Congressional Record: April 4, 2006 (Senate)
Page S2801-S2805


          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS


      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 2499. A bill to provide for the expeditious disclosure of records
relevant to the life and assassination of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther
King, Jr.; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs.

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today, on the anniversary of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, I am pleased to join with my
colleague in the House, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney to introduce the
Martin Luther King, Jr., Record Collections Act. This act will ensure
the expeditious disclosure and preservation of records relevant to Dr.
King's life and death. Fully releasing these records--many of which are
not subject to disclosure until 2038--will shed significant light on a
turning point in American history. My friend, Representative John
Lewis, explained its necessity quite eloquently:

       I, too, was the subject of unwarranted FBI surveillance
     during the Civil Rights Movement. Because we do not know this
     part of our history, it is clear that we are beginning to
     repeat it. Recently, we became aware of the administration's
     domestic spying program that has targeted peace groups that
     are carrying on the nonviolent action of Dr. King. It is time
     that we know our history, and passage of the Rev. Martin
     Luther King, Jr. Records Act will take us one step closer to
     uncovering that history.

  Judge Joseph Brown, the last presiding judge in James Earl Ray's
post-conviction relief proceedings, also supports this legislation. He
believes that it is important to:

       . . . fully release the still classified historical record
     surrounding the life and death of the late Dr. King. In light
     of the disturbing records and documents that came to light in
     James Earl Ray's petition before me and in consideration of
     the recent furor over the power and authority granted to
     certain officials under the guise of the Homeland Security
     Act, it might prove most illuminating to review the
     historical record relative to the exercise of purportedly
     similar power and authority by the U.S. officials 40 years
     ago. The American public, the citizens of the Land of the
     Free and Home of the Brave deserve this access to the
     historic record surrounding the life and death of Dr. King.

  Our legislation will create a Martin Luther King Records Collection
at the National Archives. This will include all records--public and
private--related to the life and death of Dr. King, including any
investigations or inquiries by Federal, State, or local agencies. The
records will be organized in a central directory to allow the public to
access them online from anywhere in the world. The documents will be
overseen by a review board consisting of at least one professional
historian, one attorney, one researcher, and one representative of the
civil rights community.
  The MLK Records Review Board, a five-member independent agency, will
be responsible for facilitating the review and transmission of all
related records to the Archivist for public disclosure. Members will be
nominated by the President and approved with the advice and consent of
the Senate. It will have the power to direct government offices to
locate and organize related records and transmit them for review or
release. It will also have the power to investigate the facts
surrounding the transmission or possession of records, take testimony
of individuals in order to fulfill their responsibilities, request the
Attorney General to subpoena private persons or government employees to
compel testimony or records and require agencies to account in writing
for any previous or current destruction of related records. In
addition, the Board can request that the Attorney General petition any
court in the U.S. or abroad to release any sealed information or
physical evidence relevant to the life or death of Dr. King, and to
subpoena such evidence if it is no longer in the possession of the
government. The MLK Records Review Board will also be required to
provide annual reports to Congress, the President, the Archivist, and
all government agencies whose records have been reviewed, and to the
public. The Board must terminate its work no later than 5 years from
the passage of the Act unless it votes to extend for an additional 2-
year term.

  The reason for having such a Board is to ensure that someone is
responsible for finding all relevant records and that the records do
not disclose any sensitive information. It is particularly important to
have a Board like this given recent revelations by the New York Times
that the government has begun removing thousands of declassified
documents on a wide range of historical subjects from public access at
the National Archives. There has perhaps never been a more urgent time
to bring the records on Dr. King into the light of day. According to
the National Archives, about 9,500 records totaling more than 55,000
pages have been withdrawn from the public shelves and reclassified
since 1999. We need to ensure that the records relating to the life and
death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., do not suffer the same fate. They
are too important to us at this point in American history.
  Dr. King challenged the conscience of my generation, and his words
and his legacy continue to move generations to action today. His love
and faith is alive in the millions of Americans who volunteer each day
in soup kitchens or in schools, and those who refused to ignore the
suffering of thousands they'd never met when Hurricane Katrina
destroyed lives and communities. His vision and his passion are alive
in churches and on campuses when millions stand up against the
injustice of discrimination or the indifference that leaves too many
behind.
  The best way to honor the memory of Dr. King is to finish his work at
home and around the world. And the first step to furthering his legacy
is to know the full body of it. I hope that my colleagues will join me
in this very important effort: to preserve and learn from records
relating to the life and death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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