[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 35 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  OBSERVING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND BLACK HISTORY 
                                 MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 3, 2008

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, as we celebrate Black History 
Month, we should remember that this year is the 40th anniversary of the 
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of peace, a man of 
love, a man of nonviolence. We should pause in thanks for the great 
contributions he made to make our country a better place. What he did 
in organizing and leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott more than 50 years 
ago, liberated not just a people but an entire nation.
  Dr. King followed in the tradition of a very long and distinguished 
list of men and women who made unbelievable contributions to America 
and the world at large. The life works and contributions of these 
people continue to inspire us and will inspire generations yet to be 
born. Whether in education, sports, politics, business, medicine, the 
arts and sciences, one can turn the pages and see these unbelievable 
individuals' faces as part of our history. These individuals, whether 
it's Jackie Robinson, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, 
Ralph Bunche, Rosa Parks, Joe Louis, they are all members of a cadre 
that must be looked upon as contributors to a better America. At this 
point, this juncture, we celebrate their lives and their contributions.

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