot on the record of our Nation for far too 
long, harmed the economy, the morals, and the advancement of white 
America just as much as it did Black America. The terrible legacy of 
Jim Crowism and continued racial discrimination which plagued us for 
well after a 100 years of the Emancipation Proclamation harmed us all, 
for they not only prevented all Americans from enjoying the full 
benefits of our society, they also prevented us all from reaping the 
benefits of the contributions all Americans are capable of making.
  By no means should the celebration of Martin Luther King Day be taken 
as a celebration that we have achieved all we can. In fact, the legacy 
of racial division and hatred continues to plague us today, in many 
ways, day after day. No American can truly be satisfied until after all 
of the barriers of prejudice in our society are removed.
  Yet, we can be inspired by the words of Dr. King, who stated: ``If 
you can't fly, run. If you can't walk, crawl. By all means, keep on 
moving.''
  Martin Luther King Day is an appropriate time for all Americans to 
remember that we must continue to move, until the day when all of us 
are afforded full opportunity, and that none of us have to be concerned 
that race, color, creed, or ethnic heritage are a hindrance to any 
individual, or to our Nation as a whole.
  Let us free ourselves from hatred, as Dr. King urged, so that we can 
share the dream he so eloquently shared with all in August of 1963--a 
dream that some day the descendants of slaves and the descendants of 
slave holders can sit down and join hands together at the table of 
brotherhood and proclaim: ``Free at last, free at last. Thank God 
almighty, we're free at last.''


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