HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2022-4635

HR 4635

ByRepresentatives Jinkins, Wilcox, Abbarno, Barkis, Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Boehnke, Bronoske, Caldier, Callan, Chambers, Chandler, Chapman, Chase, Chopp, Cody, Corry, Davis, Dent, Dolan, Donaghy, Duerr, Dufault, Dye, Entenman, Eslick, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Frame, Gilday, Goehner, Goodman, Graham, Gregerson, Griffey, Hackney, Hansen, Harris, Harris-Talley, Hoff, Jacobsen, J. Johnson, Kirby, Klicker, Klippert, Kloba, Kraft, Kretz, Leavitt, Lekanoff, MacEwen, Macri, Maycumber, McCaslin, McEntire, Morgan, Mosbrucker, Orcutt, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Riccelli, Robertson, Rude, Rule, Ryu, Santos, Schmick, Sells, Senn, Shewmake, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Steele, Stokesbary, Stonier, Sullivan, Sutherland, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Valdez, Vick, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Wicks, Wylie, Ybarra, and Young

WHEREAS, On the third Monday in January, the people of Washington state join the nation in remembering the life and legacy of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior; and

WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Junior was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended a segregated public school before receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College at the age of 19; and

WHEREAS, In November of 1955, Dr. King mobilized the Black residents of Montgomery to protest the segregated transportation system, which persisted for 381 days until the Supreme Court ultimately ruled this system to be unconstitutional on November 13, 1956; and

WHEREAS, While leading the boycott, Dr. King was arrested and his house bombed by segregationists, yet he maintained a message of nonviolence and love in the face of hatred; and

WHEREAS, In 1963, he addressed a crowd of more than a quarter million people at the historic March on Washington and proclaimed, "Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood"; and

WHEREAS, Through bold actions and valiant leadership, Dr. King advocated for and ultimately achieved transformational pieces of legislation in the form of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and

WHEREAS, More than five decades later, his legacy endures and inspires, though it still requires our vigilance to protect his lessons and achievements; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King's memory remains a beacon, calling us to bear witness and reject all acts of hate; and

WHEREAS, His words ring evermore true, that "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. . . This may well be mankind's last chance to choose between chaos or community";

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of Representatives, in recognition of the work to which Dr. King's life and death call us, and in service of his vision, honor his memory by urging all citizens of our great state to take up his call to bring forth community and justice, both in the lives we lead and in the legislation we support.