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TO COMMEMORATE THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS' LEADER AND ICON, REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., AND TO HONOR HIS IDEALS AND PERPETUATE HIS DREAM FOR AMERICA.
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, and in 1934, his father took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and then traveled to Germany for a conference of Baptist pastors. His father became deeply impressed with the legacy of the reformer Martin Luther who presented his Ninety-five Theses for consideration in 1517; and
Whereas, when he returned home, he changed his name from Michael King to Martin Luther King, and he also renamed his five-year-old son, Martin Luther King, Jr., who would change the world as much as the man for whom he was named; and
Whereas, as night fell on the five hundredth anniversary of that renowned reformer's most famous act, the day has dawned on the fiftieth anniversary of the infamous assassination of the leader whose name has become synonymous with the Civil Rights he championed; and
Whereas, the younger Dr. King, also an American Baptist minister and activist, would become the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 until he was taken in such a tragic manner in 1968 at the age of thirty-nine; and
Whereas, best known for his role in advancing Civil Rights through a combination of nonviolence and civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and inspired by the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King left a legacy that has become more powerful with every passing year; and
Whereas, he led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and in 1957 became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Through the SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia. He then helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama; and
Whereas, Dr. King helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his memorable "I Have a Dream" speech and the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. In 1966, he led the SCLC north to Chicago to oppose segregated housing. In his final years, he enlarged his focus and raised his voice against poverty and the Vietnam War; and
Whereas, in 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for opposing racial inequality through nonviolent resistance, making the riots that followed his assassination in many cities across the nation so incongruous to his work. The Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal were awarded to him posthumously; and
Whereas, beginning in 1971, many cities and states established Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday, and it became a federal holiday in 1986. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 2011; and
Whereas, the theme of the yearlong commemoration of his assassination is Where Do We Go From Here? Taken from the title of Dr. King's final book and the title of a speech he delivered to the SCLC on August 16, 1967, the theme will emphasize poverty and economic equity, education, justice, and nonviolence; and
Whereas, on April 4, 2018, people the world over will pause to remember that a half of a century has passed since the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the nation's famous peacemaker, taken by the bullet of a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee, now the location of the National Civil Rights Museum. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Civil Rights' leader and icon, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honor his ideals and perpetuate his dream for America.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This web page was last updated on April 24, 2018 at 12:20 PM