40th Anniversary of the Assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Floor Speech

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago today the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was struck down by an assassin's bullet as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.

He was in Memphis to march in solidarity with African American sanitation workers during their 1968 strike for better working conditions.

Despite the shock and sorrow of losing the country's most celebrated civil rights leader, the march went on and the strike proved ultimately successful.

We are here today to remember Dr. King, the workers in Memphis that he stood with, and the victory they achieved for themselves and working people everywhere.

Over the last 40 years, this country has seen more than its share of tragedies: assassinations, bombings, terrorist attacks, and all manner of natural disasters.

It is easy to become desensitized to evil and some of us may drift away from the lessons of the past. We should remember that in 1968 Dr. King's murder threw the country into chaos and threatened the civil rights movement he had labored to build through peaceful protest. But it was not to be, as Dr. King's message was too powerful for hate, and today we remember that nothing eclipses his message that all humanity has dignity and worth.

Dr. King, Jr., recognized that the struggle for civil rights and workers' rights were inextricably linked. Both required that the basic rights of all people are equal and ought to be honored equally, whether by an employer or by the United States government. Organized labor is a cornerstone of our democracy and a guiding force in our nation's history. It is the natural right of a free people, as workers rightly expect a degree of safety, security, and just compensation for the work that they do. We should not sacrifice their quality of life to fuel the myth that doing so will somehow balance the budget.

In closing, I urge my colleagues and my fellow Americans to always remember the significance of this day. Dr. King received criticism from all sides, some saying he was too soft; others saying he was too radical, and many fearing widespread violence and social upheaval in the wake of his death.

It was human nature, some argued, that violence is a more effective means to effect change than passive resistance. They were wrong. Dr. King understood that the moral force of non-violent direct action was so powerful that it could bring down the modern-day walls of Jericho.

And he was right; it brought change to America. And to Poland and the nations of eastern and central Europe. And we saw it at work in Tunisia and Egypt. As Dr. King said: ``The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.''

Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago today, our nation mourned the loss of one of the greats of the age. But while an assassin may have felled the Dreamer; the Dream of Dr. King still lives in the hearts and minds of people of goodwill everywhere in the world.

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