[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 115 (Thursday, September 12, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8569-S8570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 2929. A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 265 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 
as the ``Nat King Cole Post Office''; to the Committee on Governmental 
Affairs.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today, along with Senator Boxer 
to introduce legislation that would name a post office in Los Angeles, 
CA after Nathaniel Adams Coles, whom we all know as Nat ``King'' Cole.
  Nat ``King'' Cole was a great American vocalist and entertainer, and 
the best selling African-American recording artist of his generation.
  Born in 1919 in Montgomery, AL, Mr. Cole proved, at an early age, to 
be quite musically adept. At the age of four, he gave his first public 
performance playing the piano and singing at Chicago's Regal Theater.
  In 1937, as a struggling young musician, he moved to Southern 
California.
  While in Los Angeles, Mr. Cole was asked to put together a small 
musical group which was to play at the Sewanee Inn, a Los Angeles 
nightclub.
  The owner of the Sewanee Inn is responsible for the nickname ``King 
Cole'' because he asked him to wear a golden paper crown. Though the 
crown was short lived, the nickname stuck and the musical group became 
known as the King Cole Trio.
  In 1943, the King Cole Trio signed with a fledgling record company 
known as Capital Records. The next year, Capital Records released a 
song written by Nat ``King'' Cole and recorded by the King Cole Trio 
called ``Straighten Up and Fly Right.''
  The song became a huge hit due to its popularity with audiences of 
different races. The King Cole Trio went on to have a series of musical 
hits that include ``For Sentimental Reasons'' and ``The Christmas 
Song.''
  Nat ``King'' Cole went on to sell so many records that Capital 
Records' headquarters became known as the ``House that Nat built.''
  Nat ``King'' Cole's legacy not only encompasses his musical genius, 
but also his bravery in overcoming racial intolerance. During his 
career, he played in some clubs where he was the first ever Black 
entertainer to perform. He also endured an attack from white 
supremacists while on stage in Birmingham, Alabama in 1956.
  Mr. Cole holds a special place in the hearts of Los Angeles 
residents, as a man who brought down racial barriers. In 1948, Mr. Cole 
and his family purchased a home in the exclusive Hancock Park section 
of Los Angeles. His would-be neighbors formed an association to prevent 
him from moving into the all-white community.

[[Page S8570]]

  Overcoming these protests and threats, Mr. Cole moved in and became 
the first family to integrate the community.
  In honor of this distinguished former resident, members of the 
community surrounding the Oakwood Station Post Office, have advocated 
that the post office at 265 South Western Avenue in Los Angeles be 
named after Nat ``King'' Cole.
  It is my pleasure to introduce such legislation, and I hope that my 
colleagues will support it.
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