[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN SUPPORT OF HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 247

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 247. This bill, in a small way, recognizes what 
the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has contributed to the civil 
society of the United States and to the world. In a sense, this bill 
outlines what we owe to Dr. Martin Luther King for the lessons he 
taught us on how to change our world and how to bring about justice. 
Dr. King's life and his work are a powerful example to all people who 
care about freedom, justice and equality.
  Dr. Martin Luther King loved this country. Dr. King's America was not 
perfect, but he envisioned a day when it would be perfect. The America 
he lived in was not perfectly just, but he saw a day when Justice would 
be given to all. Not everyone in Dr. King's America was free, but in 
his mighty and prophetic dream, he saw a day when Freedom would ring 
from every mountaintop and on that day--as he promised--``all of God's 
children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and 
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old 
Negro spiritual, ``Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we 
are free at last!''
  Dr. King loved this country because he believed in its promise to all 
people who make it their home. Dr. King was a man of faith who believed 
that Our Creator has endowed us with certain and unalienable rights to 
life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness. It is a sad fact in 
our nation's history that these unalienable rights were not always 
recognized and not always freely granted. Dr. King was like a prophet 
of old crying in the wilderness. His message was simple: Justice and 
Freedom are worth fighting for.
  But the battles he called us to were not to be fought in the streets 
with armed struggle and violence. The war that Dr. King waged was not 
for military dominance or political power, but for the hearts and minds 
of all who would hear his message. He called on Americans to rise above 
selfishness and personal ambition, to rise above anger and hate, and to 
establish Justice and Freedom through non-violent political action and 
change. His tactics in this war were founded on his deep conviction 
that morally there was right and there was wrong. It was immoral to 
segregate people by race and to hate someone because they have a 
different color skin. It was immoral to oppress other people. It was 
immoral to financially support institutions that participate in 
subjugating others.
  Mr. Speaker, these things are still immoral. There are still rights 
that need to be wronged. There are still people living in this world 
who are oppressed and who are not free. We need look no father than 90 
miles off our shore to see a country where a tyrant rules and the call 
to freedom is quickly and brutally silenced.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill calls on Americans to celebrate the life of 
Dr. King. This call to celebrate Dr. King's life and contributions 
comes 30 years after he was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee. Thirty 
years go, Dr. King was in Memphis supporting the striking city's 
sanitation workers exercise of their right to assemble, their right to 
free speech, their right to determine their own destiny, their basic 
right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  On April 3rd, 1968, thirty years ago this week, Dr. King stood in the 
Bishop Charles Mason Temple and called on all within earshot to stand 
together with greater determination. He called on all to move together 
through the days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. As 
if he had foreseen his own death the next day, he called for 
perseverance and patience in the face of opposition. And he left us 
with hope. Hope that his dream of an America where Freedom rings and 
Justice is established throughout the land would one day be at hand.
  There is work yet to be done. We should all stand together through 
the days of challenge because America--while great among all nations of 
the world and history--has greater days to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I have joined with my colleagues to sponsor this bill 
because I deeply believe that all peoples living under tyranny and 
oppression must be able to make their voices heard. I too have a dream 
that all peoples one day must live in a just, equal, and free world. I 
urge my colleagues to vote for this bill and to call on the people of 
the United States to study, reflect on, and celebrate Dr. King's life 
and ideals in order to fulfill his dream of civil and human rights for 
all people.

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