Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) today honored the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the nation marks the federal holiday on Monday, January 19, 2015 in remembrance of an American who gave his life to the cause of justice and civil rights.
 
     “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a vital part of our national heritage,” said Smith. “It is celebrated in recognition of the character, accomplishments and ideals of a man who remains an irreplaceable part of the American endeavor to fight for the liberty and dignity of its citizens. Each of us must do our part to be sure that each successive generation of Americans is deeply aware and appreciative of the principles, actions and sacrifices of Dr. King, as our nation continues its struggle to live up to the ideas he championed.”
 
     In 1983, Smith voted to create the national holiday. He also voted in 1998 to approve the location of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in the nation's capital (https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-joint-resolution/113/text.)

    In 2014, he supported legislation awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, who was also greatly dedicated to the cause, at a June 2014 ceremony. The law required that following award ceremony of the medal, that it be given to the Smithsonian Institution to be available for display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, or for appropriate loan to be displayed elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated with their lives.

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