Grundy Reporter

Illinois State House Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) recalled orator, Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. in a social media post earlier this week.

"Today we remember and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1969)." Haas said in her Facebook post to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "Thank you to the MLK Jr. Memorial Foundation for hosting the Interfaith Celebration Prayer Breakfast and Interfaith Prayer/Ecumenical Ceremony this morning. It was an honor to be invited to present the greeting at both events."

Illinois State House Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Bourbonnais) | rephaas.com/

Haas, who grew up in Momence and earned her bachelor's degree in social work at Valparaiso University, has represented Illinois' 79th House District since she was sworn in on Dec. 8, 2020 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Kankakee to take the seat previously held by Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst, who herself was sworn in as a circuit court judge earlier in the month. The previous month, Haas soundly defeated her Democrat challenger, Charlene Eads, taking almost 64% of the vote.

Haas announced in November that she is running for another term in office during this year's General Elections, the Daily Journal reported. Illinois' 79th House District is located within Kankakee, Will and Grundy counties.

Haas' Facebook post was one of many observances and recognitions in Illinois in honor of Martin Luther King this week. These included the 46th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Virtual Awards Program on Saturday, Jan. 15, and the Illinois Wesleyan University's National Holiday Gospel Festival on Monday, Jan. 17. The latter featured a best-of video premiere and other events throughout the weekend.

The still on-going pandemic complicated some Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances, including the Illinois State Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner, which was rescheduled for Feb. 25, the university announced. Jemele Hill, Emmy Award-winning journalist, co-founder of Lodge Freeway Media and contributing writer for The Atlantic, is expected to give the keynote address.

Born in Atlanta in 1929, King was the son of a Baptist preacher, and he received a doctorate degree in theology before 1955, when he organized the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. King's policy of nonviolent resistance was influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, who used the same strategy a generation before in an ultimately successful campaign to win India's independence from British rule.

King many times used his skills as a talented orator, including one of his most famous speeches, now best know as his "I have a dream" speech, which he delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963.  In that speech, King famously announced, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

In 1964, when King was 35, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the Civil Rights Movement. He remains the youngest man to have ever received the award and was the youngest person until girls rights and education advocate Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel peace laurel at 17.

King donated his Nobel prize money, more than $50,000, to further civil rights advancement.

In April of 1968, King was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers when he was assassinated while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel. He was 39.