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Senate Resolution

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A resolution celebrating and honoring the heroic life,

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vibrant leadership, and historic accomplishments of the

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Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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     WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was an

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American clergyman, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the

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principal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement, and a

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prominent advocate of nonviolent protest, and

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     WHEREAS, Martin Luther King was born Michael Luther King in

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Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, and later renamed after

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his father, Martin Luther King, Sr., when he was about 6 years

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old, and

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     WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr., attended local segregated

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public schools, excelling in his studies; entered Morehouse

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College at age 15 and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in

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Sociology; graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary in

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Pennsylvania with honors; and earned a Doctorate in Systematic

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Theology from Boston University, and

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     WHEREAS, in 1957, Dr. King was instrumental in founding the

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Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which began as an

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organization of black churches and ministers whose goal was to

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challenge racial segregation and complement the NAACP's legal

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efforts to dismantle segregation through the courts, and

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     WHEREAS, in the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. King led a series of

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protest campaigns against segregated restaurants, hotels,

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housing, schools, and transit facilities which gained national

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attention, helping to convince many white Americans and others to

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support the cause of civil rights in the United States, and

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     WHEREAS, in April 1963, Dr. King was arrested and sent to

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jail during one of these demonstrations and wrote a letter from

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his jail cell to a local clergyman who had criticized him for

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creating disorder in the city, a letter that became known as the

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"Letter From a Birmingham Jail," in which Dr. King argued that

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individuals have the moral right and responsibility to disobey

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unjust laws, and

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     WHEREAS, Dr. King provided consummate guidance and insight

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to the Civil Rights Movement, crafting a proposal for radical

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social change based on the inspired principles of nonviolent

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protest which ultimately achieved benchmark changes in the law

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and improved the possibilities of millions of people who had been

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marginalized by a history of racism, and

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     WHEREAS, Dr. King and other black leaders brought the Civil

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Rights Movement to the attention of the country and the world by

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organizing the 1963 March on Washington, a massive peaceful

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protest that drew more than 200,000 participants and at which he

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delivered his magnificent "I Have a Dream" speech, and

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     WHEREAS, that speech and Dr. King's marches in Birmingham

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and Selma, Alabama, created the political momentum that resulted

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in the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which

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prohibited segregation in public accommodations, prohibited

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discrimination in education and employment, and also resulted in

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the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was

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fundamental in guaranteeing the rights of full citizenship to

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African Americans, and

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     WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was named

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"Person of the Year" for 1963 by Time Magazine, and in the

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article about him, Dr. King is quoted as saying "the quality, not

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the longevity, of one's life is what is important. If you are cut

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down in a movement that is designed to save the soul of a nation,

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then no other death could be more redemptive," and

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     WHEREAS, on December 10, 1964, the Reverend Dr. Martin

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Luther King, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in his

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acceptance speech he stated: "I think Alfred Nobel would know

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what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of

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a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for

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its true owners - all those to whom beauty is truth and truth

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beauty - and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and

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peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold," and

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     WHEREAS, Dr. King was tragically assassinated in Memphis on

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April 4, 1968, and his death continues to be mourned by millions

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worldwide as a bitter sacrifice to the great ideals he

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represented to us - social justice, equal rights and opportunity,

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and the brotherhood of mankind, and

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     WHEREAS, January 20, 1986, was the first national

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celebration of Dr. King's birthday as a Federal Holiday, NOW,

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THEREFORE,

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Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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     That the Senate honors the memory, and celebrates the 78th

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birthday, of a great American leader, the Reverend Dr. Martin

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Luther King, Jr., whose inspired moral leadership and courage

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guided our nation through an immense struggle for civil and

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human rights and whose example continues to inspire us in our

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efforts to complete that struggle.