Assembly Resolution No. 974

BY: M. of A. Blake

COMMEMORATING the 50th Anniversary of the
assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., and paying tribute to his life and
accomplishments

WHEREAS, From time to time, we take note of certain individuals whom
we wish to recognize for their valued contributions and to publicly
acknowledge their endeavors which have enhanced the basic humanity among
us all; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, it is the intent of this Legislative Body to
acknowledge that 50 years ago on April 4, 1968, The Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, fighting for Memphis Sanitation
workers who were on strike to have higher wages, and to pay tribute to
his life and accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929, in
Atlanta, Georgia, as Michael King, Jr., to Alberta and Martin Luther
King, Sr., whose maternal grandfather founded the Ebenezer Baptist
Church, which the young Dr. King would be associated with for most of
his life; and

WHEREAS, Following his graduation from high school at the age of 15,
Martin Luther King, Jr. earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse
College in 1948, a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological
Seminary in 1951, and a doctorate from Boston University in 1955, where
he became a Brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, In 1953, Martin Luther King, Jr. married Coretta Scott who
was an accomplished individual in her own right as a talented singer and
a graduate of the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music; from
this union came four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice;
and

WHEREAS, One year later, Martin and Coretta King arrived in
Montgomery, Alabama, where he assumed leadership of the Dexter Avenue
Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s leadership skills would be tested
in early December of 1955, when Rosa Parks' refusal to remove herself
from her seat in the Whites-Only section of the city bus triggered the
382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the great Negro nonviolent
demonstrations of contemporary times in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The bus boycott, which ended on December 21, 1956, when the
Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation
on buses in the South, propelled Martin Luther King, Jr. into the
national spotlight; and

WHEREAS, In 1957, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was elected
President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an
organization formed to provide new leadership for the burgeoning civil

rights movement, drawing their ideals from Christianity and the strategy
of nonviolent protest from Mahatma Gandhi; and

WHEREAS, At great danger to themselves, Martin Luther King, Jr. and
his allies in the Civil Rights Movement used nonviolence to call
attention to the racial inequities that were pervasive throughout the
South, as well as to call for full voting rights for African-Americans;
and

WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s commitment to racial equality was
laid out in dramatic fashion on August 28, 1963, before 200,000
Americans of all races and from all corners of the country in his
well-known "I Have A Dream" speech, where he spoke of a Nation that
would "rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," and where
his four little children would "one day live in a Nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character" ... "and when this happens, when we allow freedom to
ring,"... we "will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the
old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we
are free at last!"; and

WHEREAS, Because of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dedication and
commitment to racial equality, today, in the 21st Century, his dream
became a reality with the monumental election of Barack Obama as
America's first African-American President; and

WHEREAS, The Nobel Committee recognized both Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s work as a civil rights leader and his moral stance against racism
with the 1964 Nobel Prize for Peace at the age of 35, making him the
youngest recipient of this prestigious honor; and

WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr. also saw beyond race to address
important issues that affected all Americans, regardless of the color of
their skin, including the Vietnam War, economic injustice, and labor
issues; and

WHEREAS, By 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. initiated a "Poor People's
Campaign" to bring much-needed attention to the issue of poverty; he
broke away from his work on the Campaign in Atlanta to travel to
Tennessee to help energize the black Memphis Sanitation Department
workers who were on strike with the famous "I Am A Man" signs; and

WHEREAS, On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached to
them his famous, "I have been to the mountaintop" speech; he proclaimed
"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days
ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to
the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a
long life - longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that
now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the
mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may
not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a
people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not
worried about anything, I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the
glory of the coming of the Lord"; this would be his last speech; and

WHEREAS, It was the next day, the unforgettable date, April 4, 1968,
that Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Memphis, Tennessee, to support the
black sanitation workers, that he was assassinated; and

WHEREAS, Just as Gandhi had inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so
did his words inspire Nelson Mandela as well as hundreds of thousands of
black South Africans to fight against the system of apartheid until it
too was destroyed; and

WHEREAS, Today, five decades after his death, Dr. King's commitment
to racial equality and his tireless efforts to make this country "one
Nation, ... indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" is still
remembered, not just by young and old Americans alike, but by men, women
and children around the world who study his work and his words, and are
moved to action by his declaration that "injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere"; and

WHEREAS, A moving example of the high regard in which Dr. King is
held globally is at London's Westminster Abbey, where his statue, along
with those of nine other 20th Century martyrs, adorns the west front end
of this venerable cathedral; and

WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr. visited New York on several
occasions, including to the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem,
New York, where his Chief of Staff, the late Reverend Dr. Wyatt Tee
Walker, was Pastor Emeritus; and

WHEREAS, Organizations from across New York State will be
commemorating, recognizing and remembering the 50th Anniversary of the
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with reflective events such
as musicals, dance programs, and concerts, as well as a Silent March and
Vigil, to name a few; and

WHEREAS, Upon the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the death of
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this Legislative Body wishes
to commemorate the lifelong leadership of the man who gave his life for
racial equality; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of The Reverend
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to pay tribute to his life and
accomplishments; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the family of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.