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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY KITCHEN, ERICKSON, WILLIAMS, FERLO, RAFFERTY, BOSCOLA, TARTAGLIONE, MUSTO, STACK, PIPPY, YAW, O'PAKE, KASUNIC, FONTANA, WASHINGTON, VOGEL, MELLOW, DINNIMAN, STOUT AND HUGHES, DECEMBER 15, 2009 |
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| INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, DECEMBER 15, 2009 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Designating the week of January 18 through 24, 2010, 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 |
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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 Senate designate the week of January 18 |
26 | through 24, 2010, as "Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Week"; |
27 | and be it further |
28 | RESOLVED, That the Senate urge all Pennsylvanians to be |
29 | mindful of the spirit and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., |
30 | and to remember his commitment to peace and his dedication to |
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1 | equality for all human beings on the designated week of his |
2 | remembrance, January 18 through 24, 2010, and throughout the |
3 | year. |
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