[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE--
                            ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 50th 
anniversary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
  This year marks the anniversary of the creation of the civil rights 
organization that contributed to significant change in the United 
States. Founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, and other 
ministers whose moral vision led to them becoming civil rights leaders, 
the organization was originally named the Southern Leadership 
Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration. The original 
name embodied the spirit of addressing civil rights issues 
nonviolently, Christian beliefs, and the goal of desegregating buses in 
Montgomery, Alabama. The organization's strength and support was rooted 
in the Black church community.
  Through mobilizing the black community in Montgomery to walk and 
share car rides to destinations for almost a year, this organization 
successfully led a bus boycott which resulted in desegregation of 
buses. This event was a landmark victory for the civil rights movement. 
Another success for the organization carne with the 1963 demonstration 
held in downtown Birmingham to desegregate local businesses. Thousands 
of people, including schoolchildren, attending the demonstration were 
sprayed by high pressure fire hoses and attacked by police dogs. Many 
were arrested and jailed. The inhumane and unjust attack on 
demonstrators was aired on national TV and around the world. The 
massive outcry from Americans urged the Kennedy administration to act.
  A settlement was reached whereby the downtown Birmingham businesses 
were desegregated and addressed discriminatory hiring practices.
  Montgomery and Birmingham were catalysts for a Civil Rights Movement 
that ended legal segregation in this nation and opened doors of 
opportunity for an oppressed Black people. The Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference under the leadership of Dr. King became the agent 
of change to a make just society that is more in keeping with the 
promise of the U.S. Constitution.
  On this day, I pay honor and thank the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference for their contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. I 
admire the nonviolent approach taken by the organization to address 
discrimination. I urge my colleagues to learn about the contributions 
of this great organization.

                          ____________________