Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, in the United States, holiday (third Monday in January) honouring the achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. A Baptist minister who advocated the use of nonviolent means to end racial segregation, he first came to national prominence during a bus boycott by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and led the 1963 March on Washington. The most influential of African American civil rights leaders during the 1960s, he was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, facilities, and employment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is celebrated on Monday, January 18, 2021.
Almost immediately after King’s death, there were calls for a national holiday in his honour. Beginning in 1970 a number of states and cities made his birthday, January 15, a holiday. Although legislation for a federal holiday was introduced in Congress as early as 1968, there was sufficient opposition, on racial and political grounds, to block its passage. In 1983 legislation making the third Monday in January a federal holiday finally was passed, and the first observance nationwide was in 1986. The day is usually celebrated with marches and parades and with speeches by civil rights and political leaders.
Public Health Administrator for DeKalb County, Lisa Gonzalez, gave a COVID-19 update to Sycamore Rotarians at this week’s meeting. Gonzalez explained her department is working on both managing Tier 3 Mitigation protocols and roll-out of vaccinations as quickly as possible. Most recent data lists 7,328 cases and 86 deaths in DeKalb County since the COVID-19 outbreak began.
Gonzalez was optimistic DeKalb County. along with the other eight Illinois counties making up COVID-19 state region one, may soon be able to move to less-restrictive Tier 2 Mitigation guidelines. To do this, the region must have a less than 12% positivity rate for three consecutive days, greater than 20% available intensive care and hospital beds, and declining COVID-19 hospitalizations for a minimum seven out of the last ten days. Tier 2 would allow entertainment venues such as theaters, bowling alleys, and gambling parlors to open with capacity restrictions. Indoor bar and restaurant dining is not permitted until Tier 1 Mitigation is reached. Gonzalez acknowledged that some local bars and restaurants are open despite the ban but said her department’s enforcement only extends to notification of violation with any criminal charges resting with the State’s Attorney’s office.
Gonzalez explained that vaccines are being administered under Phase 1A to local health care workers first with residents of long-term care facilities being scheduled next. The County is receiving the Moderna vaccine which does not require the super cold storage of the Pfizer vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are needed for protection. Moving to Phase 1B inoculations, which includes fire/police personnel, educators, and people over 65, will probably be during the February-March period according to Gonzalez. However, she said since a vial of vaccine is good for only 10 hours once opened, there are some Phase 1B candidates called in on a last-minute basis so no vaccine must be thrown away. Gonzalez encouraged Rotarians to register on the Public Health Department web site (www.health.dekalbcounty.org) to receive notification when they are eligible to receive the vaccine and available sites to use to make an appointment for a COVID-19 shot.
Our next speakers will be Jeff Keicher (with an update from Springfield) and Michael DeVito (with the club's "Year in Review").
Following is our schedule of upcoming speakers/presentations:
Wednesday, June 23 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens and online via Zoom): Springfield Update (Jeff Keicher) & Year in Review (Michael DeVito)
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January 12, 1737 – American statesman, patriot, and first signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts.
January 11, 1755 – Alexander Hamilton is born in the British West Indies. He was chosen by George Washington to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. He died from a gunshot wound in a duel with Aaron Burr.
January 14, 1875 – Philosopher and physician Albert Schweitzer is born in Upper Alsace, Germany. He served as a medical missionary in Africa and received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of the brotherhood of all nations.
January 15, 1929 – African American civil rights leader Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The third Monday in January is designated a legal holiday to celebrate his birth.
January 15, 1559 – Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, is crowned Queen of England.
January 10, 1776 – Thomas Paine published his 50-page pamphlet on American independence, “Common Sense”, influencing among others the authors of the Declaration of Independence.
January 12, 1932 – Mattie Caraway from Arkansas was appointed to the U. S. Senate to fill the unexpired term of her deceased husband and later that year is officially elected to the seat becoming the first woman elected to the Senate. She serves through 1944.
January 11, 1964 – The U. S. Surgeon General declared cigarettes may be hazardous to one’s health, the first such official government report.
We recognize that several Rotarians are listed below with a January 1, 1900 join date. We are currently investigating the issue, and working to correct it. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
