[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E83-E84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF SONG TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, 
                                  JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 20, 2010

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H. Res. 1010, ``Celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr. during the 30th anniversary of the Stevie Wonder song tribute 
to Dr. King, ``Happy Birthday,'' introduced by my distinguished 
colleague from Michigan, Representative Conyers. The first Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. federal holiday was officially observed on January 20, 
1986, and was celebrated with a concert headlined by Stevie Wonder, who 
has, in the years since, continued his commitment to promoting peace 
and equality, for which he has been recognized with a Lifetime 
Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, 
Tennessee.
  Stevie Wonder encouraged the establishment of a federal holiday in 
recognition of Dr. King on his album sleeve for ``Hotter Than July'' by 
expressing that, ``I and a growing number of people believe that it is 
time for our country to adopt legislation that will make January 15, 
Martin Luther King's birthday, a national holiday, both in recognition 
of what he achieved and as a reminder of the distance which still has 
to be traveled.'' The tribute song ``Happy Birthday,'' became a 
rallying cry that led to 6,000,000 signatures supporting a federal 
holiday in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Legislation designating the third Monday of January as a federal 
holiday in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. occurred on 
November 3, 1983, was signed into law. This campaign secured a federal 
holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which lasted for 
fifteen years, with the 1980 Stevie Wonder song that solidified the 
campaign's success.
  The life and work of Dr. King, to advance justice, equality, and 
peace for an entire human race ended prematurely when he was 
assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, while he was 
challenging the wages and treatment of Memphis sanitation workers. Four 
days after the assassination of Dr. King, on April 8, 1968, 
Representative John Conyers, Jr. introduced legislation to recognize 
civil rights leader Dr. King with a federal holiday coinciding with his 
birthday on January 15, 1929.
  Stevie Wonder dedicated his album sleeve for ``Hotter Than July,'' an 
album released on

[[Page E84]]

September 29, 1980, and upon which ``Happy Birthday'' is recorded, to 
Dr. King, with an inscription that read, ``Martin Luther King, Jr. 
showed us, non-violently, a better way of life, a way of mutual 
respect, helping us to avoid much bitter confrontation and inevitable 
bloodshed.'' On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr. Day was officially observed in all fifty states.
  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a dreamer. His dreams were a tool 
through which he was able to lift his mind beyond the reality of his 
segregated society, and into a realm where it was possible that white 
and black, red and brown, and all others live and work alongside each 
other and prosper. But Martin Luther King, Jr. was not just an idle 
daydreamer. He shared his visions through speeches that motivated 
others to join in his nonviolent effort to lift themselves from poverty 
and isolation by creating a new America where equal justice and 
institutions were facts of life.
  It appears that too many of our nation's young people have forgotten 
how to dream. They have forgotten what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
taught us, when he started his journey towards equality--with peace in 
his heart and the dream of equality in his eyes.
  Today, children and young people often ask: ``What is a dream?'' or 
``How can it change my life?'' We must once again introduce our young 
people to the life of Dr. King and his enduring dream. His vision is 
still so pertinent today, our lives continue to be shaped by his 
efforts.
  A young Martin managed to find a dream, one that he pieced together 
from his readings--in the Bible, and literature, and just about any 
other book he could get his hands on. And not only did those books help 
him educate himself, but they also allowed him to work through the 
destructive and traumatic experiences of blatant discrimination, and 
the discriminatory abuse inflicted on himself, his family, and his 
people.
  The life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was properly 
captured in Dr. King's most famed speech, ``I Have A Dream,'' on August 
28, 1963, when he said, ``I have a dream that one day this nation will 
rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: `We hold these 
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' '' The 
legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is continued today, as evidenced 
by the work of organizations like the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference, which is currently led by Dr. King's daughter, 
Bernice King, and was at one time led by Dr. King's son, Martin Luther 
King, III. In addition to organizations, the legacy of Dr. King 
continues on today with people in the United States and throughout the 
world, with individual acts of compassion, courage, and peace.
  This legislation will benefit the well-being of the public as it 
celebrates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 
30th anniversary of the Stevie Wonder tribute song to Dr. King. It 
recognizes the legacy left by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with 
commitments to freedom, equality, and justice, as exhibited by Stevie 
Wonder and so many others; and finally, encourages the people of the 
United States to commemorate the legacy of Dr. King by renewing pledges 
to advance those principles and actions that are consistent with Dr. 
King's belief that ``all men are created equal.'' As such, I strongly 
support this legislation and urge my colleagues to join me and do the 
same.

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