[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

  Mr. President, finally, on M.L.K. Day, this Monday, America will 
celebrate a national holiday in honor of the great Martin Luther King, 
Jr. It is a great holiday, and I was proud as a Congressman to be one 
of those leaders in helping to pass this legislation. And you would be 
surprised at some of the bigotry we heard when we tried to do it.
  But just one point today, when you think about it, this is the only 
Federal holiday named for one person. We have Mother's Day for the 
mothers and Father's Day for the fathers and Veterans Day for the 
veterans and Independence Day for our Founding Fathers and Mothers, but 
only one day for one man. And the reason for that is simple: Dr. King 
was unique.
  And, I like to say, he hoisted a giant mirror on his shoulders, and 
with his eloquence, with his brilliance, and with his faith, he forced 
America to look into that mirror, and America didn't like what it saw. 
And that began our slow march to racial equality, on which we are still 
trodding and still have a long way to go.
  But I think every American should be saluting one of the greatest 
Americans who ever lived, Martin Luther King, Jr., and I look forward 
to joining with many of my friends in New York to celebrate and 
commemorate this holiday.
  I yield the floor.