Hoyer: MLK’s Teachings Still Resonate

As the country commemorated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer noted the importance of the civil rights leader’s teachings.

“More than fifty-five years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was taken from us, his teachings still resonate throughout America and the world,” the congressman said. “His moral courage and clarity challenged America – and Americans – to live up to the principles of freedom, equality, and justice that they professed. As we come together to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on what would have been his ninety-fifth birthday, we give thanks for Dr. King and all he did to advance the cause of liberty – a cause that continues today.

“From the 1964 Civil Rights Act to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, his resounding speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and the Alabama State Capitol to his courageous protests in Selma, Montgomery, and beyond, Dr. King accomplished much over the course of such a short life. Perhaps his greatest achievement was not a single law, speech, march, or protest, but rather how he inspired a generation of young, principled leaders – people like my dear friends Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Elijah Cummings. Dr. King lives on in all the good deeds of those he inspired. That’s why on this federal holiday, we not only celebrate Dr. King but recommit ourselves to his work to guide ‘the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy, which were dug deep by the founding fathers.’”

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