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[107th Congress Public Law 271]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

<DOC>
[DOCID: f:publ271.107]

[[Page 116 STAT. 1755]]

Public Law 107-271
107th Congress

                                 An Act

 
To redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located 
at 265 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, as the ``Nat King 
       Cole Post Office''. <<NOTE: Oct. 30, 2002 -  [H.R. 4797]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in 
        Montgomery, Alabama, during the difficult period of segregation 
        in the United States, and was raised in the ghettos of the south 
        side of Chicago, Illinois, where he endured the harshness of 
        poverty.
            (2) Nat King Cole was often confronted with racism during 
        his career, including being attacked by members of a white 
        supremacist group while he was on stage in Birmingham, Alabama, 
        in 1956.
            (3) Nat King Cole allowed neither poverty nor racism to 
        prevent him from sharing his music with people worldwide and 
        from leaving a lasting impression on American culture.
            (4) Nat King Cole established himself as the best selling 
        African-American recording artist of his generation.
            (5) Nat King Cole and his family became the first African-
        American family to integrate the community of Hancock Park in 
        Los Angeles when, despite threats and protests from local 
        residents, they purchased their English Tudor mansion in 1948.
            (6) ``The Nat King Cole Show'', primarily broadcast from 
        Burbank, California, aired nationally for more than a year 
        beginning in 1956 and was the first television show to be hosted 
        by an African-American artist.
            (7) Nat King Cole graced southern California with his music 
        during the formative years of his music career and formed the 
        successful ``King Cole Trio'' in Los Angeles, California.
            (8) Nat King Cole's recording of ``Route 66'' serenaded 
        generations of eager California immigrants.
            (9) Nat King Cole's recorded rendition of ``The Christmas 
        Song'' symbolizes the family warmth of the yuletide season.
            (10) Nat King Cole's disarming delivery teaches people the 
        meaning of ``Unforgettable''.
            (11) Although Nat King Cole died from lung cancer on 
        February 15, 1965, the music and embracing baritone voice of Nat 
        King Cole are lasting legacies that continue to be enjoyed by 
        people worldwide.

[[Page 116 STAT. 1756]]

            (12) Nat King Cole exemplifies the American dream by having 
        overcome societal and other barriers to become one of the great 
        American entertainers.
            (13) Members of the community surrounding the Oakwood 
        Station Post Office in Los Angeles, California, have advocated 
        for the renaming of the post office in honor of Nat King Cole, a 
        former resident of the area.

SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION AND REFERENCES.

    (a) Redesignation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 265 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, California, and known 
as the Oakwood Station Post Office, shall be known and designated as the 
``Nat King Cole Post Office''.
    (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the facility referred to 
in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Nat King 
Cole Post Office''.

    Approved October 30, 2002.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 4797 (S. 2929):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 148 (2002):
            Sept. 9, considered and passed House.
            Oct. 17, considered and passed Senate.

                                  <all>
```