Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India, and the positive influence that the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had on Dr. King's work during the Civil Rights Movement.

It is a privilege, Mr. Speaker, to have the opportunity to come to the floor today for such an important recognition of two iconic movers of change, individuals who laid the underpinnings of the reformation of nations that already had a good heart. Let me thank the manager, Mr. Johnson, for his leadership, and of course our ranking member, Mr. Smith, my colleague from Texas, and the author of this legislation, John Lewis. I know that he wrote this legislation from the heart.

We will be recognizing this historic journey in a few days, the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's visit to India and the recognition of the intertwining of their spirits and their intellect between Martin King and Mahatma Gandhi. I had the opportunity to view the years-old film that was done on his life. Certainly we know that fictional aspects may have been

included. But the underpinnings of the film was the willingness to sacrifice for the greater good.

And as I reflect upon Martin King's life, having had the opportunity to be a student worker of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and absorbing the spirit of nonviolence that had been left by Dr. King, I know how much he was influenced by the life-changing attitude of Gandhi. Gandhi was willing to sacrifice life and limb in order to move mountains of change. And what you saw in his determination for freedom for the people of India were two things: One, the people of diverse faiths and beliefs in this then very large country could come together around the idea of freedom, and then at the same time, he was willing to sacrifice the times that he spent in the fasts where he was near death to show those that violence does not engender anything but violence.

And Martin King, in the various periods of his life, where the younger generation challenged this seemingly hapless and helpless method of nonviolence; you weren't accomplishing anything; they were taking advantage of you; they weren't respecting you. But he was willing to hold his ground and, in that, he was the masterful teacher to all of us who looked upon this young man who was willing to lead a country into freedom without violence. And so the intertwining of the two is a special moment. And I'm so very gratified that John Lewis saw fit to allow us to come to the floor of the House and acknowledge that we are in partnership with the largest democracy.

We are in partnership with the largest democracy, India, and the longest democracy, the United States. And I hope we will take a lesson from this partnership of two men, now celebrating 50 years of that coming together, that determination and a way of handling people can garner us so much.

And this new President, who has claimed development and diplomacy as key elements to his foreign policy, gets it; that you can work as partnerships with those who you would think would be hostile to your beliefs.

I am very gratified to support this legislation, H. Res. 134, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the trip of Dr. Martin Luther King to India and the work that he did with Mahatma Gandhi, and the two of them, peace for ever and for everlasting.

Mr. Speaker, I rose today in strong support of H. Res. 134 ``Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s visit to India and the point of influence that the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi had on Dr. King's work during the civil rights movement.'' I would like to thank Representative John Lewis, from Georgia, for his leadership in bringing this resolution to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution. Because of the importance of the importance of Gandhi's life teachings on non- violence, I am participating in a historic CODEL to India, where members of Congress will sojourn in the land of Gandhi during the recess on next week.

It was through this experience that Dr. King, with a heart of servitude, was transitioned to become the greatest civil rights advocate of our century and possibly the greatest leader of our time. Mahatma Gandhi was a formative influence upon Dr. King's political civil disobedience. Dr. King and Gandhi believed that change would occur once Americans acknowledged the humanity of the oppressed in America.

Gandhi became a leader in a complex struggle. Following World War I, Gandhi launched his movement of non-violent resistance to Great Britain. Satyagraha, which involves utilization of non-violent measures to undermine the opponent, and ideally to convert him rather than to coerce him into submission, spread throughout India, gaining millions of followers. A demonstration against the Rowlatt Acts, which allowed certain political cases to be tried without juries and internment of suspects without trial, but resulted in a massacre of Indians at Amritsar by British soldiers. When the British government failed to make amends, Gandhi proclaimed an organized campaign of non- cooperation. Indians in public office resigned, government agencies such as courts of law were boycotted, and Indian children were withdrawn from government schools. Throughout India, streets were blocked by squatting Indians who refused to rise even when beaten by police. Gandhi was arrested, but the British were soon forced to release him. His non-violent movement set a new precedent for dealing with oppression and violence, no just in India, but the world over.

Dr. King and Gandhi journey's ironically began in the same fashion. It was a train ride in South Africa that created Gandhi. It was a bus boycott in Alabama that made Dr. Martin Luther King. They were ordinary men only seeking to heighten the moral conscience of the time. These men were the spokesmen for the oppressed, unjustly treated, and those denied their God given privileges to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Institutionalized racism and bigotry sought to keep the people of India, African Americans, and others from achieving those God given virtues.

Dr. King's journey to India came at a vital time in American history. The Montgomery boycott had ended and had proven to be a great success. The nation's leaders were now dealing with a new challenge, one it had not seen before, non-violent social disobedience. People, both black and white, were looking to the newly famed leader from Georgia as the conscience of the nation. While they looked to Dr. King, he looked to the east for inspiration. It was Mahatma Gandhi's teachings of non- violence that helped achieve success in Alabama. He knew that it would be Gandhi's teachings that would help the movement to achieve greater success in his quest for civil equality in the United States.

On the trip to India, Dr. King was surprised to find the extent to which the bus boycott was covered in India and throughout the world. King recalled, ``We were looked upon as brothers, with the color of our skins as something of an asset. But the strongest bond of fraternity was the common cause of minority and colonial peoples in America, Africa, and Asia struggling to throw off racism and imperialism.''

Dr. King's meetings with satyagrahis deepened his commitment to nonviolent resistance. His interactions with the Gandhi family ingrained in him the power of nonviolent resistance and its potential usefulness throughout the world, even against totalitarian regimes.

While discussing non-violence to a group of students in India, Dr. King said, ``True nonviolent resistance is not unrealistic submission to evil power. It is rather a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love, in the faith that it is better to be the recipient of violence than the inflictor of it, since the latter only multiplies the existence of violence and bitterness in the universe, while the former may develop a sense of shame in the opponent, and thereby bring about a transformation and change of heart.''

The trip to India affected Dr. King in a profound way, deepening his understanding of nonviolent resistance and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. ``Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation,'' Dr. King said.

The contributions of Gandhi and Dr. King are many. The roles that these two humanitarians traveled to arrive at their respective destinations in history were long and difficult, but they deserve all the respect and admiration that history can bestow upon them. As Members of Congress, we have to respect and acknowledge the work of Gandhi and the teachings he left behind that greatly influenced and changed Dr. Martin Luther King.

Dr. King's trip to India further solidified his belief in nonviolence and peaceful resistance. Gandhi and Dr. King embodied the belief of doing unto others as you would have them to do unto you. They also believed in becoming the visible change you want to see in the world. They believed that men could live together peacefully despite their religious, racial, and cultural differences. Mohandas changed the way Indians were treated in South Africa and in India. Overthrowing the imperial British rule was no easy task, but Gandhi was able to do it. Through his Satyagraha teachings and non-violent protest, Gandhi put forth an example that vicariously aided in the liberation of African Americans in the United States.

It is imperative that we commemorate Dr. King's trip to India. It would be shameful of this Congress to pass on an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Gandhi and Dr. King to America's history.

Madam Speaker, from February 3, 2009, to March 4, 2009, I missed Roll Call votes 47-96. Unfortunately, I underwent a surgical procedure and was in California recuperating. Had I been here, I would have voted the following:

Roll Call Vote 47: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 82, raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009 as National Stalking Awareness Month;

Roll Call Vote 48: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 103, supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week;

Roll Call Vote 49: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 559, The Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely (FAST) Redress Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 50: No on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 51: Yes on the motion to commit with instructions S. 352, the DTV Delay Act;

Roll Call Vote 52: No on passage of S. 352, the DTV Delay Act;

Roll Call Vote 53: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 738, the Death in Custody Reporting Act;

Roll Call Vote 54: Yes on the motion to instruct conferees on H. R. 1, Making Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year Ending 2009;

Roll Call Vote 55: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 114, Supporting the Goals and Ideals of National Girls and Women in Sports Day;

Roll Call Vote 56: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 60, Recognizing and commending University of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford for winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy and for his academic and athletic accomplishments;

Roll Call Vote 57: No on the motion to table H. Res. 143, Raising a Question of the Privileges of the House;

Roll Call Vote 58: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 128, Honoring Miami University for its 200 years of commitment to extraordinary higher education;

Roll Call Vote 59: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 134, Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India and the positive influence that the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had on Dr. King's work during the Civil Rights Movement;

Roll Call Vote 60: No on agreeing to H. Con. Res. 47, Providing for an adjournment or recess of the two Houses;

Roll Call Vote 61: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 154, Honoring John D. Dingell for holding the record as the longest serving member of the House of Representatives;

Roll Call Vote 62: No on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act;

Roll Call Vote 63: No on the motion to agree to H. Res. 157, providing for the consideration of motions to suspend the rules, and for other purposes;

Roll Call Vote 64: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 117, Supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week;

Roll Call Vote 65: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Con. Res. 35, Honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 100th anniversary;

Roll Call Vote 66: No on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 168, providing for consideration of the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 67: No on H. Res. 168, providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 68: No on the question of consideration of the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 69: Yes on the motion to recommit the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 70: No on agreeing to the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 71: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules agree to H. Res. 139, Commemorating the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln on the bicentennial of his birth;

Roll Call Vote 72: No on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 911, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act;

Roll Call Vote 73: No on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 44, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act;

Roll Call Vote 74: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 601, the Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act;

Roll Call Vote 75: No on approving the journal;

Roll Call Vote 76: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and H.R. 80, the Captive Primate Safety Act;

Roll Call Vote 77: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 637, the South Orange County Recycled Water Enhancement Act;

Roll Call Vote 78: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 83, Recognizing the significance of Black History Month;

Roll Call Vote 79: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 234, the Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building;

Roll Call Vote 80: Yes on approving the journal;

Roll Call Vote 81: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 47, Supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day;

Roll Call Vote 82: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 180, Supporting the goals and ideals of the third annual America Saves Week;

Roll Call Vote 83: No on the consideration of H. Res. 184, providing for consideration of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations for 2009;

Roll Call Vote 84: Yes on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 184, providing for consideration of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations for 2009;

Roll Call Vote 85: Yes on H. Res. 184, providing for the consideration of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 86: No on passage of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 87: No on the motion to table H. Res. 189, raising a question of the privileges of the House;

Roll Call Vote 88: No on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 190, providing for consideration of H.R. 1106 to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability;

Roll Call Vote 89: No on H. Res. 190, Providing for consideration of H.R. 1106 to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability;

Roll Call Vote 90: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 183, expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of Continental Connection flight 3407;

Roll Call Vote 91: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 146, the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act;

Roll Call Vote 92: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 548, the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act;

Roll Call Vote 93: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 77, congratulating the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA for more than 100 years of service and leadership to the United States;

Roll Call Vote 94: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 201, recognizing Beverly Eckerts service to the nation and particularly to the survivors and families of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Roll Call Vote 95: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 195, recognizing and honoring the employees of the Department of Homeland Security on its sixth anniversary for their continuous efforts to keep the nation safe; and

Roll Call Vote 96: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 45, raising awareness and promoting education on the criminal justice system by establishing March as National Criminal Justice Month.

I certainly thank the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, today's resolution marks the 50th anniversary of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's visit to India and the positive influence that the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had on Reverend King's work during the Civil Rights Movement. Likewise, later this month, we will also celebrate President Lincoln's birthday because of his work to lay the foundation for what would become the greatest of American achievements, the recognition of the God-given equal value of all individuals regardless of their race, and the consequent and natural equal protection of the law for everyone.

Reverend King and President Lincoln had many things in common. But most prominently of all was their life's work to humanize the dehumanized, to give value to a human life that the law had previously regarded as being lesser than other more politically powerful persons.

Reverend King reminded us in his 1963 Letter From the Birmingham Jail that ``injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.'' Like Gandhi, Reverend King looked to his faith to transform society. Reverend King ultimately paid with his life the price for working to extend the equal protection of the law to all.

Mr. Speaker, those were the struggles of the past centuries. And those were the heroes of the past centuries. But their work is not done. The 21st century has its own civil rights struggle, Mr. Speaker. As Day Gardner, president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, has said, ``The biggest struggle for civil rights today is for the civil rights of the unborn child.''

Last year I joined black activists and black mothers from around the country at the corner of 16th Street Northwest in D.C. to protest what has been the deadliest form of discrimination in our country's history, the systematic elimination of millions, fully one-half of all black Americans conceived in this country, primarily at government-funded family planning clinics placed in our inner cities. Every day, Mr. Speaker, almost 1,500 unborn black children are aborted. Black babies are aborted at between four and five times the rate of that of white babies. Mr. Speaker, this equates to a genocide against black America. And yet our U.S. Government continues to increase the annual appropriation to Planned Parenthood and to other abortion providers every year.

Mr. Speaker, I have every conviction that if he were alive today, that Reverend Martin Luther King would not be silent in the face of such an outrage. Dr. King noted in his Letter From Birmingham Jail that the early church ``by their effort and example, brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide.'' He didn't know that in 1973, 10 years after he wrote those words, that the U.S. Supreme Court would revive the practice of killing the innocent and that the black community would pay a higher price in blood than any other. Abortion on demand is called sometimes the exercise of hard-won rights. But in reality, Mr. Speaker, it is the extinguishing of a legacy.

The greatest failure of human government is the failure to recognize the inherent value of every human life. Unborn children in America are the greatest example of that today. It is the civil rights struggle before America in this century. Reverend King once said that ``The law cannot change a heart, but it can restrain the heartless. The law cannot make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me.'' This Congress, I will introduce the PreNDA bill, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, to end sex-selection abortion and race-selection abortion in America.

It is time to reject the discriminatory disgrace of aborting a child based on race or sex. Doing so might remind us all it is also time for the equal protection clause to realize its full meaning finally, that every human being is a child of God, with the God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of their dreams. Nothing, Mr. Speaker, nothing, would honor the work of Reverend Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi or President Abraham Lincoln more.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 134) recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India, and the positive influence that the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had on Dr. King's work during the Civil Rights Movement.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago today, on February 10, 1959, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., arrived in Bombay, India, to study the principles of nonviolence developed and used so skillfully by Mahatma Gandhi, which Dr. King himself employed to become this Nation's greatest civil rights leader.

I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis, for introducing this bipartisan resolution that calls upon all Americans to rededicate ourselves to Dr. King's belief that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time. I would also like to acknowledge the many members of the Judiciary Committee that join in this resolution and, in particular, the gentleman from Texas, our ranking member, Mr. Lamar Smith.

During his month-long travel to India from February 10 to March 10, 1959, Dr. King gained a deeper appreciation for the power of nonviolent civil disobedience, a practice that Dr. King first discovered reading Henry David Thoreau's essay, ``On Civil Disobedience,'' while a student at Morehouse College.

Just as Gandhi had used it successfully in resistance to oppressive British colonial rule in India, Dr. King adopted it as a cornerstone of the American Civil Rights Movement, holding firmly and faithfully to it even when the peaceful demonstrations were met by dogs and fire hoses, and worse.

Nonviolence had already proven successful in the Montgomery bus boycott, and so it would be used later successfully in sit-ins used to protest segregated lunch counters, and in the freedom rides used to challenge segregated public transportation facilities.

In Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968, the eve of his assassination, Dr. King told us that ``it is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it is nonviolence or nonexistence.'' This remains his challenge to us as we confront the evils of our own time, from the police brutality and hate crimes here at home, to the threats to freedom emanating from around the world.

Can we always meet this challenge? Given our human frailties, that would be exceedingly difficult. But keeping that challenge in our hearts will help us always to look for the peaceful solution whenever possible, and to maintain our faith that we will sometimes be able to find it even in the most uncompromising situations.

As Dr. King observed in February of 1967 against the backdrop of the Vietnam War: ``Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.'' That statement speaks to us as loudly today as it did to those who heard it more than 40 years ago.

Standing on the shoulders of Gandhi, Dr. King called on us to promote equality and justice through steadfast nonviolence, and it is on the shoulders of Dr. King that we now stand to do our best to live up to his dream for us. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will yield as much time as he may consume to the sponsor of this resolution, the Honorable John Lewis of Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the fine gentleman from the great State of Washington, Mr. Jim McDermott.

(Mr. McDermott asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is left for each side?

Mr. Speaker, I would yield 3 minutes to the honorable Representative from the great State of Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee.

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

I yield an additional 1 minute to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 134, which recognizes the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India.

It will be my honor to co-chair a delegation led by Congressman John Lewis, a colleague of Dr. King and true hero of the civil rights movement, that is going to New Delhi to commemorate his historic trip.

The lessons that Dr. King drew from Mahatma Gandhi's teachings of nonviolence came at a pivotal time in American history.

A century earlier, the issue of race and equality tore the United States apart. President Abraham Lincoln, whose 200th birthday we celebrate this year, prophetically said, ``I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free.'' Unable to resolve this fundamental issue of human rights either politically or peacefully, the United States descended into an awful Civil War. After four bitter and bloody years, slavery was abolished and America's soul saved, but the undressed wounds of injustice and intolerance were deep and raw.

Several lifetimes later, amid a crescendo for full civil rights from millions still denied, leaders like Dr. King faced a choice. Was the way again through armed conflict, with all of its suffering, or through nonviolent resistance relying on the power of morality over mortar?

The principles of Gandhi helped show the way.

We know that Dr. King's gracious welcome and textured experiences in India served to guide him more surely down the path he had chosen for his people and country. He said, ``Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity.''

Those beliefs would be put to the test during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, including in my home state in Alabama. Sometimes, the challenges were visible and shocking, as they were with the church bombings in Birmingham and beatings at the Pettus Bridge in Selma. More often, there were the subtle slights born of fear and prejudice.

But whatever the indignity or assault suffered, the response was never hate. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King set the direction: ``I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.''

It is now 2009, 50 years since Dr. King's visit to India. I believe the U.S. has come farther in these last 50 years than in the preceding 100 years.

Providing all of our citizens with true equal protection under the law has made us a better, stronger nation. We will recognize the lasting legacy of the movement for nonviolent change next month when the Faith and Politics Institute holds its biennial Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama. It has been my privilege to be associated with the Institute and this event, which brings citizens of all ages and races together to reflect on the lessons of the civil rights movement and retrace the steps of its courageous pioneers.

One mark of how far we've come is the creation of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which overlooks the same park where fire hoses and police dogs were unleashed against peaceful citizens in 1963.

But what will be remembered in American history for all time is the inauguration of President Barack Obama. There is a small vignette from that day that perfectly illustrates the healing that has transpired in America and gives hope for the future. About 30 constituents from Congressman Danny Davis's Chicago District was in the hallway where my office is located, unable to squeeze into a hearing room to view the President's speech on television. My staff invited them in and they all watched the speech together, a group of African-American constituents in the office of a Southern conservative. That is a mighty transformation since the racial turmoil in Birmingham.

We were united in celebration of the hope and promise that is America. Hope and faith is what inspired Dr. King during his mission and it is what brings us together today.