[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2280]
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

                       Saturday, November 8, 1997

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, by the time our Congress reconvenes in 
January, Americans will have commemorated the national holiday which 
honors one of our greatest patriots and moral leaders, the Rev. Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.
  A few months later, on April 4, 1998, will fall the 30th anniversary 
of that dark day in American history when Reverend King was taken from 
us prematurely, at far too young an age, in one of the most heartless, 
senseless, and destructive crimes ever. For as long as civilization 
exists on this planet, scholars will debate how much greater an impact 
Dr. King would have had on our society had he been allowed to live and 
to continue his contributions.
  Although the life of Martin Luther King was tragically 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 realize 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 country for 
far too long, harmed our 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 hundred 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.
  In today's world, as we stand on the threshold of the 21st century, 
many of Martin Luther King's achievements are all around us. More Afro-
Americans hold elective office in the United States today, at all 
levels of government, than even the most optimistic person could have 
predicted in 1968. Afro-Americans have entered every field of our 
national lives and have seared themselves into our national 
consciousness. How much sadder and less enlightened all of our lives 
would be had we not had the works of Nobel Literature Prize winner Toni 
Morrison, the television entertainment of Bill Cosby, the athletic 
prowess of Michael Jordon, Magic Johnson, and so many others, and the 
millions of other black men and women who contribute to our society but 
would not have been able to do so had it not been for the desegregation 
work of Dr. Martin Luther King.
  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. I have personally been appalled to hear radio 
entertainers, those so called ``shock jocks'', who seem to believe it 
is both funny and entertaining to perpetuate racial stereotypes and 
verbal bigotries that most of us though we outgrew as a people some 40 
years ago. It seems as if all too often we hear of the desecration of a 
Black church, the beating of a Black young person, and other acts of 
racial hatred that Dr. King devoted his life to wipe out. No American 
can truly be satisfied until after all of the barriers of prejudice in 
our society are removed.
  Let us 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 
pause and 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 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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