Featured speeches given by County Executive, Ron Sims
King County Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Below is the text of Executive Sims speech at King County's 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration delivered on Jan. 12, 2006.
Welcome everyone. It's great to be here today.
We gather here - as so many others will this week and next across the nation - to celebrate a man and a life that has transformed a society and, indeed, the world.
This past year has seen some remarkable events that are a direct reflection of Doctor King and his tireless work for freedom and justice.
Particularly in the area of civil rights, we've witnessed many milestones both on a local and national scale.
One year ago I stood in the magnificent new lobby of the King County Courthouse, with its panoramic mural depicting the sweep of history and how it has shaped the lives of so many of us in King County, including Dr. King's historic 1963 March on Washington. Have you seen it? The next time you are downtown, take a few minutes and come see it. It is an impressive work that literally envelopes you in the history of both our region and our nation.
Three months after that dedication, Governor Gregoire came to the courthouse lobby and signed legislation giving official recognition of King County as Martin Luther King Junior County . It is a designation I and many others had fought for and won at the county level twenty years ago. Recognition by the state, however was a bit longer in the making; the final act on that journey towards a full and just recognition.
Of course, there was another journey that ended this past year, that of the life of Rosa Parks. One woman who - on an otherwise ordinary day 50 years ago in Montgomery, Alabama - had the temerity, the personal fortitude and the simple dignity of a hard working seamstress to refuse to move to the back of the bus.
No one knew at the time the profound effect this single act of courage would have on a fledgling civil rights movement and upon the nation as a whole in the continuing struggle for justice and equality.
No one knew that Rosa Parks would ride that bus into history as the ever-lasting symbol of the modern civil rights movement.
This brings me to the introduction of our featured speaker. We are very fortunate to have with us today, another great civil rights activist of our times. Mrs. Rita Bender.
Rita was the wife of the late Civil Rights Activist Michael Schwerner. Mr. Schwerner was one of three civil rights workers murdered in 1964 in Philadelphia , Mississippi .
Rita is famous for her testimony in the trial of her husband's murder. Her narrative – in a soft but powerful voice - moved even a few hardened courtroom officials and journalists to blink away tears. Her courage – from a woman who has held onto her idealism despite the tragedy more than four decades ago – moved many Americans to action since then.
Rita and Michael Schwerner had been married just over 18 months when they moved from New York to Mississippi in January 1964 to work in the civil rights movement.
The lived in homes of several black families in the town of Meridian ; moving frequently because of threats.
During her activist days, Rita Bender helped establish a base for young people in Meridian ; a place where youngsters could come for security and safety. They received donations of thousands of books for their reading projects aimed at children.
More than 40 years later, Rita is now a lawyer here in Seattle at Skellenger Bender. Rita is admitted to practice in the federal and state courts in Washington, as well as the United States Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Third Circuits. Rita also served as a public defender in Seattle and Newark , NJ .
In spite of all of Rita's legal accomplishments, she has not lost the fire of her activist days. Outside the courthouse, she has devoted a great deal of her life to the civil rights struggle, particularly in fighting for the rights of hundreds of those who were beaten and for the families of those killed during those turbulent years.
Today, America is still challenged by racism. But with people like Rita Bender, who is channeling society's resources to ensure equality, better schools, and a system of justice that represents all people – our struggle continues with hope for the future.
It is my pleasure in welcoming Rita Bender.