[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E704-E705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2011

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago today the Rev. Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. was struck down by an assassin's bullet as he stood on 
the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, 
Tennessee.
  He was in Memphis to march in solidarity with African American 
sanitation workers during their 1968 strike for better working 
conditions.
  Despite the shock and sorrow of losing the country's most celebrated 
civil rights leader, the march went on and the strike proved ultimately 
successful.

[[Page E705]]

  We are here today to remember Dr. King, the workers in Memphis that 
he stood with, and the victory they achieved for themselves and working 
people everywhere.
  Over the last 40 years, this country has seen more than its share of 
tragedies: assassinations, bombings, terrorist attacks, and all manner 
of natural disasters.
  It is easy to become desensitized to evil and some of us may drift 
away from the lessons of the past. We should remember that in 1968 Dr. 
King's murder threw the country into chaos and threatened the civil 
rights movement he had labored to build through peaceful protest. But 
it was not to be, as Dr. King's message was too powerful for hate, and 
today we remember that nothing eclipses his message that all humanity 
has dignity and worth.
  Dr. King, Jr., recognized that the struggle for civil rights and 
workers' rights were inextricably linked. Both required that the basic 
rights of all people are equal and ought to be honored equally, whether 
by an employer or by the United States government. Organized labor is a 
cornerstone of our democracy and a guiding force in our nation's 
history. It is the natural right of a free people, as workers rightly 
expect a degree of safety, security, and just compensation for the work 
that they do. We should not sacrifice their quality of life to fuel the 
myth that doing so will somehow balance the budget.
  In closing, I urge my colleagues and my fellow Americans to always 
remember the significance of this day. Dr. King received criticism from 
all sides, some saying he was too soft; others saying he was too 
radical, and many fearing widespread violence and social upheaval in 
the wake of his death.
  It was human nature, some argued, that violence is a more effective 
means to effect change than passive resistance. They were wrong. Dr. 
King understood that the moral force of non-violent direct action was 
so powerful that it could bring down the modern-day walls of Jericho.
  And he was right; it brought change to America. And to Poland and the 
nations of eastern and central Europe. And we saw it at work in Tunisia 
and Egypt. As Dr. King said: ``The moral arc of the universe is long, 
but it bends toward justice.''
  Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago today, our nation mourned the loss of one 
of the greats of the age. But while an assassin may have felled the 
Dreamer; the Dream of Dr. King still lives in the hearts and minds of 
people of goodwill everywhere in the world.

                          ____________________