[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 47 (Monday, March 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1675-H1677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              KENNEDY-KING NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4851) to establish the Kennedy-King National Historic Site 
in the State of Indiana, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4851

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Kennedy-King National 
     Commemorative Site Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (2) Site.--The term ``Site'' means the Kennedy-King 
     National Commemorative Site as designated by section 3(a).
       (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Indiana.

     SEC. 3. NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE.

       (a) Designation.--The Landmark for Peace Memorial in Martin 
     Luther King, Jr. Park in Indianapolis, in the State, is 
     hereby designated as the Kennedy-King National Commemorative 
     Site.
       (b) African American Civil Rights Network.--The Site shall 
     be part of the African American Civil Rights Network 
     established under Public Law 115-104.
       (c) Administration.--
       (1) Cooperative agreements.--The Secretary may enter into 
     cooperative agreements with appropriate public or private 
     entities for interpretative and educational purposes related 
     to the Site.
       (2) Effect of designation.--The Site shall not be a unit of 
     the National Park System.
       (3) Limitations.--Nothing in this Act--
       (A) authorizes the Secretary to interfere with the rights 
     of any person with respect to private property or any local 
     zoning ordinance or land use plan of the State or any 
     political subdivision thereof; or
       (B) authorizes the Secretary to acquire land or interests 
     in land through condemnation or otherwise.
       (d) Special Resource Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a 
     special resource study of the Site to evaluate the national 
     significance of the Site and determine the suitability and 
     feasibility of designating the Site as a unit of the National 
     Park System. The Secretary shall also consider other 
     alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation 
     of the Site by Federal, State, or local government entities, 
     or private and non-profit groups. The study shall be 
     conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 54, 
     United States Code. Not later than three years after the date 
     on which funds are made available to conduct the study, the 
     Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that describes 
     the results of the study and any recommendations of the 
     Secretary.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) and the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4851, introduced by Congressman Andre Carson and 
cosponsored by Congresswoman Susan Brooks, would establish the Kennedy-
King National Commemorative Site in Indianapolis, Indiana.
  Additionally, the bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
include the site in the newly established African American Civil Rights 
Network, and it authorizes a special resource study to evaluate the 
national significance of the site and determine the suitability and 
feasibility of including the site as a unit of the National Park 
system.
  On April 4, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy had scheduled a speech in 
Indianapolis during his campaign for the Presidency of the United 
States. Just prior to giving his remarks, Mr. Kennedy was informed of 
the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He then changed his 
planned remarks to, instead, inform the large gathering of Dr. King's 
death.
  In this historic speech, he called upon Americans to embrace 
nonviolence in reaction to the news of Dr. King's assassination. 
Senator Kennedy stated: ``What we need in the United States is not 
division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need 
in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and 
wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice 
toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be White 
or whether they be Black.''
  The site where Senator Kennedy delivered the speech is currently 
located in a city park established in 1961 and has since served as a 
community gathering place. In 1994, the Landmark for Peace Memorial 
sculpture was erected on the site of Senator Kennedy's speech. April 4, 
2018, marks the 50th anniversary of Robert Kennedy's speech and Dr. 
King's assassination.
  I commend Representative Carson and Representative Brooks for working 
across the aisle on this bipartisan and important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson).
  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, 
Representative Hanabusa for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of my bill, H.R. 4851, 
the Kennedy-King National Commemorative Site Act. I also thank my 
colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee for their very prompt 
consideration of this bill, including Chairman Bishop and Ranking 
Member Grijalva.
  H.R. 4851 is a bipartisan and bicameral bill with the full support of 
the entire congressional delegation, including my good friend and 
colleague Congresswoman Susan Brooks; including my mentor, one of my 
heroes, Representative  John Lewis; and my buddy, Representative Joe 
Kennedy. I thank them for joining the delegation of original cosponsors 
of Hoosiers.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced the Kennedy-King National Commemorative 
Site Act at the request of my constituents to provide formal National 
Park Service recognition to the site where Senator Robert F. Kennedy 
gave an extraordinary speech in Indianapolis in the spring of 1968.
  This recognition, as well as addition to the African American Civil 
Rights

[[Page H1676]]

Network, will help this location--set on a community board over there--
remain visible and accessible for the inspiration of present and future 
generations.
  Mr. Speaker, some of my colleagues may have heard the story, as it 
was previously mentioned by my other colleague, that Robert Kennedy had 
a scheduled speech in the great Hoosier State in the city of 
Indianapolis during his campaign for the Presidency. However, just 
before he was to give those remarks, Mr. Speaker, he was told of the 
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
  Before the news became widely known, his advisers said he shouldn't 
speak at all. They suggested he should stand back. But Robert F. 
Kennedy wanted to speak. Despite the risks of outbursts or 
interruptions, he had something important to say in person and face-to-
face for all who were gathered.
  He changed his planned remarks on the fly and broke the news of Dr. 
King's assassination to the large crowd assembled in the park. He 
called for a nonviolent response to Dr. King's death. Robert Kennedy's 
speech has been described as one of the greatest addresses of the 20th 
century, as a call for unity and nonviolence in a time of great unrest.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the text of the speech in today's Record.

  Full Text of Robert F. Kennedy's Speech: Indianapolis, April 4, 1968

       Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm only going to talk to you just 
     for a minute or so this evening, because I have some very sad 
     news for all of you. Could you lower those signs, please? I 
     have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad 
     news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love 
     peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King 
     was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
       Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to 
     justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of 
     that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time 
     for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of 
     a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
       For those of you who are black considering the evidence 
     evidently is that there were white people who were 
     responsible you can be filled with bitterness, and with 
     hatred, and a desire for revenge.
       We can move in that direction as a country, in greater 
     polarization black people amongst blacks, and white amongst 
     whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make 
     an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to 
     comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of 
     bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to 
     understand, compassion, and love.
       For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with 
     hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against 
     all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my 
     own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my 
     family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
       But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have 
     to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond 
     these rather difficult times.
       My favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:

     Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
     falls drop by drop upon the heart,
     until, in our own despair,
     against our will,
     comes wisdom
     through the awful grace of God.

       What we need in the United States is not division; what we 
     need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the 
     United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, 
     and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling 
     of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, 
     whether they be white or whether they be black.
       So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for 
     the family of Martin Luther King yeah, ifs true but more 
     importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of 
     us love a prayer for understanding and that compassion of 
     which I spoke.
       We can do well in this country. We will have difficult 
     times. We've had difficult times in the past, but we and we 
     will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of 
     violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the 
     end of disorder.
       But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority 
     of black people in this country want to live together, want 
     to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all 
     human beings that abide in our land.
       And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so 
     many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle 
     the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, 
     and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
       Thank you very much.

  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, as we approach the 50th 
anniversary of RFK's speech, it becomes very clear that America needs 
this national treasure to be preserved and promoted beyond the 
residents of Indianapolis. This powerful message of nonviolence in 
response to violence is more timely and important than ever.
  The Smithsonian has described 1968 as ``the year that shattered 
America.'' It was a time when divisions were sharp and the morale of 
this country was low. Many stirred up hatred and fear with venomous 
rhetoric, which drove people long left out of America's bounty to the 
limits of their very humanity. Many cities erupted in flames and 
violent riots.
  When other cities expressed their justified pain, anger, and 
disenfranchisement with destruction, Robert Kennedy's calm voice of 
reason changed the hearts and minds of people who were feeling so much 
pain. Indianapolis was the only major city in America that did not burn 
in that season of pain and violent disruption.
  JFK was assassinated. Martin Luther King was assassinated. And just 2 
months after RFK's emotional speech in Indianapolis, he, too, was 
assassinated. But in his youth and his ability to feel the pain of 
others, RFK called on those who were hurting to turn away from violence 
and hate and practice what MLK practiced.
  This message and this special place needs to be shared with all 
Americans across the country today and into the future. The amendment 
approved by the committee will add the Kennedy-King site to a new civil 
rights network, Mr. Speaker, and it will designate the location as a 
commemorative site.
  This is a timely first step, and I look forward to seeing the bill 
signed into law this year. And after this step, our constituents and I 
will continue to count on congressional support for our efforts to 
establish the Kennedy-King National Historic Site as a unit of the 
National Park system in Indianapolis, Indiana.
  Mr. Speaker, I again thank my good friend, Congresswoman Susan 
Brooks, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this great bill.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks).
  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, nearly 50 years ago, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee. That same night, 
Senator Robert F. Kennedy was scheduled to deliver a campaign speech in 
Indianapolis, the city which my friend and colleague, Representative 
Andre Carson, and I both represent in Congress.
  Instead, Senator Kennedy broke the news to Hoosiers about what had 
just happened. His speech calmed a volatile crowd and called for a 
nonviolent reaction to the assassination. He pleaded with the crowd to 
remain committed to the ideals and peaceful movement of Dr. King during 
a time of turmoil, confusion, and despair. It has been called one of 
the most important and historic speeches of the 20th century.
  Unlike other cities which erupted into violence and riots following 
Dr. King's assassination, Indianapolis did not burn. The hallowed 
grounds where Senator Kennedy's remarks were delivered is known in 
Indianapolis as Kennedy-King Park.

                              {time}  1730

  Thanks to H.R. 4851, it will be given the national recognition it 
deserves for its significance in the civil rights movement. I am proud 
to support this legislation to honor this historic moment.
  I thank Chairman Bishop; Ranking Member Grijalva; especially my 
colleague and good friend from across the aisle, Representative Carson, 
who has led the charge to recognize this park.
  Before I close, I want to share a small portion of the words shared 
by Senator Kennedy just about 50 years ago that I think we cannot 
recite enough in this country:
  ``What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in 
the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is 
not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward 
one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer 
within our country.''
  As my good friend has just said, Senator Kennedy's words are still 
very relevant today. Maybe even more relevant

[[Page H1677]]

today. I encourage all of my colleagues to remember and reflect upon 
them as we approach the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr.
  I am also happy to share that anyone traveling to or from 
Indianapolis in the coming weeks will be able to hear and read Senator 
Kennedy's remarks at an exhibition prominently displayed at the 
Indianapolis International Airport to commemorate the 50th anniversary 
of Dr. King's assassination in April. I am proud that this body will be 
adding this special place to the African American Civil Rights Network.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4851 establishes the Kennedy-King National 
Commemorative Site in Indianapolis to honor the site where Robert F. 
Kennedy gave a stirring speech shortly after learning of Dr. Martin 
Luther King's assassination. The speech was a moment of unification and 
a rallying cry to remain committed to the values of nonviolent 
resistance preached by Dr. King.
  The location of the speech has become a source of pride and 
inspiration for the local community, so much so that they named the 
park after Dr. King and developed the Landmark for Peace Memorial to 
commemorate Senator Kennedy's moving remarks. Designating the memorial 
as a national commemorative site is a fitting tribute and honor to the 
legacies of both Dr. King and Senator Kennedy.
  I thank Representatives Carson and Brooks and the entire Indiana 
delegation for their hard work moving this bill through the legislative 
process. I support the adoption of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4851, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________