[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 2, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF DR. MARTIN 
                            LUTHER KING, JR.

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                               speech of

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2008

  Ms. CASTOR. Madam Speaker, Martin Luther King, Jr. is a national 
hero. He embodied the tenacious spirit and compassionate understanding 
of the American ideal. The power of his words has moved millions to 
live with hope in their hearts and welcome in their embrace.
  Dr. King fought for racial equality and desegregation with nonviolent 
protest. Peace, he taught us, is our most powerful weapon. He helped 
communities begin to heal the wounds of hatred and indignity by 
replacing them with cooperation and tolerance. The mark he left on our 
society is indelible. When an assassin took him from us on that April 
day in 1968, Americans mourned a terrible loss. Sooner than expected, 
we had to enact the lessons he taught us without his guidance to show 
us the way. But his ink was already imprinted on our moral fiber, and 
our country continued his fight to end discrimination and segregation.
  Madam Speaker, let us, as an American community, pause today to 
remember the legacy Dr. King left for each of us to carry--to dream, to 
love, and to accept.

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