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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In November 1963, many Texans were anticipating a |
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two-day visit to their state by President John F. Kennedy; and |
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WHEREAS, The president's itinerary included stops in Dallas, |
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San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, and the capital of the Lone Star |
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State, where he was to appear at the Municipal Auditorium on |
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November 22; the speech he planned to deliver in Austin that evening |
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included memories of his 1960 campaign tour of Texas with then vice |
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presidential candidate Lyndon B. Johnson and concluded with a call |
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for unity and renewed confidence in American ideals; and |
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WHEREAS, The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas on |
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November 22, 1963, forever changed the United States of America and |
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its people; in the aftermath of that tragedy, the planned visit to |
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Austin became a somber footnote in the annals of Texas and the |
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United States; and |
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WHEREAS, The placement of a Texas Historical Marker near the |
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auditorium would serve to remind future generations of President |
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Kennedy's leadership and his special interest in the citizens of |
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the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby direct the Texas Historical Commission to work with the City |
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of Austin to develop a unique design for an official Texas |
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Historical Marker in honor of President Kennedy, to be paid for |
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entirely with funds raised privately for this purpose, for |
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placement on or near the site of the Austin Municipal Auditorium; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That such marker include, among other appropriate |
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notations, these words from President Kennedy's intended remarks: |
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For our country is moving and it must not stop. It |
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cannot stop. For this is a time for courage and a time |
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for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency |
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will do. Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted |
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are needed. And our duty as a party is not to our party |
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alone, but to the Nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. |
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Our duty is not merely the preservation of political |
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power but the preservation of peace and freedom. |
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So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let |
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us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation's |
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future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed |
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confidence in our cause--united in our heritage of the |
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past and hopes for the future--and determined that |
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this land we love shall lead all mankind into new |
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frontiers of peace and abundance. |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an |
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official copy of this resolution to the chair of the Texas |
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Historical Commission. |