Title: S.L. 1983-1
Category: Session Law

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1983 SESSION

CHAPTER 1 
HOUSE BILL 3 

AN ACT TO DECLARE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S BIRTHDAY TO BE A LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY. 

Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, and was the second child of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., a Baptist minister, and Alberta King, a schoolteacher; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., came from a long line of Baptist ministers, including his father and maternal grandfather; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., entered Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of fifteen where he was enrolled in a special program for gifted students; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in 1948; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1948 to 1951 and received the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1951; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., attended Boston University to study philosophy and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1955; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., married Coretta Scott, a resident of Alabama and a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, in 1953; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received national recognition in 1955 and 1956 when he worked to end racial segregation in Montgomery, Alabama; and 
Whereas, throughout his life, Dr. Matin Luther King, Jr., advocated nonviolent action to obtain equal rights for minorities and counselled his followers to show compassion, fairness, understanding, and even love to those who opposed the civil rights movement; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1964 became the youngest man in history to win the Nobel Peace Prize; and 
Whereas, while preparing to lead a peaceful demonstration in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot and killed on April 4, 1968; and 
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., lived and died for the principles of equality, humanity, and harmony among the people of America; and 
Whereas, the General Assembly of North Carolina expresses its high regard for the life and services of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his memory on his birthday; Now, therefore, 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 103-4(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 
"(1a)	Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Birthday, January 15." 
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification. 
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 17th day of January, 1983.

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