Bill Text: NJ SCR126 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges DEP Commissioner and Historic Preservation Office to place former Martin Luther King, Jr. home in Camden, NJ on NJ Register of Historic Places.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-2)
Status: (Passed) 2016-11-21 - Filed with Secretary of State [SCR126 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-SCR126-Introduced.html
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 126
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
Sponsored by:
Senator NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Urges DEP Commissioner and Historic Preservation Office to place former Martin Luther King, Jr. home in Camden, NJ on NJ Register of Historic Places.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Historic Preservation Office to place the former Martin Luther King, Jr. residence located at 753 Walnut Street, Camden, New Jersey on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
Whereas, The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of New Jersey's historic resources of local, State, and national interest; and
Whereas, The mission statement of the Historic Preservation Office in the Department of Environmental Protection is to enhance "the quality of life for the residents of New Jersey through the preservation and appreciation of our collective past"; and
Whereas, Historic sites serve as a physical link between the generations of the past, present, and future and ensure that all generations of New Jersey residents are aware of New Jersey's storied history; and
Whereas, An important piece of New Jersey's storied past can be found in a Camden, New Jersey home in which Martin Luther King, Jr. resided during the 1950s while he was attending Crozer Theological Seminary for his degree; and
Whereas, While Dr. King was residing in Camden, he and his friends were not only denied service in a bar called "Mary's Café" in Maple Shade, New Jersey but also physically threatened by the bartender; and
Whereas, While Dr. King would file a police report regarding the incident, there were no legal repercussions for either "Mary's Café" or the bartender; and
Whereas, Dr. King would later cite this incident as the beginning of his involvement in the fight to end systematic racial segregation and discrimination through a policy of passive resistance; and
Whereas, Dr. King's role in the civil rights movement was instrumental to the eventual passage of the "Civil Rights Act of 1964"; and
Whereas, Dr. King's residence at the time of this pivotal event in his life which would send him down the path of becoming the leader of the civil rights movement is an important historic landmark which is worthy of preservation for the enjoyment and education of New Jersey residents and visitors to the State; and
Whereas, The New Jersey community is ready to embrace the placing of Dr. King's former residence on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places by contributing to the development of Dr. King's former home into a museum and office space for the Camden County NAACP; and
Whereas, Towards furtherance of this goal, the City of Camden has agreed to donate the plot of land next to Dr. King's former residence, Rutgers University-Camden's Law School is willing to set up a nonprofit for the combined property, and the Camden County NAACP would like to develop a museum and office space for the chapter on the property; and
Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper for the Legislature to urge the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Historic Preservation Office to place Dr. King's former residence located at 753 Walnut Street, Camden, New Jersey on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. The New Jersey Legislature urges the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, as the State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Historic Preservation Office in the Department of Environmental Protection to place the former Martin Luther King, Jr. home in Camden, New Jersey on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Historic Preservation Office in the Department of Environmental Protection.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution urges the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Historic Preservation Office in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to place Martin Luther King, Jr.'s former home in Camden, New Jersey on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. Dr. King lived in the house located at 753 Walnut Street, Camden, New Jersey while attending Crozer Theological Seminary. During Dr. King's time in Camden, he and his friends were refused service in a local bar and physically threatened by the bartender. Dr. King would later cite to this event as setting him down the path of civil rights activism through passive resistance. The New Jersey community near the site is ready to contribute time and resources towards the development of the site into a museum and office space for the Camden County NAACP. The historic nature of Dr. King's residency in New Jersey deserves recognition and preservation and, therefore, the house should be placed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
