District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill CER25-0005 Latest Draft

Bill / Enrolled Version Filed 01/17/2023

                              	ENROLLED ORIGINAL 
1 
 
 
 
A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 
 25-5 
 
 
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
 
January 17, 2023 
  
To honor the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to commemorate his  
93
rd
 birthday, and to designate Monday, January 16, 2023, as “Dr. King’s Celebration of 
Excellence featuring Howard University vs. Morehouse College Men’s Basketball	” in the 
District of Columbia. 
 
WHEREAS, Dr. King was raised in a home where education was a priority; 
 	WHEREAS, at age 15 , Dr. King was a scholar enrolled in Morehouse College in Atlanta, 
Georgia, a historically Black men’s liberal arts college, and graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of 	Arts in S ociology; 
 	WHEREAS, Dr. King was raised in a Christian home, was a spiritual and religious man, 
and decided to follow in the path of his father, a minister, by enrolling in his first integrated 
school, Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1951; 
 	WHEREAS, Dr. King continued his educational and religious studies as a doctoral 
student at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he also audited philosophy classes 
at Harvard University, and earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Systemic Theology in 1955 at the 	age of 26; 
 	WHEREAS, Dr. King led his family as husband and father, his churches as pastor, and 
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as co-founder; 
 	WHEREAS, Dr. King received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Howard 
University in 1957 alongside Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first Af	rican-American 
player, and Patrick Murphy Malin, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)	; 
 	WHEREAS, Dr. King engaged in civil rights movement actions throughout the South, 
including the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, the student	-led Atlanta S tudent M ovement sit-
ins beginning in 1960, the 1965 Alabama voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, and, 
of great import to the District of Columbia	, the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 where 
he delivered the iconic “I Have a Dream” speech;      	ENROLLED ORIGINAL 
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WHEREAS, Dr. King earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his global efforts , having 
a transformative impact not just on African-American culture, but on American culture, and is 
quoted as saying, “	The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort 
and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”; 
 
WHEREAS, Dr. King recognized the political and symbolic power of sports	, and 
understood athletic competitions and athletes could serve as 	a visible and vocal force to advance 
civil rights and social justice	; 
 
WHEREAS, each year in the District of Columbia, Howard University honors Dr. King's 
Celebration of Excellence by hosting nonconference men’s basketball contests against iconic 
historical institutions; 
 
WHEREAS, this year Howard University invited the Moreh	ouse College to participate in 
the annual game, elevating the message of Dr. King by inviting student athletes from Dr. King’s 
alma mater to Washington, DC for the athletic competition, and for continued community 
commitment towards Dr. King’s social justice goals	; 
 
WHEREAS, this contest will take place in Burr Gymnasium which is where Dr. King 
gave his last ever address on Howard University’s campus in 1966 as part of the seventh annual 
Gandhi Memorial Lecture Series; 
 
WHEREAS, Howard University, founded in 1867, has furthered its mission to eliminate 
the inequities related to race, color, social, economic, and political circumstances and continues 
to develop some of the most talented Black scholars, activists, theologians, educators, and 
athletes for the benefit of the world; 
 
WHEREAS, Howard University’s Men’s Basketball program features 3 District of 
Columbia natives on their roster: Team Captain Jelani Williams, Elijah Hawkins, and Marcus 
Dockery; 
 
WHEREAS, 3 members of the coaching staff are also native to the District of Columbia: 
Head Coach Kenneth Blakeney, Assistant Coach Tyler Thornton, and Chief Program Strategist 
Daniel Marks; 
 
WHEREAS, Morehouse College , founded as Augusta Theological Institute in 1867 in 
Augusta, Georgia, with the purpose of preparing African-American men for careers in theology 
and education, and later relocated to Atlanta, Georgia and renamed Morehouse College in 1913 
in honor of Henry L. Morehouse, the corresponding secretary of the Northern Baptist Home 
Mission Society; 
 
 
    	ENROLLED ORIGINAL 
3 
 
 
WHEREAS, Morehouse College has been a leader in this country for developing men 
with disciplined minds who lead lives of leadership and service;  
 
WHEREAS, Howard University Men’s Basketball Coach Kenneth Blaken	ey and the 
Morehouse College Men’s Basketball Coach Douglas Whittler both have strong commitment in 
developing their respective HBCU athletic programs, and most importantly, in developing 
socially conscious young men committed to excellence embodied by both of their institutions;  
 
WHEREAS, Coach Whittler will take his team to the Martin Luther King Jr. M	emorial 
on Monday, January 16
th
 for a gathering with Morehouse alumni to honor Dr. King’s legacy; 
 
WHEREAS, Coach Blakeney challenged his team to honor the legacy of activism at 
Howard University by partaking in a season-	long social justice project around an issue of their 
choosing, and took his team to multiple events at the 2022 Congressional Black Caucus Annual 
Legislative Conference; 
 
WHEREAS, Howard University Men’s Basketball humbly decided to prioritize Black 
maternal health advocacy and has committed to volunteer ing with Mamatoto Village, an 
organization located in Ward 7 devoted to serving Black women through the creation of career 
pathways in maternal health and providing accessible perinatal support services to expectant 
Black mothers, for a community event to prepare 	pregnancy care kits as a team service activity, 
and has engaged in multiple conversations with the Congressional Black Caucus on these issues	;  
 
WHEREAS, both on and off the basketball court, the annual game honoring Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr.’s Celebration of Excellence stands as a demonstration of unity, collegiality	, and 
sportsmanship. 
 
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 
resolution may be cited as the “Dr. King’s Celebration of Excellence featuring Howard 
University vs. Morehouse College Men’s Basketball Recognition Resolution of 2023”	.  
 
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes the historic nature of this 
matchup, as well as the contributions of Howard University and Morehouse College in furthering 
the educational, spiritual, athletic, and moral development of their stude	nts, and declares 
Monday, January 16, 202	3, as “Dr. King’s Celebration of Excellence featuring Howard 
University vs. Morehouse College Men’s Basketball Day” in the District of Columbia. 
 
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.