DELAWARE STATE SENATE

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 107

HONORING THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ON THE OCCASION OF “DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY".

WHEREAS, renowned civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929; and

WHEREAS, in 1948, Dr. King received his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Morehouse College; in 1951, his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary, and his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953; and

WHEREAS, five days after Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to comply with segregation on buses in Montgomery, on December 5, 1955, Dr. King was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association and the Montgomery Bus Boycott began; and

WHEREAS, during the boycott, Dr. King gained national prominence as an exceptional leader, and on December 20, 1956, the United States Supreme Court declared Alabama’s segregation law unconstitutional and Montgomery buses were desegregated; and

WHEREAS, in 1963, Dr. King and his staff organized mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, where Black demonstrators encountered brutality by police using police dogs and firehoses; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in front of over 200,000 demonstrators; and

WHEREAS, in 1964, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, in recognition of his work to fight for the civil rights of African Americans; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement helped change public policy from segregation to integration, resulting in the repeal of the post-Reconstruction era state laws mandating racial segregation in the south known as the Jim Crow Laws and leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other antidiscrimination laws aimed at ending economic, legal, and social segregation in America; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King dramatically influenced the perspective and worldview of his contemporaries and subsequent generations; and

WHEREAS, on April 3, 1968, Dr. King delivered his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, in Memphis, Tennessee, in which he advocated on behalf of striking sanitation workers, and urged the nation to live up to its promises of freedom; and

WHEREAS, on the following day, April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel; and

WHEREAS, January 20, 1986, marked the first observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day represents liberation from cruelty and injustice for many African Americans and other minority groups; and

WHEREAS, the notion of liberty from cruelty and injustice is a concept that resonates with all marginalized groups, be they Indigenous, Latin American, Asian American, deaf, blind, disabled, LGBTQ+, poor, or other; and

WHEREAS, this year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed on January 15, 2024.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 152nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the General Assembly recognizes and honors the leadership, achievements, and sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and urges all citizens of the First State to participate fittingly in the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 15, 2024.

SYNOPSIS

This Senate Concurrent Resolution honors and recognizes the leadership, achievements, and sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and urges all citizens of the First State to participate fittingly in the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 15, 2024.

Author: Senator Brown