[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO COMMEMORATE THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. KING'S ASSASSINATION

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                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 15, 2008

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark 40 years since the 
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In doing so, I would like 
to submit for the Record a statement from Ralph B. Everett, President 
and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The 
Joint Center is one of the nation's premier research and public policy 
institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of 
particular concern to African Americans and other people of color.
  ``While the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. evokes deeply troubling memories, it also 
serves as an important milestone in assessing the progress this nation 
has made and how far we must yet go to transform America in the way 
that Dr. King envisioned.
  For many people, the passing of four decades has not diminished the 
memory of how difficult and uncertain those times were. In my hometown 
of Orangeburg, South Carolina, the tragic and untimely death of Dr. 
King intensified the sense of despair and unease that many of us 
already felt after the February 8, 1968, shooting by law enforcement 
officers of three unarmed students, including my high school classmate 
Delano Middleton, during a protest at South Carolina State College 
against a segregated bowling alley. This became known as the Orangeburg 
Massacre.
  In those dark days we wondered, how would the dream survive without 
Dr. King to lead us toward the Promised Land?
  But history records that sadness and anxiety gave way to 
determination and action. Dr. King's spirit continued to guide the 
movement as African Americans began to concentrate on the everyday task 
of translating hard won rights into representation and influence in our 
system of governance in order to secure justice under the law, greater 
opportunity and an America that lives up to its historic promise.
  The Joint Center was founded for this purpose and played a critical 
role in the ensuing progress. Today, we honor Dr. King for his bequest 
of a legacy and a dream that did not die with him, but rather has 
served as a lodestar for all that has been accomplished since the 
tragic day of his assassination.
  We also recognize there is much to be done--just as Dr. King did 
when, in the wake of historic gains in civil and voting rights, he 
sought to direct our attention to the need for fundamental changes in 
the political and economic life of the nation, so that justice could 
truly prevail and opportunity could flow to every American. On this day 
and in his memory, let us commemorate Dr. King's vision and, at the 
same time, invigorate ourselves with resolve and forbearance to make 
his dream a reality from sea to shining sea.''
  Madam Speaker, I ask you to join Ralph B. Everett, the Joint Center 
for Political and Economic Studies, and me in honoring the great legacy 
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As we celebrate the life of Dr. King, I 
hope that we will be reminded to never be silent in the face of 
injustices and inequities. I hope we will stand, as Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr. stood, for what is right, and just for all.

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