[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 22, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATING REV. DR. BERNICE KING'S 60TH BIRTHDAY

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                          HON. NIKEMA WILLIAMS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 22, 2023

  Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
60th birthday of Rev. Dr. Bernice King. A true representation of 
Atlanta Influences Everything, Dr. King was born in Atlanta the 
youngest child of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott 
King, then graduated from Spelman College (where she, like her mother, 
became a distinguished member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc), one 
of Atlanta's incredible HBCUs, and earned both a Master's in Divinity 
and a law degree from Atlanta's Emory University.
  As the second woman ever ordained at Ebenezer Baptist Church and the 
CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change, 
Dr. Bernice King is a trailblazer and civil rights leader in her own 
right. Though there is perhaps no one in America now who carries such a 
heavy weight of history on their shoulders, she does so with 
unparalleled faith, integrity, and power. Dr. King's work to build our 
Beloved Community reminds us that we must move in the ``fierce urgency 
of now.''
  Dr. Bernice King has been a church leader, organizing and developing 
several new ministries. Bernice has been a community leader, 
establishing the Be a King Scholarship in honor of her mother at 
Spelman College and leading the 2013 ``Let Freedom Ring'' event 
bringing together a global audience including Presidents Barack Obama, 
Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, and commemorating the 50th anniversary 
of the March on Washington. And Dr. Bernice King has been a political 
leader, playing a pivotal role in bringing the Atlanta business 
community to the table in supporting critical racial equity and social 
justice issues during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, leading to 
the passage of long-overdue anti-hate crimes legislation.
  As her father said, ``the arc of the moral universe is long, but it 
bends towards justice.'' But what we must remember, and Bernice 
demonstrates for us, is that the arc does not bend on its own. She 
reminds us that we cannot afford to operate as if we have the luxury of 
time; ``we must fight with a fierce determination to discover a win-win 
pathway to build the Beloved Community'' and we must ``forever conduct 
our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.''
  With that eternal spirit in mind, Bernice kept the Beloved Community 
together, engaged, and active, even during the pandemic. I was so 
honored when she included me with the illustrious LaTosha Brown and the 
amazing Al Vivian for an invaluable conversation in April 2021 about 
the rampant suppression of the Black vote around the country, and how 
important our continued advocacy for voting rights is.
  During that conversation, Dr. Bernice King reminded us of her 
father's important imploration ``Let us march on ballot boxes until we 
send to our city councils, state legislatures, and the United States 
Congress, men who will not fear to do justly, love mercy, and walk 
humbly with thy God.''
  I remember that lesson every time I walk to the House Floor to vote. 
I make sure my Carter Cakes remembers that lesson when I take him to 
vote. And I make sure my colleagues remember the history that brought 
us here today, and what kind of people they expected us to be. And I 
thank Dr. Bernice King for keeping that lesson alive and bringing it to 
the people.

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