Houston, TX – Congressman Al Green (TX-09) released the following statement in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“This week we honor the legacy of one of the fathers of the civil rights movement, the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We honor him for his courage, for his sacrifice, and for his life-long commitment to justice and equality for all.

Dr. King taught us that silence in the face of injustice only serves to fuel the fires of prejudice and hatred.  He said that ‘in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’  Dr. King’s message has become the conscience of our country, reminding us that it is our responsibility to stand up and speak out in the face of racial, gender, and religious discrimination.

Dr. King’s work was for the benefit of all Americans.  His sacrifice paved the way for me and many of my colleagues to have the great honor of serving in the United States Congress.  In the year before the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 there were:
• 5 African American Members of Congress, today we have 43
• 4 Hispanic Members of Congress, today we have 30
• 3 Asian Pacific American Members of Congress, today we have 8
• 14 Female Members of Congress, today we have 89

While we have made great progress in the forty years since his assassination, we are still working to ensure that Dr. King’s dream of equality will one day be fully realized by all in our great nation.  As we celebrate the life and legacy of a great American hero and international symbol of justice and equality, we must not forget that there is still tremendous work to be done:
• 47 million Americans without health insurance, 4.1 million in Texas alone
• 37 million people living in poverty, 3.4 million in Texas alone
• 9 million children across the United States without access to affordable healthcare, 1.4 million in Texas alone
• 200,000 homeless veterans, 16,000 in Texas alone

Together, I believe we can fight the horrors of social injustice and work to create a brighter future for all Americans.  It has fallen to us to make Dr. King’s dream a reality by standing up, and by all means, speaking out.”