Title
Special recognition celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Lake County.
Body
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
WHEREAS, born January 15, 1929, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and leader of the civil rights movement, championing justice and equality and advocating the use of nonviolent means to end racial segregation; and
WHEREAS, Martin Luther King Jr. first came to national prominence during a bus boycott by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955; and
WHEREAS, he was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs; and led many initiatives to campaign for the proper voter registration of people of color; and
WHEREAS, on August 28, 1963, King directed a march of 250,000 demonstrators to Washington, D.C., where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His dream was that the inhabitants of the United States would be judged by their personal qualities and not by the color of their skin; and
WHEREAS, Martin Luther King Jr., who was awarded Nobel Peace Prize at age of 35 for his peaceful campaign against racism, was assassinated four years later on April 4, 1968; and
WHEREAS, on November 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill marking the third Monday of January as a federal holiday. All 50 states made it a state government holiday by 2000; and
WHEREAS, Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors King's legacy, focuses on the issue of civil rights, and highlights the use of nonviolence to promote change; and
WHEREAS, observed as a day on, not a day off, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RECOGNIZED, that this County Board of Lake County, Illinois...
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