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HR4602 • 2026

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Representative Jinkins, Representative Stokesbary, Representative Abbarno, Representative Abell, Representative Alvarado, Representative Barkis, Representative Barnard, Representative Berg, Representative Bergquist, Representative Bernbaum, Representative Berry, Representative Bronoske, Representative Burnett, Representative Valdez, Representative Callan, Representative Chase, Representative Connors, Representative Corry, Representative Cortes, Representative Couture, Representative Davis, Representative Dent, Representative Doglio, Representative Donaghy, Representative Duerr, Representative Dufault, Representative Dye, Representative Engell, Representative Entenman, Representative Eslick, Representative Farivar, Representative Fey, Representative Fitzgibbon, Representative Fosse, Representative Goodman, Representative Graham, Representative Gregerson, Representative Griffey, Representative Hackney, Representative Hill, Representative Hunt, Representative Jacobsen, Representative Keaton, Representative Klicker, Representative Kloba, Representative Leavitt, Representative Lekanoff, Representative Ley, Representative Low, Representative Macri, Representative Manjarrez, Representative Marshall, Representative McClintock, Representative McEntire, Representative Mena, Representative Mendoza, Representative Morgan, Representative Nance, Representative Obras, Representative Orcutt, Representative Ormsby, Representative Ortiz-Self, Representative Parshley, Representative Paul, Representative Penner, Representative Peterson, Representative Pollet, Representative Ramel, Representative Reed, Representative Reeves, Representative Richards, Representative Rude, Representative Rule, Representative Ryu, Representative Salahuddin, Representative Santos, Representative Schmick, Representative Schmidt, Representative Scott, Representative Shavers, Representative Simmons, Representative Springer, Representative Stearns, Representative Steele, Representative Stonier, Representative Street, Representative Stuebe, Representative Taylor, Representative Thai, Representative Tharinger, Representative Timmons, Representative Volz, Representative Walen, Representative Walsh, Representative Waters, Representative Wylie, Representative Ybarra
Last action
2025-01-20
Official status
H Adopted
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr.

What This Bill Does

  • Dr.
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-01-20 House

    Adopted.

Official Summary Text

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
WHEREAS, Today, we join with people in every corner of the great 1
state of Washington and throughout the United States of America to 2
honor the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, 3
Jr.; and 4
WHEREAS, Dr. King was born on January 15th, 1929, in Atlanta, 5
Georgia, and on June 18th, 1953, he and Coretta Scott were married in 6
Marion, Alabama; and 7
WHEREAS, He dedicated his life's work to gain civil and economic 8
rights for all, Dr. King was not naive about the dark times our 9
country was going through, with his personal experiences of being 10
beaten, imprisoned, and murdered, illustrating the realities of being 11
a Black civil rights leader; and 12
WHEREAS, Dr. King knew that the laws and enforcement of those 13
laws would not offer protection, and understood the importance of 14
activists and communities of color needing to protect themselves from 15
state sanctioned violence and persecution; and 16
WHEREAS, Dr. King responded with hope and love, as only love can 17
defeat hate, imploring our country to shine a light during dark times 18
to reveal inconvenient truths and take direct action to make real 19
change; and 20
WHEREAS, We remember Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail, 21
which includes the words "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create 22
such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community 23
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2025-4602 , by Representatives Jinkins, Stokesbary,
Abbarno, Abell, Alvarado, Barkis, Barnard, Berg, Bergquist, Bernbaum, Berry,
Bronoske, Burnett, Caldier, Callan, Chase, Connors, Corry, Cortes, Couture, Davis,
Dent, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Dufault, Dye, Engell, Entenman, Eslick, Farivar, Fey,
Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goodman, Graham, Gregerson, Griffey, Hackney, Hill, Hunt,
Jacobsen, Keaton, Klicker, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Ley, Low, Macri, Manjarrez,
Marshall, McClintock, McEntire, Mena, Mendoza, Morgan, Nance, Obras, Orcutt,
Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Parshley, Paul, Penner, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Reed, Reeves,
Richards, Rude, Rule, Ryu, Salahuddin, Santos, Schmick, Schmidt, Scott, Shavers,
Simmons, Springer, Stearns, Steele, Stonier, Street, Stuebe, Taylor, Thai,
Tharinger, Timmons, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Waters, Wylie, and Ybarra
p. 1 HR 4602
that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the 1
issue"; and 2
WHEREAS, People all around the world still use his nonviolent 3
philosophy as a guide to make lasting changes, following the words of 4
Dr. King, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"; and5
WHEREAS, His belief in nonviolence was not an invocation to 6
silence or tolerance, but a call for strategic, direct action 7
intended to target injustice and inequity, particularly toward Black 8
Americans; and 9
WHEREAS, His belief of equality and opportunity for all to 10
achieve racial justice, extended to the necessity of educational and 11
economic justice for all people and alleviation of the afflictions of 12
poverty; and 13
WHEREAS, Dr. King propelled the truths of segregation and racial 14
injustice to the forefront of American conversation at dinner tables 15
across the country, helping to bring an end to unjust laws, and 16
fulfilling the promise of a democracy for every American; and17
WHEREAS, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 18
of 1965 became law thanks to the sacrifices of Dr. King and other 19
activists; and 20
WHEREAS, As a country, we continue to strive toward equality, 21
seeing the first Black, Asian, and woman Vice President, and the 22
first Black person to hold statewide executive office as Attorney 23
General in the state of Washington; and 24
WHEREAS, Justice Smith served as the first Black man on our state 25
Supreme Court, and we now have the first Black woman serving on our 26
state Supreme Court, along with a historic number of Black 27
legislators at 13 in the House and Senate, the largest legislative 28
Black caucus in the western United States; and 29
WHEREAS, Dr. King's work is not finished, with the American dream 30
still unfulfilled for too many Americans, including Native, Black, 31
Asian, Hispanic, or White, whether middle class or working class, as 32
we have not yet lived up to the creed that all are created equal; and33
WHEREAS, We remember Dr. King's steadfast commitment to the 34
ideals of impartiality and opportunity for all in the face of 35
tyranny, cruelty, and mistreatment by those in power, and most 36
importantly his call for direct action to create the tension needed 37
to force communities to confront and address these issues; and38
p. 2 HR 4602
WHEREAS, He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the youngest 1
man to ever be selected for this extraordinary honor; and2
WHEREAS, Despite Dr. King's assassination on April 4th, 1968, his 3
legacy of compassion and call for nonviolent direct action live on 4
today; 5
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives 6
recognize the importance of the life of Dr. King and exalt his 7
dedicated work to embrace the ideals of equity and justice for all 8
people. 9
10
I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of11
Resolution 4602 adopted by the House of Representatives12
January 20, 2025 13
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__________________________ 18
Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk 19
p. 3 HR 4602