Fiscal Note
No fiscal impact.
Title
Celebrating Monday, January 15, 2024, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Body
WHEREAS, Dr. King was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King obtained a doctoral degree in 1955 from Boston University, the same year he led a 381-day nonviolent demonstration that became known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, at the age of 26; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King combined Mohandas Gandhi’s precepts of nonviolence with Christian social and gospel ideas to expand the civil rights movement and become a national civil rights leader; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization at the forefront of the civil rights movement, rooted in nonviolent direct action; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King authored and delivered many well-known publications, books, and speeches, including, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, “Beyond Vietnam”, and “I Have a Dream”; all of which are among the most revered orations and writings in the English language; and,
WHEREAS, in 1963, Dr. King organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom event with over 250,000 attendees in Washington D.C., and delivered one of the most quoted speeches of all time; and,
WHEREAS, after police attacks with tear gas and clubs on demonstrators, Dr. King awaited federal court approval and carried out the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the Selma to Montgomery March; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his efforts, and, at the age of 35, was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize; and,
WHEREAS, through his work and reliance on nonviolent protest, Dr. King was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King’s life was cut tragically short when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, yet his legacy remains strong; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. King is considered the most influential spokesperson of the early 1960s, helped achieve more progress toward racial equality in his thirteen years of activism than in the previous three centuries, and is one of the greatest leaders and advocates of nonviolence in history; and,
WHEREAS, in the face of hatred and violence, Dr. King preached a doctrine of nonviolence and civil disobedience to combat segregation, discrimination, and racial injustice, and believed that each person has the moral capacity to care for other people; and,
WHEREAS, on the national holiday honoring Dr. King and throughout the year, Madisonians should remember his message, recommit to his goal of a free and just nation, and consider each person's responsibility to other people;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Madison celebrate Monday, January 15, 2024, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Madison thanks all of the individuals and organizations throughout the city that have dedicated themselves to carrying out Dr. King’s dream, work and legacy.