Langevin Remembers King Legacy

Langevin Remembers King Legacy

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) today offered the following remarks in celebration of the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King:

"As we gather today for reflection, we hold in our hearts the memory of Coretta Scott King, who passed away last year. Mrs. King worked alongside her husband in promoting the dream of equality for all and continued that legacy after his death.

"Dr. and Mrs. King made vital contributions to the civil rights movement and were determined to make America a better place. Today, while we have made progress, we still have not attained their dream. In Washington, the previous leadership in Congress neglected the goals of equality for all. As the costs of fuel, health care, and college education rose, we were told we should cut important social programs to make ends meet, and tax cuts were given to the wealthiest one percent of our country. Such misguided priorities were falsely justified under the guise of fiscal responsibility, even though millionaires grew wealthier at the expense of the poor.

"More than forty years ago, Dr. King often spoke about the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots." He talked passionately about how to improve our society by having the power to lead and by helping each other. By working together, Dr. King believed we could create a new world - a new world where a person is not judged by race or class, but by character and service. His words still resonate with us today.

"In a sermon he delivered two months before his death at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Dr. King discussed what made a true leader and what it meant to lead a fulfilled life. He stated, "everybody can be great, because everybody can serve." He said that having a college degree or collecting awards does not make you a leader; rather, it is a commitment to others that will make you great. He then went on to imagine what would happen after he died, and what people would say at his funeral. He said, "I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others."

"We know that Dr. King did just that. He was great because he served. And that is why he will be memorialized by a monument on the National Mall in Washington along with other great leaders such as Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt.

"And I am pleased that now in Washington, a few miles away from where Dr King's memorial will stand, a new Democratic leadership in Congress has already started to pass legislation that narrows the gap between the wealthy and the poor. We have passed legislation that will raise the national minimum wage, and soon we will make college more affordable by lowering the interest rate on student loans. This is just the beginning.

"For the first time ever, in this Congress, we have a woman serving as the Speaker of the House. We now have more black and Hispanic men and women serving as prestigious chairs of committees than at any other time. This Congress is one that will work together so that every American has the equal opportunity that we all deserve.

"Dr. King showed us the path to equality, and he told us that our job is to move America a little further along that path by serving those that need us the most. Today, let us all pledge to be great. Today, let us all pledge to serve those that need us. Let us make this pledge so that we can give our children what Dr. King envisioned almost forty years ago in his sermon- that we can make of this old world a new and better one."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ri02_langevin/prmlk11507.html