[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Speaker 
of the House, Speaker  Nancy Pelosi; our leader, Steny Hoyer; our whip, 
Jim Clyburn; our chair, Rahm Emanuel; and our vice chair, John Larson, 
for allowing us this time to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther 
King.
  Mr. Speaker, like Dr. King, I love America. I love the ideals 
expressed in the Declaration of Independence, all persons are created 
equal; and the Pledge of Allegiance, liberty and justice for all; and 
the Constitution, government of the people, by the people, for the 
people.
  So today, Mr. Speaker, I stand here in the well of the United States 
House of Representatives as a proud American, and I pay tribute to a 
great and noble American, Dr. Martin Luther King.
  Dr. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929, at a time when some 
Americans could buy a hat but they couldn't try it on; at a time when 
some Americans had to step off the sidewalk so that other Americans 
might pass; at a time when of the people, by the people, for the people 
did not include all of the people; at a time when liberty and justice 
for all did not include all; at a time when all persons are created 
equal, but some people were more equal than others.
  So I thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King, because he refused to use 
the back door. He refused to sit in the balcony. He refused to drink 
from a colored water fountain. He refused to allow his name to be 
``Boy.'' He was a man among men.
  He stood up for the least, the last and the lost. He stood for the 
least, those who were born into a legacy of poverty; the last, those 
who were the last hired and the first fired; the lost, those who were 
lost in poverty in a land of plenty.
  I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. King and the many others who made it 
possible for me to be here. Because, you see, they fought for and 
secured the Voting Rights Act. Before the passage of the Voting Rights 
Act, we had five African Americans in Congress. This includes the House 
and the Senate. Now we have 43. We had four Hispanic Members of 
Congress. Now we have 30. We had three Asian Americans in Congress. Now 
we have nine.
  Because of Dr. King and others, Congressman Charlie Rangel has Ways 
and Means; he is the Chair of Ways and Means. Because of Dr. King and 
so many other countless faces, Homeland Security is securely in the 
hands of Congressman Bennie Thompson. Because of Dr. King and those who 
fought for civil rights, Intelligence is intelligently chaired by 
Congressman Silvestre Reyes, and the Judiciary Committee is in the 
hands of Congressman John Conyers.
  Because of Dr. King and the great sacrifices that were made by the 
civil rights workers, women have made great strides, because the House 
is not only a woman's place, it is a place where a woman can be 
speaker. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the United States 
House of Representatives.
  So I thank God for Dr. King. I thank God that he was born, and I 
understand that had he been born in Europe, he could have been Pope. 
Had he been born Muslim in the Middle East, he could have been a 
prophet. In another time, he could have been President. I thank God 
that he was born when he was, however, because had he not been born 
when he was, I would not be in the United States House of 
Representatives.
  Thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King.

                          ____________________