[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1061 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         April 1, 2008.
Whereas 40 years ago on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the moral 
        leader of America, was taken from us all too soon by an assassin's 
        bullet, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, 
        Tennessee, where he was to lead sanitation workers in protest against 
        low wages and intolerable working conditions;
Whereas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while just one man, changed America forever 
        in a few short years through his preaching of nonviolence and passive 
        resistance;
Whereas Dr. King was the preeminent civil rights advocate of his time, leading 
        the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 
        1960s and earning world-wide recognition as an eloquent and articulate 
        spokesperson for equality;
Whereas Dr. King dedicated his life to securing the fundamental principles of 
        the United States of liberty and justice for all United States citizens;
Whereas Dr. King was a champion of nonviolence who fervently advocated 
        nonviolent resistance as the strategy to end segregation and racial 
        discrimination in America, and in 1964, at age 35, he became the 
        youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his 
        efforts;
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;
Whereas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., broke down walls of racial segregation and 
        racial discrimination in places of public accommodation;
Whereas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., opened doors to the participation of all 
        Americans in the political process;
Whereas the work of Dr. King created a basis of understanding and respect and 
        helped communities, and the United States as a whole, to act 
        cooperatively and courageously to restore tolerance, justice, and 
        equality between people;
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 people have the 
        moral capacity to care for other people;
Whereas Dr. King awakened the conscience and consciousness of the United States 
        and used his message of hope to bring people together to build the 
        ``Beloved Community'', a community of justice, at peace with itself;
Whereas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through his persistence, raw courage, and 
        faith brought about a nonviolent revolution in America without firing a 
        single bullet; and
Whereas our country and our society are better because of what he did and what 
        he said: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives encourages all Americans to--
            (1) pause and remember the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther 
        King, Jr., on this, the 40th anniversary of his death;
            (2) commemorate the legacy of Dr. King, so that, as Dr. King hoped, 
        ``one day this Nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its 
        creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created 
        equal''; and
            (3) remember the message of Dr. King and rededicate themselves to 
        Dr. King's goal of a free and just United States.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.