PRINTER'S NO. 5
No. 5 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY KITCHEN, PICCOLA, ROBBINS, THOMPSON AND MELLOW,
JANUARY 5, 1999
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JANUARY 5, 1999
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of January 10 through 16, 1999, as "Martin
2 Luther King, Jr., Holiday Week."
3 WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929,
4 in Atlanta, Georgia, followed in his father's and grandfather's
5 footsteps by becoming a Baptist minister after graduation from
6 Morehouse College in 1948 and Crozer Theological Seminary in
7 1951; and
8 WHEREAS, He received his doctorate from Boston University in
9 1955; and
10 WHEREAS, In 1954, as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist
11 Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King organized a citywide
12 boycott of the city's segregated busing system which led to a
13 United States Supreme Court decision forcing desegregation of
14 the buses; and
15 WHEREAS, Throughout this and later civil rights protests, Dr.
16 King espoused the philosophy of nonviolent passive resistance
17 and civil disobedience; and
1 WHEREAS, In 1957, Dr. King moved back to Atlanta to join his
2 father as associate pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and
3 organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to fight
4 segregation and discrimination throughout the South; and
5 WHEREAS, During the following years, he was frequently
6 arrested, beaten, jailed and threatened with violence as a
7 result of his protest activities; and
8 WHEREAS, Dr. King led a massive voter registration drive in
9 Selma, Alabama, resulting in the famous freedom march to
10 Montgomery, the state capital; and
11 WHEREAS, His famous march on Washington, D.C., in 1963
12 culminated in a great rally at the Lincoln Memorial at which he
13 gave his immortal "I have a dream" speech; and
14 WHEREAS, Dr. King's efforts resulted in enactment of the
15 Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
16 WHEREAS, His personal sacrifices and determined leadership of
17 the civil rights movement in the United States were formally
18 recognized in 1964 when he received the Nobel Peace Prize; and
19 WHEREAS, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 while in Memphis,
20 Tennessee, to organize a "poor people's campaign"; and
21 WHEREAS, The third Monday of January has been designated as a
22 national holiday in order to give all Americans an opportunity
23 to reflect upon the profound impact Dr. King has had on life in
24 the United States; therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the week of January 10
26 through 16, 1999, as "Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Week";
27 and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That the Senate urge all Pennsylvanians to be
29 mindful of the spirit and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
30 and to remember his commitment to peace and his dedication to
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1 equality for all human beings on the designated week of his
2 remembrance, January 10 through 16, 1999, and throughout the
3 year.
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