HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.2005-4604, by Representatives Ericks, Walsh, Green, Buri, Santos, Nixon, Hasegawa, Rodne, Pettigrew, Grant, Hunt, Sells, Linville, Chase, Eickmeyer, Darneille, Simpson, Lantz, Springer, Dunn, Haigh, Appleton, Upthegrove, Flannigan, Hudgins, Schual-Berke, Conway, Kessler, Morrell, Ormsby, Takko, Strow, Haler, Curtis, McCune, Roberts, Quall, B. Sullivan, Campbell, Jarrett, McIntire, Sommers, Kilmer, Clibborn, P. Sullivan and Williams

     WHEREAS, Today, January 17, 2005, communities and neighborhoods all across our state and nation remember, celebrate, and honor the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King's commitment to nonviolence was a model of selflessness and sacrifices made so that later generations would live freer and fuller lives in accordance with principles of our democracy and Constitutional guarantees; and
     WHEREAS, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advanced the goals of peace, justice, and equality with determination, faith, dignity, and courage in the face of life-threatening opposition; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King, born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, was so violently taken from us on April 4, 1968, at the age of thirty-nine; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King's death was a tragic and irreconcilable loss for our nation and our world; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King was jailed several times throughout his nonviolent struggle to bring to all people the opportunity to live free of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King raised the consciousness of the nation and of our state to fundamental injustices and inequalities in American society, and moved us forward on the long and unfinished road to racial harmony and reconciliation; and
     WHEREAS, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fervently advocated nonviolent resistance and protest as the course to end segregation and racial discrimination in America, for which he was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King was forever celebrated when the Congress of the United States established a permanent federal holiday to commemorate the date of his birth; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King's work and legacy were further recognized by the state of Washington, which honors his remembrance as a state holiday; and
     WHEREAS, There is still much work to be done to ensure a color-blind society with full integration of the principles of our democracy;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, on behalf of the people of our state, recognize the importance of the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the civil society and freedoms of the United States of America and of the state of Washington; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives call on the people of the state of Washington to study, reflect on, and celebrate Dr. King's life and ideals in order to fulfill his dream of civil and human rights for all people.

I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of
Resolution 4604 adopted by the House of Representatives
January 17, 2005

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Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk