Office of the Mayor
Proclamation
Lawrence, Kansas
WHEREAS: The theme of the 25th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration is “Bridging the Dream” and by such an event, we express our hopes, dreams, and beliefs and thereby reaffirm our rights as citizens and the liberties possible in the United States; and
WHEREAS: National holidays, such as Dr. King’s, exemplify our way of life and the exceptional and separate character of our values; and
WHEREAS: By engaging in this valuable activity of reserving a day or days to recall the legacy that Dr. King created, and rededicate ourselves to the truths that he strove for; and
WHEREAS: In 1967, Dr. King anticipated what we are faced with today stating: “This is a multiracial nation where all groups are dependent on each other, whether they want to recognize it or not. In this vast interdependent nation, no racial group can retreat to an island entire of itself…On the one hand, integration is true intergroup, interpersonal living. On the other hand, it is the mutual sharing of power.”; and
WHEREAS: The City of Lawrence, Kansas, USD #497, the University of Kansas, and other community institutions are cooperating to support the activities planned for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration and urge local residents to take part in them;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Chestnut, Mayor of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, do hereby proclaim the week of January 11 - 18, 2010 as