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6
Martin Luther King Jr. Special Edition
Jan. 14, 1998
c ¡2
King Holiday Begins
President Reagan's 1986 Proclamation
This year marks .he firs, observance of .he b.tthday of Dr Mania Lu.be, King. £ « a aauoaal
^°Lday I, i s a l .i n e fo rre jo ic in g a n d re fle c lin g W e re jo .e e because^tnhis^shotthfe^
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k
s
.
D a K in g 's was ttuly a prophettc vo.ce .ha.
S ou. o v * . e " hasa.s o f hosnli.y, prejudice. ignorance, and fear ,0 «
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5
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^
Elizabeth Eurse,
Congresswoman
for First District
A m en ca He challenged ns ... m ake real .he prom .se o f A m en ca as a land o f freedom , equal,.y.
And J w e know a sfruneful act of violence cut short his life before he had reached his fortieth birthday^
H ^ r T w e l i - X n As a 2f,year-old minister of the Gospel, Dr. King led a protest boycott of at bus
company
segregated blacks, treating them as second-class citizens. At the very outset he admonished led I those
w ho would join in the protest that “our actions must be guided by thedeepest princ.plesof ourChnstian faith. Love
must be our regulating ideal.” Othenvise, he warned, “our protest will end up as a meaningless drama on the stage
of history . shSL led with ugly garments of shame.” Dr. King’s unshakable faith inspired others to res.s
temrtation to hate and fear. His protest became a triumph of courage and love.
. . .
PA lm osl 30 years ago on Jan. 30, 1956, Dr. King stood amid the broken glass and splinters o f hi
bom bed-out front porch and calm ed an angry crow d clam oring for vengeance. “W e cannot s o k e this
problem through retaliatory violence,” he told them. Dr. King steadfastly opposed both the tim id and
those who counselled violence. To the form er, he preached that “true peace is not merely the absence
of tension; it is the presence o f justice: T o the latter, he said that “ in the process o f gam ing our rightful
“Martin Luther King like Mandela and
Gandhi was willing to sacrifice personally
and that is definitely a mark o f a true leader. Martin Luther King never
lost sight o f his connection to people. Despite all the public adoration
and attention from famous people, he continued to care about janitors,
the old, the young and those battered by war. Martin Luther King was
more than an American hero, he was an international hero. ”
H '^ D r K m g 's a u .v ^ sm w a s rlo re d m the true patriotism that cherishes A m erica's .deals and1 strives
to narrow the gap betw een those ideals and reality. He took his stand, he once explained because
of my love for A m erica and the sublim e principles o f liberty and equality on which she is founded.
He w l n t i 1 “to3 transform the jangling discords o f our N ation into a beautiful sym phony o f
brolht, r^ ’1^.
m essage, the dignity o f his bearing and the righteousness of his cause are a
lasting legacy In a few short years he changed A m erica for all time. He made it possible tor our Nation
to move closer to the ideals set forth in our D eclaration of Independence: that all people are created
equal and are endow ed with inalienable rights that governm ent has the duty to respect and pro ec .
Tw enty-three years ago. Dr. King spoke to a quarter o f a m illion A m ericans gathered near the
Lincoln M em orial in W ashington-and to tens o f m illions more w atching on television. T here he held
un his drctiin for A m erica like u bright banner.
,
,
■I have a dream ." he said. " .b a . my four little children will one day live m “ ^ h o n w h erelh ey
will no. be judged by (be co lo r o f .h eir skin, bul by the content o f their character...T h,s will be .he
day when all o f G od’s children will be able to sing with new m eaning, “My country t.s of thee, swee
la n tLrt ^LAniericLis'continue fo cany forward the banner that 18 yean; ago fell from I >. King’s hands. Today.all
over Amenca, libraries, hospitals, paries, and thoroughfares proudly bear his name. H.s likeness.appears on ore than
100 postage stamps issued by d a z e iw f nations aiound the glcte.Tcxkiy we hcmorW mwidisp^hesandimnunients.
B i u S ^ A i m ^ L e t a l l Amencans of every race and creed and color work together to build in thisbfesed land a
shining city of brotherhood justice and haimony. This is the monument Dr. King would have wanted most of .
By Public Law 980144, the thud Monday in January of each year has been designated as a public holiday
M fcm d<nhttigam Presrident o f th e lin ite d S la te s o f A m erica,do hereby proclaim
“ “ ’jnWrtrBM’A^erKrfdlraveteiwntoseamyhanchhisei^hteendidayofJanuan'.iittheycurbfo.rLttrdnmheen
hundred and eighty-six. and of the Independence of .he United States of Amenca the two hundred and tend..
Ronald R eagan, president of the U nited States.
The Oregon Air National
Guard Salutes
Martin
Luther
King Jr
...Alabama; go back to South Carolina; go back to
Georgia; go back to Louisiana; go back to the slums and
ghettos of the northern cities, knowing that somehow
this situation can, and will, be changed. Let us not
wallow in the valley of despair.
So I say to you, my friends, that even though we must
face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, 1 still have
a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American
dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out
the true meaning of its creed—we hold these ti uths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills ol Georgia,
sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners
will be able to sit down together at the table ol broth-
erhood...
"Dream
Speech
W hen T he
ACT
W as S igned I nto L aw .
Funeral Hom e
supporting the families of
our
com m itm ent to the
families o f our community
continues
in times o f need, just as
A H istory o f S ervice .
A tradition that continues.
we always have been.
It is a responsibility that
we honor. It is our reason
Get Your Future Off The Ground*
Your Home Town Air Force • 335-4040
430 N. Killingsworth Street
I’ortl.itul. Oregon 972l~-2499
lei.: SOI.283.1976 Fax: 503 2831
\ PROUD HERITAGE OF SERVICE S
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