WHEREAS, Today, January 18, 2010, 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, based in great part upon the life teachings of Mohandas Gandhi, was a model of selflessness and sacrifices made so that later generations might live freer and fuller, and might more nearly live in accord with their possibilities; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia; and on June 18, 1953, he and Coretta Scott were married in Marion, Alabama; and
     WHEREAS, Since Dr. King was so violently taken from us on April 4, 1968, Coretta Scott King has carried on in the very same vein of caring and compassion; and
     WHEREAS, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advanced his goals and principles with determination, faith, dignity, and courage in the face of life threatening opposition; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King was jailed several times throughout his struggle to bring to all people the opportunity to live free of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination and violence; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King raised the consciousness of the nation and of our state to the 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 as the strategy to end segregation and racial discrimination in America, and he was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. King's death, a terrible loss for our nation and our world, was a particular loss for our own state of Washington in which our largest county is named to honor this great American hero; 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, Dr. King's birthday is now marked by annual celebrations in more than 100 countries around the world; and
     WHEREAS, Even as we continue to make progress, there is still much work to be done in achieving full reconciliation among America's racial, social, and ethnic communities;
     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.