[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E92]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE CITY OF AKRON DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BETTY SUTTON

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 12, 2007

  Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the City of Akron 
and the 22nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture which will be held 
at the Akron-Summit County Main Library. The lecture is co-sponsored by 
the Akron-Summit County Public Library and the Eta Tau Lambda Chapter 
of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc.
  Ozell Sutton will deliver the annual lecture. Civil rights and human 
rights are Sutton's passions. He served as an escort for the Little 
Rock Nine when they entered Central High School in Arizona in 1957. He 
marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington in 1963 and in 
Selma, Alabama, in 1965. He was in Memphis when King was killed in 
1968. Mr. Sutton has been cited four times by Ebony magazine as one of 
the ``100 Most Influential African-American Leaders.''
  All Americans know of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s stature as a 
national hero and we all look up to Dr. King's ideals of freedom, 
justice and opportunity. From his celebrated ``Letter from Birmingham 
Jail'' to his organization of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King 
demonstrated that eloquent words followed with significant action could 
affect social change without resorting to violence. His ``I Have a 
Dream'' speech movingly spelled out his dream of racial equality and 
propelled the issue to the forefront of national consciousness.
  The City of Akron, which has a very rich history, is the seat of 
Summit County in the State of Ohio. The city is located between 
Cleveland to the north and Canton to the south. It was founded in 1825 
near the Ohio & Erie Canal and became a manufacturing center owing to 
its location at a staircase of locks. The locks were needed due to the 
higher elevation of the area, which gave rise to the name Summit County 
as well as Akron, which is a rough translation of ``summit'' into 
Greek.
  The city is home to the University of Akron, the Akron Aeros ``AA'' 
affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and the Firestone Country Club, at 
which the PGA Tour's Bridgestone Invitational is annually played. Akron 
is often referred to as ``The Rubber City,'' being the home of both 
Goodyear and Firestone. The city is also home to the All-American Soap 
Box Derby which has been held at Akron's Derby Downs race track since 
1935.
  In closing, I once again pay tribute to the City of Akron and the 
22nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture.

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