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90_SR0008
LRB9000979KBkb
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life
3 to the nonviolent civil rights struggle after being ordained
4 into the ministry of the National Baptist Church and
5 receiving a doctorate in theology from Boston University; and
6 WHEREAS, While minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
7 in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King worked on civil rights
8 issues with the National Baptist Church and received a
9 doctorate in theology from Boston University; and
10 WHEREAS, Dr. King became president of the Southern
11 Christian Leadership Conference and organized voter
12 registration drives throughout the South. He continued to
13 promote nonviolence through sit-ins designed to end
14 segregation, and assisted in the creation of the Student
15 Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; and
16 WHEREAS, Dr. King chaired the Freedom Ride Coordinating
17 Committee which toured the South ensuring compliance with
18 desegregation laws. "Freedom Walks" and prayer vigils in
19 place of violent rioting were advocated by Dr. King, who led
20 10,000 civil rights supporters of all races in a march from
21 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama; and
22 WHEREAS, Equal rights for African-Americans were being
23 sought in Memphis, Tennessee, and when Dr. King traveled to
24 that city to assist the protests he was assassinated there on
25 April 4, 1968. Dr. King's legacy has resulted in the ongoing
26 quest for equal rights for all Americans; and
27 WHEREAS, 10th Street (State Route 37) from Oakland Avenue
28 South to Veterans Memorial Drive, which is traveled by all
29 ethnic groups and economic strata of the State, and is used
30 by Mt. Vernon's residents, all of whose quality of life has
31 been improved by Dr. King's efforts should bear the name of
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1 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
3 OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that in the city of Mount Vernon,
4 10th Street from Oakland Avenue South to Veterans Memorial
5 Drive be designated as "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive";
6 and be it further
7 RESOLVED, That we respectfully urge the Illinois
8 Department of Transportation and the City of Mt. Vernon to
9 erect appropriate signs, markers, or plaques along the
10 highway in recognition of this designation; and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
12 presented to the Secretary of the Illinois Department of
13 Transportation, and the Mayor of the City of Mt. Vernon,
14 Illinois.