[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12439-S12440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate 
earlier this month passed legislation, as part of the omnibus parks 
bill, to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a 
memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the District of Columbia.
  I first introduced this legislation in the U.S. Senate in 1985 and 
have reintroduced it in each succeeding Congress. While we have been 
able to move this legislation through the Senate in two previous 
Congresses, until now it has failed to pass the House of 
Representatives. Fortunately, the bill has now also passed in the House 
of Representatives, thanks to the good work of Congresswoman Morella 
and Congressman Dixon.
  Since 1955, when in Montgomery, AL, Dr. King became a national hero 
and

[[Page S12440]]

an acknowledged leader in the civil rights struggle, until his tragic 
death in Memphis, TN, in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., made an 
extraordinary contribution to the evolving history of our Nation.
  His courageous stands and unyielding belief in the tenet of 
nonviolence reawakened our Nation to the injustice and discrimination 
which continued to exist 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation 
and the enactment of the guarantees of the 14th and 15th amendments to 
the Constitution.
  Mr. President, Martin Luther King, Jr., dedicated his life to 
achieving equal treatment and enfranchisement for all Americans through 
nonviolent means, and a memorial in the Nation's Capital honoring Dr. 
King's tremendous contributions is long overdue. I want to again extend 
my thanks to all those who have worked so hard to bring this effort to 
fruition. Without their tireless efforts over the years, this important 
legislation would not have been enacted.

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