HR0188 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0188 LRB097 11206 KXB 52961 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent American leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968; and

WHEREAS, In March of 1968, Dr. King went to Memphis in support of striking African-American sanitation workers; the workers had staged a walkout on February 11, 1968, to protest unequal wages and working conditions; at the time, the city of Memphis paid black workers significantly lower wages than whites; and

WHEREAS, At 6:01 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 1968, while he was standing on the motel's second floor balcony, Dr. King was struck by a single .30 bullet fired from a Remington 760 Gamemaster; Reverend Ralph Abernathy, who was staying with Dr. King at the motel, heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find Dr. King on the floor; Dr. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead at 7:05 p.m.; and

WHEREAS, Despite the urging of many national leaders, news of the assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 100 cities, including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland; after the assassination, the city of Memphis quickly settled the strike, on favorable terms to the sanitation workers; and

WHEREAS, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson later declared a national day of mourning for the slain civil rights leader; his funeral was held on April 9, 1968 and over 300,000 people attended, paying their final respects to the late Dr. King; and

WHEREAS, On June 10, 1968, James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was arrested in London, extradited to the United States, and charged with the crime; on March 10, 1969, Ray entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in the Tennessee state penitentiary; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we remember this important day in history and reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who worked towards changing attitudes without violence, and who brought true change upon this nation.