Bill Text: CA ACR146 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 146 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 58-16)

Status: (Passed) 2020-02-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 4, Statutes of 2020. [ACR146 Detail]

Download: California-2019-ACR146-Chaptered.html

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 146

CHAPTER 4

Relative to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

[ Filed with Secretary of State February 11, 2020. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 146, Weber. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

This measure would honor the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, On Tuesday, January 15, 2020, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 91 years of age; and

WHEREAS, On April 10, 1970, California became the first state to pass legislation making Dr. King’s birthday a school holiday and, subsequently, a statewide holiday; and

WHEREAS, In 1964, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, for his dynamic leadership of the Civil Rights Movement and steadfast commitment to achieving racial justice through nonviolent action. He pledged the prize money to the movement’s continued development. At the age of 35, Dr. King became the youngest man, and only the second African American, to receive the prestigious award; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement helped change public policy from segregation to integration, resulting in the repeal of the post-Reconstruction era state laws mandating racial segregation in the South, known as the “Jim Crow Laws,” thereby leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, now effective for 56 years, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other antidiscrimination laws aimed at ending economic, legal, and social segregation in America; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King, in the last months of his life, began organizing a Poor People’s Campaign to, among other things, assemble “a multiracial army of the poor that would descend on Washington—engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol, if need be—until Congress enacted a poor people’s bill of rights,” and 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of this campaign; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement helped change public policy from legal and socially acceptable discrimination and segregation to an open and accessible policy of racial integration leading to equal participation in and access to primary and higher education, housing, employment, transportation, federal, state, and local governmental elections, and other aspects of public policy relating to human rights; and

WHEREAS, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. devoted his life to fighting segregation and injustice by nonviolent means and is an outstanding example of courageous leadership in the face of unrelenting violence and harassment by individuals and governmental institutions; and

WHEREAS, Dr. King’s assassination 52 years ago changed America as we continue to work toward racial equality, economic justice, and peace; and

WHEREAS, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a source of inspiration for all Americans; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the California Legislature recognizes the benefits of the collaborative work by many organizations that promote, facilitate, and carry out needed service projects nationwide; and be it further

Resolved, That the California Legislature encourages its members and colleagues to urge their constituents to participate in community service projects; and be it further

Resolved, That the California Legislature acknowledges that, by serving one’s country, one’s community, and one’s neighbor, our nation makes progress in civility, equality, and unity consistent with the values and life’s work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature honors the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.