Tuesday, January 31, 2006

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Floor Statement in Remembrance of Coretta Scott King
Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor

Mr. President, I rise on behalf of myself, all Georgians and I’m sure all Americans to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We learned this morning that she passed away yesterday at the age of 78.  Mr. President, Coretta Scott King is known in history for being the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, but she was far more than that. 

As he wrote in his letters from the Birmingham jail to the concerned clergy of Birmingham, his justification for coming to Birmingham on behalf of citizens who had been discriminated against, he said, “I come because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  As we all know from history, he took his mission wherever it too him to fight on behalf of justice for all Americans.  And he was able to do that, in large measure, with the support of his great partner in life, Coretta Scott King. 

I had the privilege as a Georgian of knowing her since my days in the legislature.  I saw her as an equal with Dr. King in the movement.  I saw her as a loving mother in the raising of their four children, and I have seen her since the loss of Dr. King, as an undying advocate on behalf of ensuring that the legacy of Dr. King and his movement is perpetuated in American history. 

A few months ago, the United States of America and this Senate honored the life of Rosa Parks as a significant leader; the matriarch of the Civil Rights Movement.  There is no question today, as we pause in sympathy for the loss of Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, that she joins Rosa Parks as a great woman in American history and as a tireless advocate for equality for all Americans.  Mr. President, on behalf of my state, my self, and all those that love peace and justice, I express our sympathy on the loss of Coretta Scott King. 

And I yield back.