PRINTER'S NO. 9
No. 12 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY KITCHEN, WASHINGTON AND DINNIMAN, JANUARY 17, 2007
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JANUARY 17, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of January 14 through 20, 2007, 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
18 WHEREAS, In 1957, Dr. King moved back to Atlanta to join his
1 father as associate pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and
2 organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to fight
3 segregation and discrimination throughout the South; and
4 WHEREAS, During the following years, he was frequently
5 arrested, beaten, jailed and threatened with violence as a
6 result of his protest activities; and
7 WHEREAS, Dr. King led a massive voter registration drive in
8 Selma, Alabama, resulting in the famous freedom march to
9 Montgomery, the state capital; and
10 WHEREAS, His famous march on Washington, D.C., in 1963
11 culminated in a great rally at the Lincoln Memorial at which he
12 gave his immortal "I have a dream" speech; and
13 WHEREAS, Dr. King's efforts resulted in enactment of the
14 Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
15 WHEREAS, His personal sacrifices and determined leadership of
16 the civil rights movement in the United States were formally
17 recognized in 1964 when he received the Nobel Peace Prize; and
18 WHEREAS, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 while in Memphis,
19 Tennessee, to organize a "poor people's campaign"; and
20 WHEREAS, The third Monday of January has been designated as a
21 national holiday in order to give all Americans an opportunity
22 to reflect upon the profound impact Dr. King has had on life in
23 the United States; therefore be it
24 RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the week of January 14
25 through 20, 2007, as "Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Week";
26 and be it further
27 RESOLVED, That the Senate urge all Pennsylvanians to be
28 mindful of the spirit and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
29 and to remember his commitment to peace and his dedication to
30 equality for all human beings on the designated week of his
20070S0012R0009 - 2 -
1 remembrance, January 14 through 20, 2007, and throughout the
2 year.
A12L82RLE/20070S0012R0009 - 3 -