Plans For MLK Plaque In Massachusetts State House Move Forward

BOSTON (AP) — Plans to install a plaque at the Massachusetts Statehouse to mark the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s address to lawmakers in the building in 1965 are moving forward.

Masslive.com reports the state House of Representatives on Dec. 23 passed a resolve filed early last year by Democratic state Rep. Bud Williams, of Springfield, that would authorize the installation of a plaque in the House chamber.

The address was delivered on April 22, 1965, to a joint session of the Legislature during King's two-day visit to Boston that included a march by thousands from Roxbury to the Boston Common the following day. The march was to protest segregation in schools and in other areas of life.

After he was refused entrance to the William Boardman School in Roxbury, King said, "I am here to remove segregation from every area of life in Boston."

The measure has been referred to the Committee on Senate Rules.

The Martin Luther King Day Jr. holiday is Jan. 20.