[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 22540-22541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




A REDESIGN OF THE $1 COIN TO COMMEMORATE THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MARTIN 
                            LUTHER KING, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite Congress to join me 
in cosponsoring H.R. 1432 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to 
redesign the $1 coin to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr.
  On December 5, 1955, after civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused 
to observe the segregation policy on buses, the residents of 
Montgomery, Alabama launched a bus boycott. The success of the boycott 
which desegregated the city bus system propelled Dr. King into national 
prominence. He organized and led strategic marches, protests and 
demonstrations for blacks' right to vote, desegregation, fair hiring 
practices and other basic civil rights. He led these marches under the 
philosophy of non-violence and civil disobedience, which gained 
national and international media attention. Through his influence, the 
world began to see first hand the inhumanity of segregation.
  It wasn't until his 1963 ``I have a dream'' speech during the March 
on Washington, did America begin to see Dr. King as a prophetic 
visionary. The eloquence and optimism of his speech and vision truly 
inspired the collective conscience of the American public. As his 
message began to spread, the Nation began to change. The Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became manifestations of 
the dreams and hopes of equality and justice for all that Dr. King so 
effectively represented.
  Although Dr. King, once Time Magazine's ``Man of the Year 1963'' and 
the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize was quickly

[[Page 22541]]

and violently taken from us, his dream still lives on. He had insight 
into a reality that was not yet this world's reality. Peace on Earth 
and goodwill towards all was not yet this world's reality. But he 
believed that it could be; that it ought to be. His philosophy of 
nonviolent direct action, and his strategies for national and non-
destructive social change, galvanized the conscience of this Nation and 
reordered its priorities. His wisdom, his words, his actions, his 
commitment, and his dream for a new way of life of equality and justice 
for all have been intertwined with the American experience.
  There is no man more deserving to have their image engraved on the 
face of the $1 coin than, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Not only would 
this be a national recognition of his many contributions to American 
history, but it would be a constant reminder that we have not yet 
fulfilled the dream, Peace on Earth and good will to all men, and 
equality and justice for all.

                          ____________________