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A RESOLUTION honoring the 50th anniversary of Lexington’s Martin Luther 1
King Jr. Holiday Celebration. 2
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to securing our 3
Nation’s fundamental principles of liberty and justice for all by combatting racial 4
segregation; and 5
WHEREAS, Dr. King fought tirelessly to end of the oppressive Jim Crow regime of 6
racial segregation codes which unjustly targeted Black Americans, courageously 7
organizing and leading some of the most famous and influential moments in the Civil 8
Rights Movement, including the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1963 March on 9
Washington, and the historic 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery; and 10
WHEREAS, Dr. King’s influence can be felt in landmark legislation at both the 11
state and federal level, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 12
of 1965 passed by the United States Congress; and 13
WHEREAS, here in our own Commonwealth, the fruit of Dr. King’s labor can be 14
seen in many significant ways, including the passage of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act of 15
1966, which Dr. King called, "The strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill 16
passed by a southern state"; and 17
WHEREAS, Lexington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration is one of the 18
oldest programs in the country. In 1973, five years after Dr. King’s tragic assassination 19
on April 4, 1968, the established was founded by Jerry Stevens, the first director of UK’s 20
Office of Minority Student Affairs, and Edgar Mack, faculty member in UK’s College of 21
Social Work, later joined by program coordinator Chester Grundy; and 22
WHEREAS, the Lexington Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration was 23
originally established not only to elevate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., but to 24
establish an undergraduate scholarship in his honor available to high school seniors 25
planning to attend Bluegrass Community and Technical College; and 26
WHEREAS, in the mid-1980s, Dr. William C. Parker, the Vice Chancellor for 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1021
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Minority Affairs, expanded on the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration by 1
establishing a partnership with the Office of the Mayor, thereby elevating the program to 2
a city-wide event; and 3
WHEREAS, public support for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration 4
increased steadily, with participation coming from the campus as well as the greater 5
central Kentucky community, including Lexington-area churches, universities, 6
businesses, nonprofit organizations, youth groups, social justice organizations, fraternities 7
and sororities, and other key community members; and 8
WHEREAS, past keynote speakers at Lexington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday 9
Celebration have included prominent civil rights leaders, such as Ossie Davis, Susan 10
Taylor, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Danny Glover, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, U.S. Congressman 11
Ron Dellums, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Dr. Otis Moss III, Tim Wise, Reverend 12
James Lawson, Dr. Renita Weems, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Dr. Bernice Reagon, Dr. 13
Na’im Akbar, Daniel Beaty, and other important voices; and 14
WHEREAS, the 50th anniversary of Lexington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday 15
Celebration will be observed on January 16, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the 16
Central Bank Center in Lexington; 17
NOW, THEREFORE, 18
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 19
Kentucky: 20
Section 1. The members of the Senate, individually and collectively, hereby 21
recognize Lexington's 50th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration, and urge 22
all Kentuckians to shape their lives by those holy tenets of kindness, peace, and equality. 23
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 24
Resolution to Senator Reginald Thomas. 25