To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 744 West Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville, Georgia, as the "John Sidney 'Sid' Flowers Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, the subject of my Special Order today is the birthday of one of America's greatest citizens, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King's birthday will be celebrated next week with the national holiday on Monday, one of the only men or women to have a holiday named for them in this country. At one time, of course, we celebrated the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and now we celebrate Presidents Day. But we celebrate Dr. King's Day, a great American and an individual who changed this country for the better and whose life is a testament to fortitude and courage, faith, and a desire to make America better.

On April 4, 1968, 40 years ago this year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. That was a defining moment in the history of America, indeed, in the history of the world. While Dr. King's death should not and will not ever be forgotten, I think that today on what would have been his 79th

birthday, we should remember his life because it was his life, his actions and his eloquent words, that truly challenged us as a Nation to consider where we were and where we could go.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, the son of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta King. As we all know, Dr. King followed in his father's footsteps and became a minister at the age of 24 in Montgomery, Alabama, where just 2 years later Rosa Parks refused to comply with the Jim Crow laws, which required her to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. The subsequent Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Rev. King, changed America. The boycott lasted over a year but resulted in the Supreme Court decision outlawing racial discrimination on public transportation. Only in his mid-20s, Martin Luther King's passion and commitment were already affecting the laws of our Nation.

During his life, Dr. King's house was bombed and his government wiretapped his conversations. But Dr. King never wavered from his commitment to nonviolent change. Dr. King turned a mirror on America, and the reflection was not good. It was ugly. America was not the land of the free but it was a land built by the enslaved. The very Capitol Building in which I speak and in which we make our laws was built by slaves. Dr. King pulled back the quasi-fiction that has so often been touted as patriotism as if to say, ``but what about these Americans?'' And those are his words: ``But what about these Americans?'' Jim Crow laws, which had created two Americas, which had denied access and opportunity for so long were held up for examination, and they failed the examination, as they should have.

We are not there, ladies and gentlemen. I wish we were. I wish we had achieved the dream where the content of one's character is what each person is judged by, not by the color of one's skin. We are not there, but the good news, the positive message that Dr. King has etched into our national conscience is that one man can make a difference. One young man can step forward and live his life with purpose and dignity, can become the voice of all those whose voices have been stilled, whose hope has been lost. No assassin's bullet could stop what Martin Luther King had begun. Today, as we celebrate a birth which has changed us and which continues to challenge us, let us remember his dream.

Dr. King's words are what he's best remembered for. And in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, his words will be played constantly over the weekend and through Monday as we remember how he challenged us, how he inspired us in the 1950s and in the 1960s. Radio station WLOK will be, I know, having a tribute to him in Memphis, and other places all over the country will do the same. And in Memphis there will be a basketball game, a national basketball game, that will celebrate civil rights victories of this country. Particularly Bob Lanier will be there and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others. And we look at the steps which we have taken in this country to make the country better through sports and basketball, and I commend David Stern and the NBA for having that game in Memphis on Dr. King's birthday.

At this time I would like to read some quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as will be read and as will be heard throughout this country in the coming week and the coming weekend. Many of them resonate with the issues of today.

``A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.'' And we need more leaders like that today who mold consensus.

``A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.'' Remember, Mr. Speaker, Dr. King was speaking during the time of the Vietnam War. We have another Vietnam, I think, today in Iraq, and we are spending more money not on military defense but on military offense and leaving programs of social importance behind. And I question the spirituality of where this country presently is, spending so much in Iraq and so little in America.

``A right delayed is a right denied.'' And there are so many rights which have not been granted to people and not just on the basis of race and religion and national origin but also of sexual orientation. ``A right delayed,'' Dr. King said, ``is a right denied.''

Dr. King said, ``Almost always the creative, dedicated minority has made the world better.'' And indeed they have. We are a country of minorities making for a great majority, and when we don't respect the rights of the minorities, we endanger ourselves.

Dr. King said, ``An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.'' And I would ask each of my colleagues to hold that thought in their minds when they vote and to realize it's not just the nature of their districts and their individual concerns which are important but the broader concerns of this country, as Dr. King said, ``the broader concerns of all humanity.''

Dr. King said, ``An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.''

Dr. King and many civil rights workers violated the law, the law of the country, mostly in the South, Jim Crow laws, that said people were separate and inherently unequal. He did that with Rosa Parks when they challenged the laws that said African Americans were to ride on the back of the bus. And he challenged, along with President Johnson and this Nation in the 1960s, the law that said there could be separate establishments and would be by law for people based on race for entertainment, different public facilities, eating establishments, hotels and motels, colleges and schools. Those were wrong laws. They needed to be challenged, and they were challenged by Dr. King and many civil rights leaders, and the world changed in the 1960s.

Dr. King said, ``At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love.'' He also said, ``Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies or else? The chain reaction of evil, hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars, must be broken or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.'' And, Mr. Speaker, I reflect on this when I think about what we are doing in the Middle East. Hate begets hate. Wars produce more wars. And we are in an abyss.

Dr. King said, ``He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.'' One must actively oppose evil. And oftentimes in the debates in Congress, you have to remember Dante, and Dr. King has a quote similar to Dante, that the warmest spots in hell are reserved for people who in times of controversy stand on the sidelines. Certainly something Dr. King did not do.

In Dr. King's great speech just outside the Capitol on the mall, which I recall watching on television and which I am thrilled to be a Member of this House of Representatives so near to the mall where Dr. King gave his ``I have a dream'' speech, he said, ``I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a Nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

``I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

``I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.''

As I said earlier, Dr. King's dream has not totally been achieved, but we are getting closer to it. We are engaged in a Presidential debate where his words and actions are subject of much debate. But I have no doubt that Dr. King would be proud of all the candidates in the Democratic column who are running for this office and know that they are children of Dr. King's dream. To see an African American gentleman have a legitimate chance to be President of the United States and to see a woman have that same opportunity is what Dr. King talked about.

And they should be judged not by the color of their skin or by their gender but by the content of their character.

``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,'' Dr. King said. And that's something to be remembered when we see nooses hung in small towns or people being shot, tied behind cars because of aspects of their personage of which they had no choice.

``It may be true,'' Dr. King said, ``that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.'' And that is important. We have a Senate and a House that passed a condemnation of the lynching that took place in this country in the 20th century. And this House, hopefully, will pass another proposition that says that we apologize for having been part of a Nation that allowed for slavery to occur and had laws that permitted it and for Jim Crow laws that saddled this country with unjustice for 100 years thereafter.

Dr. King said, ``Life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?'' And that's a question that my friend Irbin Salky has often said to me, that the purpose of why we are here on Earth is to help others. And it's part of the Judeo-Christian religion and creed to care for others, and that's why we are here.

Again, Iraq and Vietnam, they are parallels, and Dr. King's words ring true today. He said, ``One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.''

Indeed, many of the hopes of people in our inner cities, people that are left behind by what has been considered a great economic opportunity for many Americans, mostly the richest, have been left behind because of the moneys we have spent in Iraq rather than spending them on the people in this country.

There are many parallels, and I think I know where Dr. King would be on the issue of war and peace, on the issue of choosing Iraq rather than choosing America, the cities that have been neglected, the inner cities, Appalachia, Katrina victims, and others. Dr. King said: ``The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.'' He always felt that the arc was bending in the right direction, although slowly. And justice and change do move slowly but they do move. We have change. Change is not revolutionary; it's evolutionary. It happens, but it happens in increments. But Dr. King and people like him made it move at a stronger pace, and it's necessary to have agents of change. Agents of change have moved the society forward.

One of the most prophetic quotes that I think I saw, and there are so many to review in thinking about Dr. King, he said: ``The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt.'' I know from my sponsorship of an apology for slavery and Jim Crow and some of the comments I have read, there's a lot of guilt in this country and it's making it difficult for people to engage in a dialog and understand and honestly see what slavery did for many people's lives. Not only did it cause the African Americans and have them be enslaved, but it caused a lot of people to make a lot of money and have a lot of great economic fortune at the expense of the enslaved, and then of the Jim Crow citizen that served their needs for 100 years.

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important. I think about Martin Luther King, who died at the age of 39; I think of John Kennedy, who served in this House and lived to the age of 46; I think of his brother, Robert Kennedy, who died at age 42, but affected so many of us. All of these three men affected me in a great way. Their assassinations in 1963 and 1968 affected this world, but it affected me in a great way. It was the quality, not the longevity, of their lives that was important. And they didn't wait for tomorrow. They had the fierce urgency of now that Dr. King talked about to make a change, to make a change and a difference while they were on this Earth and to affect their fellow man and fellow woman.

``The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'' Once again, Dr. King implores us to have moral character and fiber and to stand up for what is important for America. And he said: ``We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.''

Dr. Martin Luther King was a special man. He took his talents and he used them for his fellow man. He inspired us all. This country and this world is much the greater for his life. It is indeed a testament to him that this Congress under the unyielding leadership of Representative John Conyers passed a bill to make his birthday a national holiday. It's a national holiday that should be held in high esteem by all men and women in this country, because Dr. King was special and unique and stood up for all people and stood for the height of American ideals.

I hope that everybody will take a moment over the weekend and on Monday on the celebration of his birthday to think about some of the things that Dr. King stood for: challenging the system to make it better; for peace; for people who have been left behind in our society; doing for the least of these and trying to make the world a better place.

My city bears great scars for his death having taken place there. There was nothing unique to my city. It was something wrong with this country that somebody out there put a reward up for Dr. King's death and that somebody wanted to claim that reward and didn't have a regard for the humanity of Dr. King. In Memphis now there's a National Civil Rights Museum dedicated to the civil rights movement and to Dr. King's life and ideals, and I invite and encourage everyone to come to Memphis to visit the civil rights museum, which is at the spot where Dr. King was killed at the Lorraine Motel, which has been preserved, and to celebrate his life and to celebrate his values, not only on his birthday but on every day, for Dr. King was a great American. I am just lucky, as we all are, that he came my way.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the time, and I know that you, like me, will reflect on Dr. King's works and will keep him in our hearts as we try to do what's right for America in this 110th Congress.

I thank the gentleman from California and I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his help in the committee and Members of Congress for their support of this.

Sid Flowers, John Sidney Flowers, was a good friend of mine. He was a friend of many people, as he had served in office for so many years in the State of Georgia. His wife, Nan, is a friend; his daughters Kay and Darcy have been friends over the years. It is just one of the great families that does so much for a community and makes a community what it is.

Sidney was actually the Solicitor General for Liberty County for over 32 years. This is the home of Fort Stewart, in Hinesville, Georgia, a military town where there is lots of turnover. You need people who kind of know the history of the community, and that was Sid Flowers. He did so much for so many.

There are many times when people said they would be eating with Sid Flowers, eating lunch, and a group of soldiers would come in who maybe were new in town, maybe not. There are thousands of soldiers stationed at Fort Stewart, and Sidney would quietly walk over to the cashier, pick up the tab for the soldiers, pay for their lunch, and then ask the cashier not to tell them who paid for it.

That is the kind of guy he was.

Sydney was actually elected as a Republican, and many people know 35 years ago in the State of Georgia, there was almost a nonexistent Republican Party. And to be elected as a Republican, you had to be a pretty good guy, probably somebody who could get elected in either party, and somebody who was liked and had support from both parties.

Yet in all cases, Sid Flowers was respected by everybody. Former Democrat State representative, a Democrat mayor and also a Republican at one time, Buddy DeLoach, has a letter about Sidney Flowers that I will submit for the Record, as well as one from Sampie Smith who was a great educator in Liberty County who has recently retired, made a run for mayor himself. But great folks in a great town.

Sidney is what Sampie Smith actually described as one of those Reader's Digest types, somebody who is memorable and inspirational to a community. I will submit a number of things for the Record on Sidney Flowers so we can move on to some other issues, but I just want to thank this community for recognizing somebody of his caliber because I had the privilege of knowing him. But I can say this unequivocally, everybody in the Chamber would have liked him because he was someone you could count on and deal with, one of those great community leaders back home that we all have in our districts. I want to submit these letters and a couple of other comments about Sidney, and thank the committee.

The First District of Georgia lost a great man when John Sidney ``Sid'' Flowers died August 21, 2006. It was his work as a lawyer and as the Solicitor General for Liberty County's State Court that allowed him to serve his hometown professionally, but it was his kind, often anonymous service to the people and the soldiers of Liberty County that endeared him to so many in the military town of Hinesville, Georgia.

Sid Flowers was a Liberty County native who served in the U.S. Army before heading to law school at Mercer. Although he was a top student at Mercer Law and could have headed to Atlanta for the ``big money,'' he returned to Liberty County to work in his hometown. He served his community as solicitor general for nearly four decades, but he was best known for his pro bono legal advice. He gave of his legal knowledge and expertise to the First Presbyterian Church and the church's school at no charge.

Many of Sid's friends mention that it was not uncommon to go to a restaurant with him, and Sid would pick up the tab for any soldiers who happened to be eating in the restaurant at the time. He did this anonymously, as he never wanted his gracious actions to be attributed.

Sid Flowers has been described as ``one of those classic Reader's Digest types that folks wrote about being so memorable'' and ``an inspiration for others to become involved in community service.'' The military town of Hinesville, Georgia, lost one of its best when Sid Flowers died last year. The true spirit of this man was exemplified by his unpublished deeds, but I think its time we honor him publicly by naming the United States Post Office on Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville, Georgia after John Sidney Flowers.

Hinesville, GA,

May 16, 2007.

To: Congressman Jack Kingston.

Dear Jack: I write to urge that the U.S. Post Office

Building in Hinesville be named for John Sidney Flowers.

Sidney was a lifelong resident of Hinesville and served this

community in many ways.

As the long time Solicitor of the state court, Sidney

displayed a unique ability to do justice in all cases he

handled. His calm, common sense approach to this difficult

job enabled him to make a tremendous contribution to the

criminal justice system.

Sidney's support for community activities and organizations

has been an inspiration for others to become involved in

community service. He always gave freely of his time and

money.

He was considered by many to be an ``old time'' lawyer. He

was known and trusted by everyone. Many families went to him

to settle or avoid disputes. He was a master at restoring

calm reason when tempers flared. He is the one we went to

when we had problems, and he always took time to help us find

solutions.

I believe the naming of the Post Office is fitting and

proper way to honor the memory of a man that did so much for

this community.

Sincerely,

Buddy DeLoach.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), the author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3470.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge the passing of this bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 744 West Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville, Georgia, as the ``John Sidney `Sid' Flowers Post Office Building''.

A native of Liberty County, Sid Flowers served in the U.S. Army before attending law school at Mercer. Despite distinguishing himself as a top scholar at Mercer, he opted not to pursue high profile law firms in Atlanta. Instead he returned to his hometown where he served the county as Solicitor General for nearly four decades. But his public service did not end there. Mr. Flowers was best known for his pro bono legal work, contributing his advice to the First Presbyterian Church and the church's school at no charge.

Mr. Flowers not only gave back to the community professionally, but also through his generous, often anonymous, contributions. His munificence took many forms, whether it was through community service or anonymously picking up the tab for soldiers dining at local restaurants.

When Mr. Flowers passed on August 21, 2006, Liberty County lost the consummate public servant. A kind and humble man, his passionate and selfless commitment to his community and country undoubtedly deserves tribute.

I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill to publicly honor this man, not only for his public service, but for the intangible generosity of his spirit.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. King's legacy and recognize the innumerous Americans who continue along the path he paved towards justice and liberty for all citizens.

It is rare that one person can change the fate of our Nation; however Dr. King was able to do just that. Dr. King relied on his relationship with God and his faith in justice to articulate his vision for America in a way that touched the hearts and minds of the American public.

Dr. King called on all of us to no longer stand alone in silence, but to stand up together as a voice against injustice. He inspired us to fight for change through nonviolent means, and paved the road for us to continue that fight even after his death.

Few people would sacrifice time and energy for loved ones, fewer for strangers, yet Dr. King humbled himself to do just that. He ultimately sacrificed his life and his family sacrificed their patriarch for the struggle towards political justice for all Americans. Today we pay homage for their selflessness and publicly thank them for their commitments to humanity.

Dr. King left us with the challenge to courageously fight and secure the civil rights for all, from the impoverished and disenfranchised underclass to the politically and economically endowed. Although his challenge was issued 40 years ago, we still have not fully realized his noble request.

Today's Martin Luther King Day is as much about the past as it is about the future. Dr. King's dream is truly timeless, and I hope that our next generation will find inspiration in his faith and vision.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3470) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 744 West Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville, Georgia, as the ``John Sidney `Sid' Flowers Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 3470, which names the postal facility in Hinesville, Georgia, after John Sidney ``Sid'' Flowers. H.R. 3470 was introduced by Representative Jack Kingston on September 4, 2007, and was reported from the Oversight Committee on October 23 by a voice vote. This measure has the support of the entire Georgia congressional delegation.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. John Sidney Flowers was born December 22, 1931, in Liberty County, Georgia. He served in the United States Army for 2 years before attending Mercer University and Mercer Law School in Macon, Georgia. He was indeed an outstanding citizen, and I want to commend Representative Kingston for moving to recognize his contributions by naming this postal facility in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.