By Price                                               H.C.R. No. 1
       74R3667 PAN-D
                                 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely recognized as
    1-2  one of the greatest human rights leaders in this nation's history,
    1-3  and his tireless efforts and accomplishments deserve the continued
    1-4  respect and gratitude of all Americans; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15,
    1-6  1929, the son and grandson of Baptist ministers; and
    1-7        WHEREAS, Dr. King earned a bachelor's degree from Morehouse
    1-8  College and a bachelor of divinity degree from Crozer Theological
    1-9  Seminary; it was during his years at Crozer that he developed a
   1-10  fascination for Mahatma Gandhi, whose life and teachings would
   1-11  ultimately influence his own destiny as a believer in passive
   1-12  resistance; and
   1-13        WHEREAS, In 1954, the year before he would complete his
   1-14  doctorate at Boston University, Dr. King accepted the pastorate of
   1-15  the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama; he and his
   1-16  wife, Coretta Scott King, had been living in the community for less
   1-17  than a year when local resident Rosa Parks defied an ordinance
   1-18  requiring segregated seating on city buses in an action that would
   1-19  propel Dr. King into national prominence as a leader in the civil
   1-20  rights movement; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, In the face of grave danger, Dr. King organized the
   1-22  Montgomery Improvement Association and waged a year-long bus
   1-23  boycott that concluded when the U.S. Supreme Court declared
   1-24  Alabama's laws requiring segregation on buses unconstitutional; and
    2-1        WHEREAS, Convinced of the need for a new civil-rights effort
    2-2  based on nonviolent civil disobedience, Dr. King founded the
    2-3  Southern Christian Leadership Conference to broaden the potential
    2-4  of the movement begun in Montgomery; he later moved the
    2-5  organization's headquarters to Atlanta, where he became the
    2-6  copastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father; and
    2-7        WHEREAS, For the next several years, Dr. King continued to
    2-8  lead numerous protest demonstrations throughout the South though he
    2-9  was frequently arrested and jailed, and the possibility of physical
   2-10  violence and even death remained close at hand; and
   2-11        WHEREAS, On August 28, 1963, he led the largest protest
   2-12  demonstration ever to have occurred in this nation when he was
   2-13  joined by more than 200,000 Americans of all faiths, races, and
   2-14  creeds in an unprecedented demonstration of solidarity in support
   2-15  of civil rights; at the March on Washington, Dr. King delivered the
   2-16  most eloquent oration of his career, in which he said: "I have a
   2-17  dream that this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning
   2-18  of its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all
   2-19  men are created equal'"; and
   2-20        WHEREAS, On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was
   2-21  assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of
   2-22  39, and the youngest man ever to have been awarded the Nobel Peace
   2-23  Prize was laid to rest; and
   2-24        WHEREAS, As we honor the memory of Dr. King on this day, it
   2-25  is fitting that we pay tribute to the achievements of this true
   2-26  humanitarian and reaffirm our efforts to make his finest dream a
   2-27  reality; now, therefore, be it
    3-1        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
    3-2  hereby honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose
    3-3  monumental contributions have helped to move this nation ever
    3-4  closer to achieving the cherished goal of brotherhood among all
    3-5  people.