86R7888 CJM-D
By: Springer H.R. No. 98
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Residents of Gainesville are joining with citizens
across the nation on January 21, 2019, to remember and honor the
extraordinary life and inspiring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King was a Baptist minister and social activist
whose dedication to peaceful protest had a profound impact on the
nation's civil rights movement; and
WHEREAS, In the mid-1950s, Dr. King was chosen to lead the
historic 381-day bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, placing him at
the forefront of the struggle for racial equality in the United
States; along with other activists of the day, he founded the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and served as its
president for the remainder of his life; and
WHEREAS, Under Dr. King's leadership, the SCLC played a key
role in many of the pivotal civil rights events of the 1960s,
including the Birmingham campaign of 1963, the March on Washington,
where Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" address, and the
demonstrations in Selma, Alabama, in 1965; and
WHEREAS, Despite the hardships that accompanied Dr. King's
important work, including being jailed for his involvement in
protest activities, he persevered in the fight for social justice;
named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963, he also became the
youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; Dr. King's
influence has continued to resonate with subsequent generations,
and in 1983 the U.S. Congress enacted a federal holiday
commemorating his birth; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King devoted his life to promoting unity where
there was division, peace where there was violence, and fairness
where there was injustice, and he embodied the highest ideals of a
nation founded on the principle that "all men are created equal";
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
celebration hosted by the City of Gainesville and extend sincere
best wishes to all those taking part in the event.