Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday
January 24, 2020 | |
Dear Friend, Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day On Monday, I spoke at the LeMoyne-Owen College Alumni Association's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast. In my remarks, I said I'd had a dream Sunday night in which I recalled Dr. King's famous anti-war sermon delivered at New York City's Riverside Church exactly one year before his assassination in Memphis. In that speech, Dr. King condemned militarism, and I thought about the $738 billion defense spending package – a bill I voted against - that was signed into law last month. Dr. King condemned materialism, and I thought about the Trump tax scam that produced even greater disparities between the top One Percent and the rest of the country. And Dr. King condemned racism, and I thought about Charlottesville and Trump's "very fine people, on both sides" remark. Then I told the crowd that I woke up to another nightmare: reading in The Commercial Appeal about Vice President Pence's 34-minute Sunday tour of our National Civil Rights Museum. I was pleased to visit with the Reverend Alvin O'Neal Jackson, the former pastor of the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, who is now the national executive director of the Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington. Also in attendance were LeMoyne-Owen College President Carol Johnson-Dean; the Reverend Henry Key, pastor of St. John Baptist Church-Vance Avenue; the Reverend Charles Ewing II, pastor of the Gospel Temple Baptist Church; Pastor Anthony Sledge of St. Paul Baptist Church in Millington; and LeMoyne-Owen alumni, students, faculty, administrators and friends. Celebrating Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Phi Lambda Omega Chapter's 112th Founders' Day
Speaking to Participants at the Women's March
Also Saturday, I spoke to participants in the fourth annual Women's March, which started at Clayborn Temple and ended at the National Civil Rights Museum. I talked to several marchers about the impeachment trial in the Senate now under way in Washington and about my lifelong dedication to women's health and reproductive rights. The march, and ones like it across the country, have become part of a massive progressive movement, and I am proud to be part of it. Visiting Arlington High School Democratic Club
On Tuesday, I visited with the Democratic Club at Arlington High School, sponsored by my Millington constituent, Honors World and European History teacher Joel Wilhite. I was impressed with how well-informed the students were on current events and on what's happening in Washington. Meeting with Students and Faculty of the Goodwill Excel Center
There are an estimated 131,000 adults in Shelby County without a high school diploma and 2,000 Memphis students drop out each year. The Memphis Goodwill Excel Adult Learning Center on Norris Road is trying to change that with tuition-free classes leading to fully accredited Shelby County high school diplomas. So far, 631 Goodwill Excel graduates have earned diplomas. I met with students, faculty and staff on Tuesday to learn more about the program. The Excel Center offers accelerated day and evening classes; free, drop-in child care; and life coaches for every student. It is changing our community for the better -- one adult learner at a time. Recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz On Monday, January 27, I will join many around the world in silent recognition of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp where 1.1 million, mostly Jews, were murdered by the Nazis. Monday is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We will never forget. Sign Up for "Congress on Your Corner" and this e-Newsletter
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While we're still in the season of New Year's resolutions, the Centers for Disease Control reminds us that you can make a physical exercise workout regimen "work for you" and your lifestyle. See its guidance here. "The facts will come out in the end. The documents which the President is hiding will be released through the Freedom of Information Act or through other means over time. Witnesses will tell their stories in books and film. The truth will come out. The question is, will it come out in time? And what answer shall we give if we did not pursue the truth now, and let it remain hidden until it was too late to consider on the profound issue of the President's guilt or innocence?" -- House Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff, argument to the Senate, Wednesday, January 22, 2020 As always, I remain
Steve Cohen |
