Sheila Jackson Lee: “I want to thank Congressman Raskin for his leadership, consistent leadership, on these issues. And certainly, I think…”

“I want to thank Congressman Raskin for his leadership, consistent leadership, on these issues. And certainly, I think, the recognition of the fact that the poor of this Nation, both in the biblical sense of our faith or the document of your faith, the poor have always been acknowledged, and, in a certain sense, in the Christian Bible honored. And it is a sad state of affairs for us to come to this point in the Nation to realize that our poor are suffering at large numbers and that there is no relief. I know that Dr. King, some 50 years ago, as he was planning the Poor People's march--and many of us realized that he was not able to fulfill it for he was shot by an assassin's bullet on April 4, 1968. But the valiant people went forward with his dream of eliminating poverty. And I am reminded of his words: Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. And so I speak today of the sprinkling, the harsh sprinkling of poverty and injustices in this Nation today, and I make it a very special message to the leader of the free world, who has every power to collaborate with this important body, to make commitments to end the very conditions that Dr. King, some 50 years ago, sought to come to Washington that was ultimately proceeded with by leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and poor people from around the Nation.…”