PRINTER'S NO. 4
No. 3 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY CAPPABIANCA, ARMSTRONG, BARD, BEBKO-JONES,
BELARDI, BROWNE, BUXTON, M. COHEN, COLAFELLA, CORRIGAN,
DALEY, DeWEESE, DONATUCCI, D. EVANS, FICHTER, FRANKEL,
GEORGE, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HASAY, HERMAN, HERSHEY, JOSEPHS,
KIRKLAND, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, LESCOVITZ, McNAUGHTON, MELIO,
S. MILLER, ORIE, READSHAW, ROEBUCK, RUBLEY, SAMUELSON,
SANTONI, SCHULER, SCRIMENTI, SOLOBAY, STABACK, STEELMAN,
E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE, TULLI, WASHINGTON, C. WILLIAMS,
WILT, WOGAN, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD, YUDICHAK AND MANN,
JANUARY 23, 2001
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JANUARY 23, 2001
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of January 8 through 15, 2001, as "Martin
2 Luther King, Jr., Holiday Week" in Pennsylvania.
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
1 the buses; and
2 WHEREAS, Throughout this and later civil rights protests, Dr.
3 King espoused the philosophy of nonviolent passive resistance
4 and civil disobedience; and
5 WHEREAS, In 1957, Dr. King moved back to Atlanta to join his
6 father as associate pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and
7 organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to fight
8 segregation and discrimination throughout the south; and
9 WHEREAS, During the following years, he was frequently
10 arrested, beaten, jailed and threatened with violence as a
11 result of his protest activities; and
12 WHEREAS, Dr. King led a massive voter registration drive in
13 Selma, Alabama, resulting in the famous freedom march to
14 Montgomery, the state capital; and
15 WHEREAS, His famous march on Washington, D.C., in 1963
16 culminated in a great rally at the Lincoln Memorial at which he
17 gave his immortal "I have a dream" speech; and
18 WHEREAS, Dr. King's efforts resulted in enactment of the
19 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241); and
20 WHEREAS, His personal sacrifices and determined leadership of
21 the civil rights movement in the United States were formally
22 recognized in 1964 when he received the Nobel Peace Prize; and
23 WHEREAS, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 while in Memphis,
24 Tennessee, to organize a "poor people's campaign"; and
25 WHEREAS, The third Monday of January has been designated as a
26 national holiday in order to give all Americans an opportunity
27 to reflect upon the profound impact Dr. King has had on life in
28 the United States; therefore be it
29 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge all
30 Pennsylvanians to be mindful of the spirit and work of Dr.
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1 Martin Luther King, Jr., and to remember his commitment to peace
2 and his dedication to equality for all human beings on the
3 designated week of his remembrance, January 8 through 15, 2001,
4 and throughout the year.
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