[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 77 (Monday, June 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1038]]
                  LeROY COLLINS: HERO OF THE STRUGGLE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 19, 2000

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Civil Rights Movement is 
replete with examples of men and women who risked great personal harm 
and displayed unwavering courage in the face of danger. Men and women 
whose names many not be as familiar to us as the names of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. or James Farmer, but who nevertheless made huge 
contributions to the struggle for freedom. One such person was LeRoy 
Collins, former governor of Florida, whose mediation skills and 
nonviolent nature helped Alabama avoid a second Bloody Sunday.
  As we all know, the first attempt by marches to cross the Edmund 
Pettus Bridge on that fateful day--March 7, 1965, Bloody Sunday--was 
met with unconscionable violence initiated by Alabama state troopers. 
As plans were made for the second attempt, many expected the worst. Dr. 
King, who would lead the march, met with LeRoy Collins. Collins was the 
director of the Justice Department's Community Relations Service and 
was sent by President Johnson to mediate the situation. After speaking 
with King, Collins struck a deal with state and local officials 
designed to avoid a repeat of Bloody Sunday. We would be allowed to 
cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge but we could not go on to Montgomery.
  Later that day, with Alabama State troopers looking on, two thousand 
people led by Dr. King peacefully marched across the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge. Once they reached the bottom of the other side they stopped, 
prayed and sang ``We Shall Overcome.''
  The nonviolent nature of our second march was in no small measure a 
result of LeRoy Collins' courage and prudence. God only knows what harm 
may have been suffered on that day if a deal had not been brokered. I 
will never forget LeRoy Collins. He is truly a hero of the struggle.

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