but after he did, and came back, he was a changed man. he was trying to identify with the movement. and i believe it was march 14, 1965. he came to selma and we were all in jail and the local official would not allow him to visit us. and he spoke at the brown chapel. no, it was february 14. the same church that we marched with dr. ruth it -- dr. martin luther king and coretta scott king. 17 days later, he was assassinated.

, he would haveed been marching with us, believing in the philosophy and the discipline of non-violence. he was beginning to change. i have taken the position some years ago that if i'm the last person to believe in the possibility, and the reality of multiracial, democratic ofiety living by the way peace, love, and non-violence, then i would be that person. of non-violence for me is one of those principles you cannot deviate orm were turned away from --

turn away from. if you want to build a loving community, if that is the goal, then the way must be one of love, one of peace, one of non- violence. a community that respects the dignity and the works of every human being. the good society. it is a better society. the society at peace with itself. >> i wanted to thank you so much andbeing with us tonight, thanks to you and the giants you have not mentioned tonight we have come a long way, but i'm wondering where else we have to

go. could you share your thoughts in front of the sound -- the supreme court right now concerning the voting rights act and the national registration act and how the constitutionality of those are in question? i was wondering what you think about that and where we still have to go with them, voting e. quality. >> you're going to get me in trouble. [laughter] >> i'm sorry. >> know, that is ok. -- no, that is ok. [laughter] it is my hope that when the court makes its decision in the next few days that it will uphold the section 5 of the voting rights act of 1965. [applause] oft is the heart and soul the voting rights act. vote isis that the precious. it is almost sacred.

it is the most powerful nonviolent will or instrument that we have any democratic society. it does not matter whether you or low-, middle class, income. we all have one vote. it should be easy. it should be simple. i think president carter said on one occasion, to be able to vote should be as simple as getting a glass of water. i take it personally, i really do. my own mother and father, my own grandparents when i was growing up could not register to vote. until after the voting rights act was passed and signed into law on march 7, 1965. , whoeat great grandfather

, after theslave emancipation proclamation one of the first things he did, he married a woman that he loved. the second thing he did he registered to vote. he fought for the right to register, for the right to vote. if the supreme court makes the decision and ghaziyeh the way, it will be a major setback. , presidentamerica obama said about long lines, fix it. it does not make sense in the

stage with all the new technology for people to have to stand in a long line. 90.ave a we can do better and we must do better. it is the right thing to do. [applause] >> thank you for everything. it said about nine and -- nonviolence, it is a way of life. your beingpeak about asked about police -- by police whether to prosecute. where their thoughts of turning to violence or turning to those

ways and if not a word that strength come from? >> i never contemplated, i never considered to lay down the way of peace, love, and [inaudible] aware of life. -- a way of life. words can be very violent. may if you contemplate, it set you off in a different way. live.oughts, the way we to say i we're afraid am sorry, excuse me, pardon me. could we be just a little more human? thejust treat everybody runway, respect people?

why do we have to be so mean to each other? sometimes i think in the congress will need to conduct a nonviolence workshop. [laughter] [applause] >> i think we can take another question. >> there was a brief mention of your protest against apartheid in south africa. what parallels do you say between what happened in this country in the 1930's and 1960's and what happened in south africa a few decades later? >> i have been to south africa at a few times but i remember in 1994.re i guess

was it 1994? [audience says "yes"] a group of us in congress, men and women, democrats and republicans, we were in johannesburg. we were supposed to go and meet with a group of young people. in some violence broke out the streets. the secretary of state was in the process of leaving and coming back and suggested we go to a hotel in downtown johannesburg to meet with a group of activists, a group of young people. they started telling their story of protest. through music, through drama. ore of the words, phrases

similar to the protests and words that we had in this country during the 1960's. to talk to these young people, to students, there were greatly influenced by what we were doing. i remember back in nashville as a student some of the african students were there, the whole of africa would be free. before we were able to get a hamburger and a soda at a lunch counter. , free by had a slogan 63. remember that? the 100th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation. for these young people-when they finished the presentation, they asked us to respond.

oher overcome. got up andplaywright recited a poem by a slave woman from georgia. and startedogether singing, "we shall overcome." and we cried together and that was the end of that meeting. remember being nelson mandela. he knew everything about me. meeting bishop tutu, he knew everything. other leaders. we have, we cried. was similar toir the protests here. we had a grade, we had something to look toward. we have some principles.

happened to south africa, what happened to this country, i think we were moving together. to create a new south africa and to create a new america. >> i'm afraid we have reached the end of our scheduled time here. there will be an opportunity for people to say hello to you. >> yes. >> think this was a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. thank you. [applause] >> thank you.

>> it is independence day.s next, a ceremony at the u.s. michigan rep john dingell. that highlights from the series on america's first ladies. on or the newseum journalists. billht former president clinton and chris christie discuss planning for and persevering through natural disasters. he gave advice on ways to plan for future disasters and what

the federal government can do to help. the event was held by the clinton global initiative meeting in chicago. we will show it to you at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. a discussion of how the definition of citizenship in america has changed of decades. panelists talked about citizenship and your relates to political engagement. community service, and self governance. this was part of a forum hosted by the aspen institute. it begins at age 45 p.m. a look at the origins of instagram and what is next in the future. to graduates build it in a week before selling it to facebook 4 $1 billion. we will hear more about that story during ativan held by the commonwealth club. it starts at 10:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. a lot of us take for granted the opportunities that we have here.

being in other countries, i see how people live, how other people live. it is wonderful to be an american. wonderful. i love it. i would not traded for the world. so i mean we need to sit back as americans and think. every day is that going to be great but it is better than a lot of other people live in a lot of other countries. when we gripe and complain about this and that we should sit back and just think and see what we do have. are at thathere we want ou we're better than we could be. i was born here and raised in new york. i've always had a lot of american pride mostly because my

parents came from india and they did not have much. they came to new york because they thought it was the greatest place for opportunities. i graduated from medical school. a place where they could come from nothing and bring it up to something. that is what everyone sees america as a place of opportunity and a place where you can make your dreams come true. i think that's -- i guess that sounds a little cliche. i am proud to be american felt it wasarents better to be in america. i really think that there really is. >> on the next "washington ,", data that drives decision making on a variety of issues. and a discussion of a recent

report by mission readiness, military leaders for kids which examines the possible benefits of the obama administration's proposed pre-kindergarten early education program. and athat, paul kern guest talk about how much americans and foreign visitors spent in travel and tourism. and your e-mails, of phone calls, and tweets. "washington journal" is live every day on c-span at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> one of the points we make in this book is the perennial question, did it make any difference to have the popular election and we come down on the side that it did make a difference. senators began to act like house members which is not something that any senator wants year. means they're out there scavenging for roads. they had to deal with the

people. did you have a state legislature and there are 26 members of your state senate, you need 14 votes. you can payoff 14 centers, paying off their mortgages in a couple of notorious cases to buy their election. >> war with historian emeritus of the senate richard baker on ."&a john dingell was first elected in 1955. vice-president biden along with house and some-senate leaders celebrated at the u.s. capitol. this is 50 minutes. [applause]

>> that afternoon and thank you for joining us today. it is with great pride that welcome all of you to the old hall of the house on this momentous occasion. with the help and guidance of dingell, i think we have a wonderful program for all of you. [applause] first permit me to say a few words about the man of the hour, someone i consider good friend. john dingell has served this

house, the people's house with honor and with sincerity. his milestone comes with all votes,f murders, 25,000 21,000 days, 30 elections, 11 presidents, but you cannot put a number on what it means to enjoy the respect and admiration of your peers which for more than anything is why we're here today for john. i say this despite any political differences we may have because in the end, when all the sound and fury subsides, it is how we treat each other and it is what we leave behind. isn has taught us anything, that a legacy is not something you can conjure up or acquire. a legacy is something that you make. john dingell using only the

tools that god and his country have provided him, freedom, purpose, conviction, has been a master craftsman at work. carving out a legacy of ordership and perseverance to speak more in his dialect, a legacy of working your butt off. some years ago one of my predecessors said this about a member of congress. he was always looking years ahead and was a leader for charting a course for a better life for his fellow man." that was speaker john mccormack talking about john dingell, a senior. dingell, senior. i feel no shame about borrowing those words and applying them to john dingell. john is still at it in the house. as we pause to salute him, to

say congratulations and thank you, let's also keep in mind there is still plenty left to do. with that in mind is now my privilege to introduce to you a body.ime friend of this the archbishop emeritus of washington, d.c. to give a blessing and then you can remain standing for the national anthem. >> if you feel like sitting down during the blessing, you can. it will not be that long but i do not wait to get tired. weighty god our father, thank you for john dingell, we thank you for all the gifts you have given him. we look at three of them in a special way.

first, his patriotism. the man who loves his country. that bye proved volunteering for the service and by fighting and being in a time of great danger. for the love of his country. for hise also was district. a microcosm of america with so many immigrants, different people coming from all over the world. theselly, that is why houses are considering emigration legislation. i know you want it to happen, too. we hope that the same kind of strength and devotion to the hearter will be in his and the hearts of those who share his responsibility. we pray also in thanksgiving for the second love, his love of

nature. all his life he is worried about energy in the future, about the things we need so badly. to treat them with respect. that is the gift you have given him. finally, we thank you for his gift of making friends. 22,000 days in this house without making friends. good friends, friends on both sides of the aisle. friends he can work with, that he can accommodate with, friends that can work together for the good of the country. we thank you for having blessed john with all these gifts. we ask you to keep blessing him and keep losing our country. because through his work and the work of those who are as dedicated as he is, maybe we will have a day when we truly can say these united states of america and these great men and women who guide us in the congress of were friends and fellow workers, and who believe

in all the great things on which we set our course. bless john, bless his family, bless his people of his district and bless the people of the united states of america of whom he loves so much. amen. can you see by the dawn's early night ♪ hail at theoudly we twilight's last gleaming ♪ bright broad stripes and stars through the perilous fight ♪ the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ bursting in the air

gave proof to the night that our flag was still there ♪ does that star spangled banner yet wave ♪ land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ >> taking stock of john's career, the votes cast, the bills passed, the letters sent, it is a task that could take hours, maybe days.

it is a good thing we have got the vice president with us. [laughter] you know the old saying. the only tease the ones you love. ladies and gentleman, the vice president of the united states, joe biden. [applause] thank you very much. you all should said. -- sit. keepeminence, i hope you the speaker in your prayers. he needs to them badly. [laughter] dingellnd the whole family who i got to me in the oval a low -- a little while

ago. icame for the same reason surprised you in your office. i did not tell you i was coming last week. to say thank you. to say thank you. thank you for what is only a pause in your career here as the speaker said. you know, this record that john et means he will be mentioned and studied and referred to by congress woman and man for the next remainder of this century. it is not likely to be broken. and the thing that gives me such great pride, i was talking to my granddaughter whom nancy knows. i was talking with her.

there is a lot everyone here could and as no, could talk about you, to tell about you. you have -- there are so many things, you are so far ahead of the curve. the thing that pleased me having been a product of the congress, having served logger then all but 14 people in the history of the united states senate in the senate is that this recognition you receive today and will totinue to receive is going and theose character way he carries himself is

totally consistent with being remembered. for generations. the thing i told my granddaughter that like most i admire youthat is your sense of dignity. not only the way you carry yourself with such dignity, the way you walk away a top, the way you treat people. but the fact that my instinct although i know you well, i do not know you as well as others, it seems to me that it is the core of what everything you have done is about. believing that every single solitary man and woman deserves to be treated with dignity. everybody talks about what a consummate gentleman you are. it is more than just being a gentleman. it is about demonstrating

respect for people. thing john i, the have watched about you, in not only fought for your constituency, so many people here fight hard for their constituents. it is not that you thought they but they deserve to jobs commensurate with living a life with dignity. doown a home, to be able to more than just eke by, to trim to send their kids to school. i have watched how you fought for those folks who define themselves by their work and their job. a lot of people do not get that. my dad used to have an expression, your eminence, after he lost a jobs and had to move

from scratch into wilmington. hearde kids and my family him. a job is a lot more than about a paycheck. it is about your dignity. it is about your sense of self. it is about your sense of self- respect. it is about your place in the committee. a lot of people work really hard for their constituents. you work and have worked and fought for them, to be able to live a decent, middle-class life. that is something to aspire to. for you, it is a noise about possibilities. i came to say thanks. about you is always possibilities. i think that is the reason why your folks send you back 30

times. because they know you respect them. abouts what this is all as far as i am concerned. love you, old buddy. thanks. [applause] >> before we hear from our guest of honor, we have a special presentation to make. it is a bit of a surprise. to many of us, [inaudible] and the finest tradition of the house, his portrait hangs in the rayburn building. what we thought we would do is we would create a special replica for john as a gift from the whole house. he can take this portrait, and

tellst wherever debbie them he can. eaderld like to ask l leader leader reid, and to come upnd debbie here and unveil this portrait with me. [laughter] >> ready?

all right. [applause] john, we have got one more surprise for you. we were preparing for this tribute, our chairman of the energy and commerce committee and former chairman of the committee came to me with a great idea of how we could properly honor your service.

it gives me great pleasure to announce the energy and commerce committee room in the rayburn building will be known as the john d. dingell room. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you to you all my dear

friends. it is a beautiful picture. it means a lot to me. it will mean a lot to me always because of you and your generosity and friendship and your kindness and love that we share. thank you. mr. speaker, i know how hard you and your staff have worked on this event. please except my deepest -- accept my deepest and most heartfelt thanks that you would do this. i am proud to call you my friend. all of you who have showed me such a wonderful welcome, thank you. i'm very proud of your friendship and your goodness and kindness. thank you, mr. speaker, and also my good friends, mr. reid and mr. mcconnell. you have honored me greatly.

madam leader, thank you for your kindness. you have brought goodness and kindness into my life. thank you for that. my very special friend, mr. hoyer. and mr. cantor, thank you for your kindness. and to the esteemed members of the president's cabinet, i'm delighted to be with you, particularly madam secretary. we have worked together on so many things. i want to say i am probably the luckiest man. i am proud mostly of the friends that i have made. that has been the most important thing in my life. i have a wonderful wife. i want to tell her how much i love her today and how much she means to me and why.

i was looking at some books and i found in the proverbs in the bible a set of verses, 31:10. if you will take a look at that, you will see why debra is so important and dear to me. i will endear her more to you. i have been blessed with a wonderful family. a father who was an inspiration to me and a mother whose goodness was cherished by all who knew her. i'm proud that my daughter is with me today. my son christopher and his wife

cindy, thank you for being here. and my brother, jim, thanks. and his wonderful wife, gigi, who is at home struggling with a terrible curse. and a baby sister, joy, and her friend, bob. my sister who has rescued jim and i so many times when we were in trouble. and my granddaughter who is growing in beauty, wisdom, and goodness. and my nephew and his mother. and all my other friends who are here today. as i had indicated, i am the

most fortunate man. i was given the greatest of all honors. i have been honored to call this country home for 86 years. some 57 years ago, my fellow citizens elected me to serve in the congress of the united states. it is the highest elected office in the constitution. i have been lucky to receive that trust 29 more times. as i mentioned, i have been privileged to serve with the most virtuous and wise, loyal and kind wife who gave me happiness than i could have dreamed of. my dad gave me a running start at this political business, which is the greatest world.

it was a poor polish meat salesman who was given months to live in 1914. he had to battle a curse of tuberculosis. it was a death sentence. the doctor told him he had six months to live. he said, doc -- i cannot repeat what he said. [laughter] he said that he would survive, which he did for over 20 years. dad was one of the philosophers of the new deal who helped write and craft much of the legislation to rebuild our nation. he thought for something -- social justice. a cause in which he believed. to care for our people at a time when they needed it the most. he worked to restore our

economy. he worked for conservation and care of our land and water. he left me an example and he was a great teacher. he learned how important healthcare was to the people. these things i learned from him and the other great mentors. i would like to have done the things that i have done without the benefit and wisdom of greater man than i'm, but he was one and also an irish poet who is also speaker of the house. they were the people amongst others who helped me form my thinking, learning, and understanding. i'm proud we have been able to accomplish these things we have

together. like all of you, we find trouble in the times we find ourselves in. too much bitterness. too much anger. it is unfortunate. i think our speaker would love to see that we are able to move away from these things. his kindness and his decency shows he has those abilities today. i find myself very much troubled about the fact that we in the congress do not seem to learn one of the important lessons, and that is the meaning of the body of which we are a part of. congress needs a coming together where people come together to work for a great cause in which they have an important interest in and share. we have forgotten this.

i am hopeful is move forward it will come to our mind again. how important it is that we pull together, to work for the common good, and that we come to something my dad used to teach me. son, i can't look at one of my neighbors and say pardon me, but you are -- you're end of the boat is sinking. we are all in this thing together. it is important that we keep those things in mind. that we understand how important it is that this nation is a treasure beyond any the other -- any other group of human beings have held. it is the first time and nation has survived as a democratic body for access of -- excess of 200 years. we are the oldest democracy.

preserving this is difficult. when benjamin franklin came out to the constitutional convention one day, a woman said, what have you given us? a democracy, or a kingdom? he looked at the woman and he said, "we have given you a republic, if you can keep it." trouble -- our struggle is to keep this republic. deep in mind what the word republic means. is two things. the thing of the public. it is our treasure. it is our sword, our shield, our protection. it is something which we have to cherish.

it is very fragile. extremely so. less so when we are all together. there are limits on the fights that we should make. the limit should be mutual respect, love of the country, understanding of duties, both of members of congress and public servants, does we are not the masters of this nation. we are public servants. that is the highest calling of all. i am proud that i have been a public servant, almost all my life. in the army, in the park

service, and in the congress. i have been able, working together with others, to make this nation little better. it is that which is really important for all of us. we can do something. to make this country better and stronger, so it will last for a long time. it will benefit our kids and their kids, and their great grandkids. thank you for being with us. you bring to mind the great teachings of the church. about goodness and love, and how we should work together. that is a very important gift you have given us. so, i am proud that i've had the privilege of serving the people of southeast michigan. what interesting jokes i being able to tell is that legislature has moved me around so many times that they can't find a place that i haven't been before.

they have great difficulty getting me into a spot where i can't survive an election. this did not happen by accident. it happened recently. it is a wonderful thing, because, i see wonderful people who have the same dreams that all of us here have. they share the hopes that are so important to us. as we go about our business, i think i speak the thoughts of everyone in this room, and all my colleagues. without fearing concern, without doubts, we ought to remember we are the congress read -- congress. it is our duty to work together with them, and for them, to see

to it that we keep this, the greatest nation come and the freest and most wonderful nation in the world. we have guidebooks. the constitution. those are treasures. they are powerful beyond belief and very weak and tender. in guarding them, we must keep in mind that it is our duty to do it together. having said these things, i talked longer than i wanted. i don't know whether you be pleased to know, but several times she has sent me the signal. having said these things, i want to say god bless you all, god bless us all, and god bless the united states of america. we have tremendous treasure here. let's guard and pray that it is successful for many centuries. a bless you all. [applause]