Political Quotes

“Madam President, it is my honor to--this is something I get to do once a year now--it is my honor to join Senator Rounds of South Dakota and Senator Hirono from Hawaii, and then Senator Collins later, Senator Baldwin, Senator Romney, and Senator Warnock, to join my colleagues of both parties on the floor to read one of the greatest pieces of writing of the 20th century, Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham jail. I thank those Senators for joining us. Our former colleague, Senator Doug Jones, began this tradition. He did it in 2019 and 2020. As he left the Senate in late 2020, he asked me to continue the tradition that he began. He would have been here on the floor with us to watch and to listen, but he was called to the White House on his work with Judge Jackson. This is a bipartisan reading. I very purposely chose three Republican friends--Senator Rounds will go first--and three Democrat friends, followed by Senator Hirono. And let me just lay out where we are and what we are doing. It is April 1963. Dr. King was held in the Birmingham Jail for the supposed crime of leading a series of peaceful protests and boycotts in the city of Birmingham, AL. The goal was to put pressure on the business community to end discrimination in their hiring for local jobs. Some White ministers from Alabama would take issue with these boycotts. They said: Slow down, Dr. King. Don't move too fast. We are for voting rights, too.…”