[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR'S VISIT 
                                TO INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2009

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to join 
my friend and colleague Representative John Lewis in support of H. Res. 
134. This resolution commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the 
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India, and the role 
played by the revered leader of Indian independence Mahatma Gandhi--and 
those who followed in his footsteps--in influencing Dr. King's 
nonviolent approach to achieving social and political justice. I 
embrace this opportunity to look back at the men and the movement which 
pressed this nation forward in its journey towards the fulfillment of 
our founders' creed, and look forward as the march toward opportunity, 
justice, and freedom for all continues.
  When Dr. King left for India in February 1959, he was just beginning 
to make his mark as a leader of the national movement for civil rights. 
He had organized the successful boycott of Montgomery, Alabama's public 
transportation system in 1955, and founded the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference two years later. His burgeoning success had 
provided his nonviolent movement with the momentum and potential to 
become a truly powerful force in the pursuit of equal rights for all 
Americans. This momentum became entrenched during Dr. King's trip to 
India, where his immersion in the world of Mahatma Gandhi's own 
nonviolent success led King to commit himself in his philosophical 
entirety to the principle of meeting hate and injustice with persistent 
nonviolence.
  Though Gandhi had passed away eleven years prior to Dr. King's 
journey, King was no less attentive to the followers of the great 
shanti sena--the ``nonviolent army'' that Gandhi led in his successful 
effort to free his country from the grasp of colonialism. He 
encountered those who had stood with Gandhi through the long, arduous 
struggle for India's sovereignty, and came to deeply understand the 
necessary commitment and purpose of which believers in nonviolence must 
never lose sight. Dr. King came to believe that if India can assert its 
independence from the bonds of the British Empire without violence, 
then the United States of America can achieve racial equality with the 
same approach. He took the lessons of a people half a world away and 
applied them to the struggle of his own nation, illustrating that a 
righteous cause pursued by means which justify its ends holds universal 
promise. Perhaps it is best articulated by Dr. King himself: ``As I 
delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning 
the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first 
time its potency in the area of social reform.''
  Now, with the passage of five decades, let us commemorate this 
historic journey of our beloved Dr. King, focusing on the lessons it 
taught him and the strength it provided him as he met the challenges of 
his day. Let us not only remember the past, but rather carry its 
lessons into a brighter future of promise and freedom. I once again 
express my heartfelt appreciation for Congressman Lewis, a man whose 
own journey and career follow closely the principles and vision laid 
out by these two men, and urge all my colleagues to take this 
opportunity to honor those who refuse to allow the forces of hate and 
oppression to provoke them to lose sight of their vision for justice by 
embracing the nonviolent path.

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