HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2025-4602

HR 4602

ByRepresentatives Jinkins, Stokesbary, Abbarno, Abell, Alvarado, Barkis, Barnard, Berg, Bergquist, Bernbaum, Berry, Bronoske, Burnett, Caldier, Callan, Chase, Connors, Corry, Cortes, Couture, Davis, Dent, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Dufault, Dye, Engell, Entenman, Eslick, Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goodman, Graham, Gregerson, Griffey, Hackney, Hill, Hunt, Jacobsen, Keaton, Klicker, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Ley, Low, Macri, Manjarrez, Marshall, McClintock, McEntire, Mena, Mendoza, Morgan, Nance, Obras, Orcutt, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Parshley, Paul, Penner, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Reed, Reeves, Richards, Rude, Rule, Ryu, Salahuddin, Santos, Schmick, Schmidt, Scott, Shavers, Simmons, Springer, Stearns, Steele, Stonier, Street, Stuebe, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Timmons, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Waters, Wylie, and Ybarra

WHEREAS, Today, we join with people in every corner of the great state of Washington and throughout the United States of America to honor the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King was born on January 15th, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, and on June 18th, 1953, he and Coretta Scott were married in Marion, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, He dedicated his life's work to gain civil and economic rights for all, Dr. King was not naive about the dark times our country was going through, with his personal experiences of being beaten, imprisoned, and murdered, illustrating the realities of being a Black civil rights leader; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King knew that the laws and enforcement of those laws would not offer protection, and understood the importance of activists and communities of color needing to protect themselves from state sanctioned violence and persecution; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King responded with hope and love, as only love can defeat hate, imploring our country to shine a light during dark times to reveal inconvenient truths and take direct action to make real change; and

WHEREAS, We remember Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail, which includes the words "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue"; and

WHEREAS, People all around the world still use his nonviolent philosophy as a guide to make lasting changes, following the words of Dr. King, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"; and

WHEREAS, His belief in nonviolence was not an invocation to silence or tolerance, but a call for strategic, direct action intended to target injustice and inequity, particularly toward Black Americans; and

WHEREAS, His belief of equality and opportunity for all to achieve racial justice, extended to the necessity of educational and economic justice for all people and alleviation of the afflictions of poverty; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King propelled the truths of segregation and racial injustice to the forefront of American conversation at dinner tables across the country, helping to bring an end to unjust laws, and fulfilling the promise of a democracy for every American; and

WHEREAS, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law thanks to the sacrifices of Dr. King and other activists; and

WHEREAS, As a country, we continue to strive toward equality, seeing the first Black, Asian, and woman Vice President, and the first Black person to hold statewide executive office as Attorney General in the state of Washington; and

WHEREAS, Justice Smith served as the first Black man on our state Supreme Court, and we now have the first Black woman serving on our state Supreme Court, along with a historic number of Black legislators at 13 in the House and Senate, the largest legislative Black caucus in the western United States; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King's work is not finished, with the American dream still unfulfilled for too many Americans, including Native, Black, Asian, Hispanic, or White, whether middle class or working class, as we have not yet lived up to the creed that all are created equal; and

WHEREAS, We remember Dr. King's steadfast commitment to the ideals of impartiality and opportunity for all in the face of tyranny, cruelty, and mistreatment by those in power, and most importantly his call for direct action to create the tension needed to force communities to confront and address these issues; and

WHEREAS, He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the youngest man to ever be selected for this extraordinary honor; and

WHEREAS, Despite Dr. King's assassination on April 4th, 1968, his legacy of compassion and call for nonviolent direct action live on today;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the importance of the life of Dr. King and exalt his dedicated work to embrace the ideals of equity and justice for all people.