[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E536]
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. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2008

   Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today, as we commemorate with 
great sadness the 40th anniversary of his assassination, Americans 
remember how Dr. King inspired us to turn our back on centuries of 
hatred and oppression, how he called on the better angels of our nature 
and led us to a more just America.
   Dr. King made us all believe we could change the world; and, we did. 
But for all that has been achieved since Dr. King was taken from us, 
much remains to be done.
   In the past 40 years, we have seen the fall of Jim Crow, but we have 
also seen the rise of economic inequality that divides the haves 
farther and farther from the have nots, with a shrinking and 
increasingly ignored middle class in between.
   We have seen the birth and growth of the black middle class, but in 
America's cities a black man born today is more likely to move to a 
prison cell than a college dorm.
   We have seen the death of de jure segregation, but in communities 
across America the impact of residential division continues to give us 
two school systems: separate and unequal.
   In the 40 years since Dr. King's death, our world has changed 
dramatically, but his vision of equality has lost none of its power. 
You could say that we need Dr. King today more than ever.
   As a congressman, I sometimes ask myself what Martin would do, and 
the answer never fails to provide some guidance.
   Dr. King fought for equality, and I believe he would be fighting 
today to ensure that every American student has the opportunity to live 
their dreams.
   Dr. King believed in the rights of working people, and I believe he 
would be struggling to give every American worker the right to join a 
union.
   And Dr. King was the victim of a vicious smear campaign launched by 
his own government. I believe he would be working to strengthen our 
civil liberties so that future government officials cannot harass 
future Dr. Kings.
   As we mark his death and celebrate his life, let us recommit 
ourselves to doing Dr. King's work in our own time. Dr. King brought us 
to the mountain top, but it is up to us to reach the Promised Land.




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