PRINTER'S NO. 148
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
39
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY RABB, DEAN, SCHLOSSBERG, CHARLTON, KINSEY,
J. HARRIS, TOEPEL, SACCONE, READSHAW, VITALI, DiGIROLAMO,
MURT, McCLINTON, SCHWEYER, FRANKEL, MUSTIO, LONGIETTI, LEWIS,
YOUNGBLOOD, BULLOCK, DRISCOLL, RYAN, HARKINS, WHEATLEY,
SONNEY, DUSH, THOMAS, ROEBUCK, FITZGERALD, McNEILL, FREEMAN,
BARRAR, PHILLIPS-HILL, R. BROWN, SAINATO, McCARTER AND
MILLARD, JANUARY 24, 2017
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JANUARY 24, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
WHEREAS, People in cities, suburbs and small towns across our
diverse nation have joined in homage to the Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., who organized and mobilized against and
resisted the bigotry, structural inequality and kleptocratic
features existing within American society; and
WHEREAS, During the national holiday that celebrates his
birthday on the third Monday of each January, we honor the
radical servant leadership that the Rev. Dr. King consistently
embodied in the 1950s and 1960s; and
WHEREAS, Our participation in community service and
engagement in nonviolent direct action further memorializes the
Rev. Dr. King's commitment to securing universal civil rights;
and
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
WHEREAS, The prescient expressions of equality and solidarity
in the Rev. Dr. King's career-defining speech during the 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom also ring true in
today's political and social context:
When the architects of our Great Republic wrote the
magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of
Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which
every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that
all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be
guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness;
and
WHEREAS, The Rev. Dr. King did not seek incremental social
justice and equality but declared that:
It is obvious ... that America has defaulted on this
promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are
concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation,
America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which
has come back marked insufficient funds;
and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives acknowledges the Rev.
Dr. King's refusal "to believe that there are insufficient funds
in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation" that should
bestow on all Americans "the riches of freedom and the security
of justice"; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives remembers the Rev. Dr.
King's enduring affirmation that:
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy....
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of
racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the
20170HR0039PN0148 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
time to make justice a reality for all of God's children;
and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives affirms its reverence
for the pursuit of social, racial, economic and environmental
justice in keeping with the Rev. Dr. King's vision and moral
courage; and
WHEREAS, Lawmakers must enact, fund and ensure compliance
with public policy that rises above the interests of those
groups and individuals who are inclined to segregate, undermine
and degrade what the Rev. Dr. King referred to as "the beloved
community"; and
WHEREAS, Lawmakers empowered to enact, amend and repeal laws
and pass state budgets must likewise generate moral documents
for the benefit of this Commonwealth as enshrined in the
foundational documents of William Penn and the Constitution of
Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, founded
in 1973, is one of innumerable organizations established
nationwide in the aftermath of the Rev. Dr. King's assassination
on April 4, 1968; and
WHEREAS, In alliance with this panoply of diverse
organizations and in conjunction with the General Assembly, the
Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus addresses the issues which
challenge systematically marginalized communities; and
WHEREAS, Dedicated to the memory of the Rev. Dr. King's
vision, integrity and transformational leadership, the
Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus advocates for the rights
of Pennsylvanians of African descent and allied communities of
struggle; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, on behalf of the
20170HR0039PN0148 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, honor the life and legacy
of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
20170HR0039PN0148 - 4 -
1
2