NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee House lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution praising Martin Luther King Jr.’s life while also promising to fight racism.
“We wanted to spend some time in this resolution honoring Dr. King, but it’s not enough just to honor him,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, 41, a Republican from Cottontown who co-sponsored the proposal. “Especially for my generation and for all of us in public office, we wanted to go beyond that.”
The resolution’s success stands out after the Republican-dominant Legislature failed twice last year to pass similar proposals denouncing neo-Nazis and white nationalists.
“We join with Tennesseans throughout this great state to continue the fight against racism of all types as we all work to bring Dr. King’s dream to fruition by making Tennessee a place where equality, justice, freedom, and peace continue to grow and flourish,” the resolution reads.
Lamberth says his resolution – co-sponsored by House Minority Leader Karen Camper – doesn’t name any particular hate groups because he didn’t want to cherry-pick what groups were politically popular at the time. Instead, he said he preferred to issue a blanket statement condemning racism.