PRINTER'S NO. 1684
No. 221 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY MELLOW, JANUARY 14, 2008
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JANUARY 14, 2008
A RESOLUTION 1 Designating the week of January 13 through 19, 2008, 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 13 26 through 19, 2008, 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 20080S0221R1684 - 2 -
1 equality for all human beings on the designated week of his 2 remembrance, January 13 through 19, 2008, and throughout the 3 year. A7L82RLE/20080S0221R1684 - 3 -