08 LC 38
0544
House
Resolution 1115
By:
Representatives Williams of the
165th,
Smyre of the
132nd,
Brooks of the
63rd,
McCall of the
30th,
Murphy of the
120th,
and others
A
RESOLUTION
Urging
the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial Project Foundation to use granite
from Georgia; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
the foundation's mission is to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., by leading the collaborative funding, design, and construction
process of a memorial to honor Dr. King's national and international
contributions to peace through nonviolent social change; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. King championed a movement that represents America's potential for freedom,
opportunity, and justice; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. King's vision of America was and continues to be a message of unity and
peaceful coexistence; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. King dreamed that America would see a day where children of different races
and economic backgrounds would one day stand side by side as equals in
appreciation of this great country; it is to that purposes that the foundation
moves to forever memorialize Dr. King with granite in Washington D. C.; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, he attended high
school in Atlanta, and he ultimately graduated from Morehouse College with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1948; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. King's grandfather, A.D. Williams, began his family's long tradition of
leadership at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving as pastor from 1894 to
1931; his father served as pastor from 1931 until 1975; and Dr. King served as
copastor from 1960 until his assassination on April 4, 1968; and
WHEREAS,
while Dr. King was a gift to the world, his connections to Georgia are
countless, and he is ultimately one of Georgia’s greatest sons;
and
WHEREAS,
it is part of the foundation's current plan to use granite imported from China
for Dr. King's memorial in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS,
considering China's less than impeccable record with human rights, it is
inappropriate for a memorial honoring Dr. King's vision of human equality and
love to be constructed with granite from China; and
WHEREAS,
it is only proper that the erection of any memorial in honor of Dr. King be made
of Georgia granite; let it be known that Georgia is ready, willing, and able to
provide the necessary granite for the construction of such memorial;
and
WHEREAS,
if the foundation ultimately finds that using Georgia granite is not
practicable, then the granite for Dr. King's memorial should be supplied by some
source within the United States, the country with which his memory will be
forever intertwined in honor of the monumental movement for change for which he
gave his life.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY that the members of
this body urge the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial Project Foundation
use granite from Georgia or, at the very least, granite found domestically in
the United States for the construction of a memorial in honor of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., in Washington D.C.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the Martin
Luther King, Jr., National Memorial Project Foundation.