Senate Bill 60 Ceremony Remarks

Governor Jim Hodges
May 1, 2000

Today is a historic day for South Carolina. I'm proud of the leadership of both the House and the Senate. You reached out across racial and party lines to forge the compromise that made this day possible. This legislation creates a holiday to remember a defining moment of the 19^th Century … the war between North and South that reshaped our country. We will remember the sacrifices of the more than 18,000 South Carolinians who gave their lives on the field of battle. This legislation also creates a holiday that honors the man who led a defining movement of the 20^th Century … the struggle for civil rights. We will honor a fellow southerner who worked tirelessly to bring our country together … Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When I think about the life and legacy of Dr. King, I am honored that part of that legacy took shape right here in South Carolina.

I am reminded of a rainy day in May of 1966, when Dr. King spoke to more than five thousand people at a rally in Kingstree. In the crowd that day was a thirty-five-year-old attorney by the name of Ernest Finney. He remembers Dr. King as a passionate and articulate man devoted to "making the dream of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence a reality." Today, Justice Finney is enjoying his first month of retirement after serving for 24 years on the bench, including six years as the first African-American Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Justice Finney is a part of King's living legacy.

Matthew Perry remembers admiring Dr. King from the first time he heard of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. He remembers the eloquence of Dr. King and how he "captured the aims and aspirations of his community for a better place under the sun." Matthew Perry fulfilled those aspirations. In 1963, he represented Harvey Gantt in the successful lawsuit that integrated Clemson University. In 1979, Matthew Perry became a U.S. District Judge, and the new federal courthouse under construction in Columbia will bear Matthew Perry's name.

Judge Perry is a part of King's living legacy.

I am also reminded of Mia Asmer, a fifth grade student here at Rosewood Elementary. She recently wrote an essay entitled "What Dr. King Means to me." I want to read some of it to you.

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. means to me a great man that was brave and powerful. He is the man that gave me the freedom to go to school with all people. He gave meaningful speeches that brought us all together. We all depended on Dr. King when times were bad. You know, he was always there. One day, a terrible man killed Dr. King and he wasn't there. Let's just remember Dr. King, and how he united us."

Mia Asmer is a part of King's living legacy.

Martin Luther King touched the lives of many people in our state. And his legacy lives on in the special places we cherish. Places like the Penn Center on St. Helena's Island, where King crafted his vision to achieve equality through nonviolent methods. The Penn Center was a refuge for King and his colleagues. From a tiny island on the South Carolina coast, King planned some of his greatest campaigns in the struggle for civil rights.

King's work at the Penn Center is part of the shared history of South Carolina. We are all aware of the more famous locations that contributed to King's legacy. We know about his march from Selma to Montgomery, his letter from the Birmingham jail, and his eloquent "I have a dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

When we remember these events, some might be tempted to think that King's legacy belongs to another time and another place, that it is somehow removed from South Carolina.

But when we think of Martin Luther King walking along the shores of the South Carolina Lowcountry and speaking to the multitudes in Kingstree … we are reminded of how his vision embraced the state of South Carolina. Today, South Carolina embraces the vision of Martin Luther King.

Today, we join together with the rest of the nation in honoring this Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Today, the people of South Carolina join together in the spirit of mutual respect.

And most importantly, today our children join together as brothers and sisters united by peace, harmony and hope.

Just last Friday, the children of Rosewood Elementary planted a tree in this clearing. That tree was grown from the seed of a sycamore that stands outside the Brown AME Church in Selma, Alabama. From that church, Martin Luther King led the march to Montgomery for voting rights. King and his fellow marchers risked their lives and many endured beatings on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in order to further the cause of justice.

On the night before his assassination, Dr. King spoke to a church congregation in Memphis. He invoked the spirit of Moses leading the Israelites out of bondage and into the promised land.

Today, we catch a glimpse of the promised land in the faces of these children.

And today, we as a people take a step forward along the road to reconciliation.