HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01212014 - SD.3RECOMMENDATION(S):
36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemoration and Humanitarian Awards Ceremony.
FISCAL IMPACT:
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BACKGROUND:
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, is one of many selfless Americans who
sacrificed his life to better the lives of African American victims of segregationist Jim Crow laws, racism,
discrimination, the denial of employment, education and basic human dignity. In 1955 Dr. King took a leadership
role and organized a nonviolent, 382-day bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. This landmark event commonly
referenced in American history as the catalyst of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1955 to 1965, was a demonstration
in social protest and civil disobedience. The boycott helped to end segregated busing by way of the 1956 Supreme
Court decision which declared segregated buses as unconstitutional. This event also captured worldwide attention and
catapulted Dr. King to a plateau which enabled him to help counter the effects of discrimination in southern U.S.
states through the disciplined teaching and practice of nonviolent disobedience.
Dr. King accomplished a number of phenomenal feats in a brief period of time. Dr. King worked to organize the
registration of African American voters in Alabama, fifty-one years ago in 1963 he delivered the famous "I Have a
Dream" speech to over a quarter of a million in attendance at the march on Washington, D.C., and in that same year
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 01/21/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
Contact: T. Lennear, (925)
335-1900
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board
of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 21, 2014
David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: , Deputy
cc:
SD.3
To:Board of Supervisors
From:
Date:January 21, 2014
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemoration and Humanitarian Awards Ceremony
was named Man of the Year by
BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)
Time magazine. Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize and invested the award money into the Civil Rights
Movement.
At the age of thirty-nine, Dr. King's last public speech was on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee where he
traveled, by invitation, to lead a protest for city sanitation workers. In this last speech Dr. King referenced the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution and stressed its protection of the freedoms of assembly,
speech, and press; and, stated "the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights." The following evening
on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was brutally assassinated and the Country suffered a great loss.
In January 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed into law the national Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday to
recognize Dr. King's invaluable contributions to the United States. In 1994 Congress designated Dr. King's
holiday as a national Day of Service which calls Americans to work together within their community by
volunteering their time and service to the betterment of our nation.
In celebration of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
recognize Dr. King and the great legacy he has left our County, the United States of America, and the world of
people who choose the power of nonviolence to pursue freedom, equality and justice for all.
CLERK'S ADDENDUM
PRESENTED the 2014 Student Humanitarian Award to Anand Kannappan. PRESENTED the 2014
Humanitarian Award to Sister Ann Weltz.
ATTACHMENTS
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ceremony Program