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“LeROY COLLINS: HERO OF THE STRUGGLE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1038 on June 19, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
LeROY COLLINS: HERO OF THE STRUGGLE
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HON. JOHN LEWIS
of georgia
in the house of representatives
Monday, June 19, 2000
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the Civil Rights Movement is replete with examples of men and women who risked great personal harm and displayed unwavering courage in the face of danger. Men and women whose names many not be as familiar to us as the names of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or James Farmer, but who nevertheless made huge contributions to the struggle for freedom. One such person was LeRoy Collins, former governor of Florida, whose mediation skills and nonviolent nature helped Alabama avoid a second Bloody Sunday.
As we all know, the first attempt by marches to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on that fateful day--March 7, 1965, Bloody Sunday--was met with unconscionable violence initiated by Alabama state troopers. As plans were made for the second attempt, many expected the worst. Dr. King, who would lead the march, met with LeRoy Collins. Collins was the director of the Justice Department's Community Relations Service and was sent by President Johnson to mediate the situation. After speaking with King, Collins struck a deal with state and local officials designed to avoid a repeat of Bloody Sunday. We would be allowed to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge but we could not go on to Montgomery.
Later that day, with Alabama State troopers looking on, two thousand people led by Dr. King peacefully marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Once they reached the bottom of the other side they stopped, prayed and sang ``We Shall Overcome.''
The nonviolent nature of our second march was in no small measure a result of LeRoy Collins' courage and prudence. God only knows what harm may have been suffered on that day if a deal had not been brokered. I will never forget LeRoy Collins. He is truly a hero of the struggle.
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