HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2025-4602
HR 4602
By Representatives Jinkins, Stokesbary, Abbarno, Abell, Alvarado, Barkis, Barnard, Berg, Bergquist, Bernbaum, Berry, Bronoske, Burnett, Caldier, Callan, Chase, Connors, Corry, Cortes, Couture, Davis, Dent, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Dufault, Dye, Engell, Entenman, Eslick, Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goodman, Graham, Gregerson, Griffey, Hackney, Hill, Hunt, Jacobsen, Keaton, Klicker, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Ley, Low, Macri, Manjarrez, Marshall, McClintock, McEntire, Mena, Mendoza, Morgan, Nance, Obras, Orcutt, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Parshley, Paul, Penner, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Reed, Reeves, Richards, Rude, Rule, Ryu, Salahuddin, Santos, Schmick, Schmidt, Scott, Shavers, Simmons, Springer, Stearns, Steele, Stonier, Street, Stuebe, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Timmons, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Waters, Wylie, and Ybarra
WHEREAS, Today, we join with people in every corner of the great state of Washington and throughout the United States of America to honor the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King was born on January 15th, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, and on June 18th, 1953, he and Coretta Scott were married in Marion, Alabama; and
WHEREAS, He dedicated his life's work to gain civil and economic rights for all, Dr. King was not naive about the dark times our country was going through, with his personal experiences of being beaten, imprisoned, and murdered, illustrating the realities of being a Black civil rights leader; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King knew that the laws and enforcement of those laws would not offer protection, and understood the importance of activists and communities of color needing to protect themselves from state sanctioned violence and persecution; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King responded with hope and love, as only love can defeat hate, imploring our country to shine a light during dark times to reveal inconvenient truths and take direct action to make real change; and
WHEREAS, We remember Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail, which includes the words "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue"; and
WHEREAS, People all around the world still use his nonviolent philosophy as a guide to make lasting changes, following the words of Dr. King, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"; and
WHEREAS, His belief in nonviolence was not an invocation to silence or tolerance, but a call for strategic, direct action intended to target injustice and inequity, particularly toward Black Americans; and
WHEREAS, His belief of equality and opportunity for all to achieve racial justice, extended to the necessity of educational and economic justice for all people and alleviation of the afflictions of poverty; and