08-R028
2008 -- S 2116
Enacted 1/22/08
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
COMMEMORATING THE
CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF THE REVEREND DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JR.
Introduced By: Senators
Metts, Pichardo, and Miller
Date Introduced: January
22, 2008
WHEREAS,
On January 15, 1929, a child was born in Atlanta, Georgia who would one
day
lead a nonviolent revolution that would forever change the social and political
landscape of
America;
and
WHEREAS,
The mirror that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. held before the
national
conscience revealed the ugliness of racism and hatred that had divided America
from the
day
it was born. Neither the carnage of civil war, nor even the thorough
self-examination that Dr.
King
forced upon the nation, has entirely eradicated the injustices which still
plague this nation.
However,
where would the social conscience of America be today were it not for the
courage and
teachings
of this great man?; and
WHEREAS,
There can be no doubt that Dr. King burned with the fire of revolution.
Where
others called for blood and violence to purify the nation, he preached
nonviolence. His
ironclad
will knew that the justness of his cause would one day unite America. In his
famed "I
Have
a Dream" speech before the Lincoln Memorial, he challenged the country to
live up to its
ideals;
and
WHEREAS,
For Dr. King, violence was a firestorm which must eventually consume the
arsonist.
Although the victim of violence throughout his public career, he never gave in
to the
darkness
cloaking this great evil. Dr. King believed that violence did not change
hearts. He
believed
that racial equality and social justice were more likely to come about through
appeals to
the
public's collective conscience and by the examples being set by those
advocating social
justice
and non-violence; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
hereby
commemorates the birthday of the great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We
honor
not
only the man and his accomplishments, but the continuing process of social
enlightenment he
founded
which lives with us still, ever pressing us to move beyond what we are and what
we
think
we can be. A prophet of hope, Dr. King left a legacy which will live forever;
and be it
further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit
duly certified copies of this resolution to all general office holders, members
of the
Rhode
Island Congressional Delegation and the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday
Commission.
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LC00874
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