RESOLUTIONS

RESOLUTION HONORING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
AND URGING HUDSON COUNTY RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HOLIDAY CELEBRATION OF HIS BIRTHDAY ON JANUARY 16, 2006 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, Nobel Peace Prize winner, one of the principal leaders of the American civil rights movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent protest; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, attended local segregated public schools where he excelled, attended Morehouse College at age 15, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania with honors, and then earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology from Boston University; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, an organization of black churches and ministers that aimed to challenge racial segregation and sought to complement the NAACP;s legal efforts to dismantle segregation through the courts; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s, helping to convince many white Americans and others to support the cause of civil rights in the United States; and 

WHEREAS, in the early 1960s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led SCLC in a series of protest campaigns against segregated restaurants, hotels, transit (a follow-up to the brave act of Rosa Parks), housing and schools that gained national attention; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and sent to jail during one of these demonstrations and wrote a letter from his jail cell to local clergymen who had criticized him for creating disorder in the city and that letter became known as his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” which argued that individuals had the moral right and responsibility to disobey unjust laws; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other black leaders organized the 1963 March on Washington, a massive protest that attracted over 200,000 participants and at which he delivered his stirring “I Have a Dream” speech; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech and marches in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, created the political momentum that resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited segregation in public accommodations as well as discrimination in education and employment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and 

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by a sniper on April 4, 1968; 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HUDSON COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, THAT: 

1. In conjunction with County Executive Thomas A. DeGise, the County of Hudson hereby celebrates the birthday holiday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and honors his memory on behalf of all the county’s citizens.

2. All municipalities, agencies and organizations in the county are urged to participate in appropriate ceremonies honoring America’s foremost civil rights leader.