Columbia Standard

Richland County Council recognized Racial Justice Week in honor of orator, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

The council issued a resolution for Racial Justice Week in Richland County for the week of the Jan. 17, King's birthday, a county release said.

Councilmembers Yvonne McBride and Paul Livingston moved the resolution forward while emphasizing the county's "commitment to fostering a community where everyone feels welcomed, valued and represented," the release said. "The resolution recognizes King as one of the great leaders of the civil rights movement, affirming that his 'dream' of an end to racism is no less vital and inspiring now than when he first expressed it more than 50 years ago."

Richland County Council Member Yvonne McBride | richlandcountysc.gov/

The resolution reads: "Richland County strives to be a leader in protecting the rights of its citizens, and is committed to eliminating hatred and bigotry in all systems and institutions to improve outcomes for all Richland County residents and build a more diverse, socially just and cohesive community … Richland County, along with its community partners, is focused on building and creating inclusive and affirming communities and developing policies, practices and strategic investments to reverse racial disparity trends, eliminate institutional racism and ensure outcomes and opportunities for all. As we look forward to the future with optimism – inspired by Dr. King's legacy and informed by his wisdom and vision – let us rededicate ourselves to keeping his dream alive and be reminded that we are united together as one community."

Born in Atlanta in 1929, King was the son of a Baptist preacher and he received a doctorate degree in theology before 1955, when he organized the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

King's policy of nonviolent resistance was influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, who used the same strategy a generation before in an ultimately successful campaign to win India's independence from British rule.

King many times used his skills as a talented orator, including one of his most famous speeches, now best known as his "I have a dream" speech, he delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, in August of 1963.  

In that speech, King famously announced: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

In 1964, when King was 35, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the civil rights movement. He remains the youngest man to have ever received the award and was the youngest person until girls rights and education advocate Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel peace laurel at 17.

King donated his Nobel prize money, more than $50,000, to further civil rights advancement.

In April 1968, King was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers, when he was assassinated while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel. He was 39.