Sheila Jackson Lee: “What an interesting coincidence. We are here today to hear from the President of the United States, President Barack…”

“What an interesting coincidence. We are here today to hear from the President of the United States, President Barack Obama, on his State of the Union. Just yesterday, millions of Americans honored together the legacy and the message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I rise today to emphasize that Dr. King's message was not a message for one particular ethnic or racial or religious group, but as I have reflected over the years, he equals the original values of this Nation. The Constitution begins by saying we have come to order a more perfect Union. It is a small document. The Bill of Rights gives flesh to the bones of the Constitution because it gives us the freedom of religion and speech and access and the ability to move around, and the right to a jury trial and the right to due process and the right to dignity, and it freed the slaves. But it also is a document that can free us from the biases that sometimes come because of isolation, and that was Dr. King. He sought for America her higher angels. He wanted her to be able to be true to her values. For those who fled persecution in faraway places, he wanted America to be that place that did not see color, religion, ethnicity, did not see differences because one was disabled or gay or straight, but really saw us in an equal manner. He marched for all people, and I would hope that as we begin this session of Congress, as we listen to the President of the United States, who literally stands on the shoulders of Dr.…”