PRINTER'S NO. 13
No. 21 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, LEDERER, ROBINSON, BAKER, LAUGHLIN,
ROEBUCK, DONATUCCI, FICHTER, CURRY, CLYMER, MICHLOVIC AND
C. WILLIAMS, JANUARY 27, 1997
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JANUARY 27, 1997
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of January 13 through 20, 1997, 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
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 House of Representatives urge all
26 Pennsylvanians to be mindful of the spirit and work of Dr.
27 Martin Luther King, Jr., and to remember his commitment to peace
28 and his dedication to equality for all human beings on the
29 designated week of his remembrance, January 13 through 20, 1997,
30 and throughout the year.
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