A Proclamation
In
celebrating the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we honor
an American who recognized the great injustice of segregation and
discrimination, and made it his life's purpose and toil to right those wrongs
in favor of justice, freedom, equality, fairness, and reconciliation.
Because
Dr. King eschewed violence, relying instead on his eloquence and the moral
force of his convictions, the cause he led changed not only laws but hearts and
minds as well. He braved imprisonment, violence, and threats because, as he
said, ``History has proven over and over again that unmerited suffering is
redemptive.'' Martin Luther King, Jr., fell victim to
the violence he fought so fervently -- but his nonviolent quest had already
altered our land irrevocably and for the better.
Dr.
King's vision, as he said so often, was the fulfillment of the American dream.
He explained this to the graduates of Lincoln University in 1961 when he quoted
our Declaration of Independence, ``We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness'' and said, simply, ``This is the dream.'' Dr. King emphasized
that this dream excludes no one from its promise and protection and that it
affirms that every individual's rights are God-given and ``neither conferred by
nor derived from the state.''
Martin
Luther King, Jr., also expressed his vision in the eternal calls for justice,
forgiveness, brotherhood, and love of neighbor recorded in Holy Writ. He frequently
prayed, in the words of the prophet Amos, ``Let justice roll down like waters
and righteousness like a mighty stream.''
Dr. King
also appealed clearly and compellingly through moving accounts such as his
description of a little girl marching with her mother who answered a
policeman's question, ``What do you want?'' by replying, ``Freedom.'' Said Dr.
King, ``She could not even pronounce the word, but no Gabriel trumpet could
have sounded a truer note.''
Every
American knows the story of Dr. King's last sermon, given
Nearly
five years before, Dr. King had spoken words of solace, of reconciliation, and
of promise during his eulogy for the children who had died in the bombing of
their Sunday school class. He said that we must not despair, nor become bitter,
nor lose faith in each other. He said that death does not end the sentence of
life but ``punctuates it to more lofty significance.'' He told the children's
parents that although their daughters had not lived long, they had lived well:
``Where they died and what they were doing when death came will remain a
marvelous tribute to each of you and an eternal epitaph to each of them.''
Surely Dr. King's courageous fight for justice, equality, and brotherhood will
remain his lasting epitaph and his living legacy.
In a
sermon on
By
Public Law 98 - 144, the third Monday in January of each year has been designated
as a public holiday in honor of the ``Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.''
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of January, in the
year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed
with the Office of the Federal Register,