[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 29189-29191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                              {time}  1100

  COMMEMORATING THE ``I HAVE A DREAM'' SPEECH AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2879) to provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial 
of a plaque commemorating the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known 
as the ``I Have A Dream'' speech.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2879

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

     SECTION 1. ADDITION OF PLAQUE AT LINCOLN MEMORIAL 
                   COMMEMORATING MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR'S, I 
                   HAVE A DREAM SPEECH.

       (a) Placement of Plaque.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     shall insert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the 
     District of Columbia a suitable plaque to commemorate the 
     speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the ``I Have A 
     Dream'' speech. The plaque shall be placed at the location on 
     the steps where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered the speech 
     on August 28, 1963.
       (b) Acceptance of Contributions.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior may accept contributions to help defray the cost of 
     preparing the plaque and inserting the plaque on the steps of 
     the Lincoln Memorial as required by subsection (a). Amounts 
     received shall be credited to the appropriation supporting 
     the maintenance and operation of the Lincoln Memorial.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hobson). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
DeFazio) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2879, introduced by the 
gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup).
  H.R. 2879 would provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of 
a plaque commemorating the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known as 
the ``I Have A Dream'' speech. The plaque

[[Page 29190]]

would be placed in an appropriate location on the steps of the Lincoln 
Memorial where Dr. King delivered his famous civil rights speech on 
August 28, 1963.
  This bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to accept 
contributions to help offset any costs associated with the preparation 
and placement of the plaque.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill and has bipartisan support. I 
urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 2879.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2879 directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
insert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial a plaque, a plaque that 
would commemorate the speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., known as 
the ``I Have A Dream'' speech.
  Several years ago, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), who was 
present and was one of the speakers that famous day in 1963 along with 
Dr. King, was instrumental in a campaign by school children and others 
in establishing a permanent exhibit at the Lincoln Memorial 
commemorating the important civil rights events, including the ``I Have 
A Dream'' speech that occurred at the Memorial.
  It is our understanding that H.R. 2879 is noncontroversial and that 
it is consistent with what has been done previously at the Memorial to 
commemorate similar events.
  I strongly support passage of this legislation and this permanent 
commemoration of that historic speech in American history.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup), the author of 
this legislation.
  Mrs. NORTHUP. Mr. Speaker, all of us are touched each year as we see 
how many Americans, particularly school children, come to Washington 
to, not just view the buildings, but to be inspired by our history and 
be inspired to become leaders themselves.
  They move around this city, they come to this Capitol, they come to 
our memorials, and they are reminded as they stand in the places that 
previous leaders have stood, as they understand what role those leaders 
had in the history of this country.
  I had a constituent that came to Washington in 1997, and he wrote me 
the most moving letter, and I would like to read a couple of paragraphs 
from that letter.
  He said, ``My wife and I walked to the Lincoln Memorial where, at the 
steps of the Memorial to one of our Nation's greatest Presidents, 
Martin Luther King delivered the `I Have A Dream' speech.
  ``I looked for the spot on which Martin Luther King stood when he 
spoke. I looked for a marker to remind me and others for a single 
moment on a hot August day, a descendant of a slave held the most 
prominent space in our Nation and delivered words that will always stay 
with that space. I could not find a marker or the words on that step.''
  Later in his letter, he said that ``I saw a day when I would bring my 
yet unborn children to the spot where Martin Luther King spoke, and I 
could show them that marker and read them the words of his dream. I 
could tell them that this is still a Nation where a simple Kentucky 
farmer could rise to the heights of President, and the son of a slave 
could inspire future generations with the power of his words and his 
compassion.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is hard to imagine that school children and Americans 
from all over this country could come and walk in this most important 
spot in this Capital, see where our leaders have changed the course of 
this country's history, and not have a recognition that, on that spot, 
on those steps was a place where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his ``I 
Had A Dream'' speech.
  For many of these children, it might be the first time that they ever 
really would be called to understand what ``that place in history'' 
meant.
  But for those of us that can remember the changes that went on 
between 1960 and 1965 and the role that Dr. Martin Luther King had in 
calling us forward to change the laws of this country and the practices 
that separated us so badly, it is important that all Americans 
recognize that spot and that leader and the difference that he made in 
this country.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
Oregon for yielding me this time. I want to thank the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) for bringing this legislation along with the 
gentleman from Oregon before us.
  It is fitting and appropriate that a plaque be placed near the statue 
of Lincoln near the Lincoln Memorial in honor of the speech ``I Have A 
Dream'' by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That speech was delivered on 
August 28, 1963, on a very hot summer day.
  On that day, Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke from his soul. He spoke 
from his heart. He said, ``I have a dream that is deeply rooted in an 
American dream.'' I was there that day, 23 years old. When Martin 
Luther King, Jr., stood to speak, he was not just speaking for himself, 
he was speaking for all Americans, not just for those of us 36 years 
ago now, but he was speaking for ongoing generations.
  So this plaque, ``I Have A Dream'' plaque, would inspire generations 
yet unborn, inspire young children, would help make us one Nation, one 
people, one family, the American family, the American community.
  It is my hope that all of our colleagues would join in together and 
support this little piece of legislation, that it would serve as a 
footnote, but more than a footnote, it would serve as a page in the 
history of our long struggle toward creating a sense of community, the 
beloved community.
  Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank these two wonderful men for 
bringing this legislation before us today.
  Mrs. NORTHUP. Mr. Speaker, along with my earlier comments on the need 
for passage of H.R. 2879, I submit for the Record the letter I received 
from Thomas Williams who came up with the idea for the need of a marker 
on the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the ``I have a Dream'' speech of 
Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963.
  Beyond paying respect to Dr. King, this bill offers acknowledgment 
that our legislative system works as planned. For only in the United 
States can an idea of an interested individual result in good 
legislation, and I am hopeful--law. I thank Mr. Williams for his 
contribution to his country and to the future of our nation.

                                                November 30, 1998.
       Dear Representative Northup: In October of 1997 my wife and 
     I visited Washington, D.C. The city, with its buildings, 
     statues and monuments, was rich with symbolism. Despite the 
     vastness of the space and the beauty of its design, what 
     struck me most during the trip was a single man sitting on 
     the steps of the Capitol. He sat there in plain view of the 
     police with a sign indicating (if memory serves me) that he 
     had fought in the Viet Nam war but was not now receiving 
     veteran's benefits. The guard there indicated it wasn't true, 
     but what struck me most was the fact that a single citizen 
     could sit peacefully on the steps of the Capitol without 
     being escorted away because he was unworthy of the space he 
     selected to rest. There, literally on the threshold of our 
     nation's most-powerful leaders, he sat. Other nations, I 
     thought, might be embarrassed by the scene. Nevertheless, I 
     somehow felt that I had witnessed--there on the steps--a 
     living testament to our freedom and our greatness.
       Later that day, my wife and I walked to the Lincoln 
     Memorial where, at the steps of the memorial to one of our 
     nation's greatest presidents, Martin Luther King delivered 
     the ``I Have A Dream Speech''. I looked for the spot on which 
     Martin Luther King stood when he spoke. I looked for a marker 
     to remind me and others that--for a single moment on a hot 
     August day--a descendent of a slave held the most prominent 
     space in our nation and delivered words that will always stay 
     with that space. I couldn't find a marker or the words on 
     those steps.
       Several months later at my home in Louisville, Kentucky, I 
     attended a service at the Cathedral of the Assumption in 
     which the Church celebrated a moment of personal revelation 
     by Thomas Merton, the monk. Forty years earlier, when walking 
     out of the Starks building on what was then 4th and Walnut, 
     he realized in a profound way that we are all one. The Church 
     celebrated the

[[Page 29191]]

     40th anniversary of that event with a simple Mass and marker. 
     To me, the service and the marker were both reminders that 
     the ordinary space we sometimes occupy can become forever 
     changed by the deeds of a person who stood there. I am 
     confident it was no accident that the Church waited 40 years 
     to commemorate the event.
       My visit to Washington and my attendance at the Merton mass 
     sparked a vision and a question in my mind. Wouldn't it be 
     right to celebrate the 40th year of Martin Luther King's ``I 
     Have a Dream'' speech with a ceremony and a marker at the 
     footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial? The anticipation and 
     planning of such an event might lead to collective good. In 
     my mind's eye, I saw a day in which the ``I Have A Dream'' 
     speech would be delivered again for those who have never 
     heard it. I saw a day in which Martin Luther King might be 
     remembered for the inspiration he provided to all of our 
     citizens.
       Looking even further into the future, I saw a day when I 
     could bring my yet unborn children to that spot where Martin 
     Luther King spoke and I could show them that marker and read 
     them the words of his dream. I could tell him that this is 
     still a nation where a simple Kentucky farmer could rise to 
     the heights of President and a son of a slave could inspire 
     future generations with the power of his words and his 
     compassion.
       My vision and these thoughts I share with you are 
     personal--but far from novel. Perhaps something like this is 
     already in the works and I am simply unaware. In any event, I 
     am writing for some practical suggestions for bringing this 
     vision to a reality.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Tom Williams.

  Mr. DeFAZIO. 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 Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2879.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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