Si-Em
Times
NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
SPECIAL EDITION
JANUARY 1986
In Celebration of Human Rights
January 20, 1986, marks the
first federal legal holiday
honoring Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. The act which set
up the holiday, P.L. 98-144,
was signed into law by
President Reagan on August
27, 1984. Similar state and
local laws have been enacted
in over half of the states and
in most major cities in the
country.
The law creating the
holiday was passed after
more than 16 years of effort
by friends and supporters of
Dr. King. Support for the
legislation came from all
walks of life—members of
Congress, the White House,
business and labor, from civil
rights and religious
groups—and most
importantly, from those
individuals who have worked
so hard to make King's dream
a reality. Although his actual
birthday is January 15, the
Act sets up January 20 as the
first observance of this
holiday which "Should serve
as a time for Americans to
reflect on the principles of
racial equality and
nonviolent social change
espoused by Martin Luther
King, Jr."
Congress authorized a
Federal Holiday Commission
to steer the national
observances of the King
Holiday by encouraging
appropriate ceremonies and
activities honoring Dr. King
throughout the United States.
The commission provides
advice and assistance to
federal, state, and local
governments and to private
organizations concerning the
observance.
This year marks the 18th
anniversary of Dr. King's
death. ~
Living the Dream
January 20, 1986
A day to celebrate the life and dream of Martin Luther
King, Jr.
A day to reaffirm the American ideals of freedom,
justice and opportunity for all.
A day for love not hate, for understanding not anger,
for peace not war.
A day for family: to share together, to reach out to
relatives and friends, and to mend broken relationships.
A day when the community rids itself of the barriers
which divide it and comes together as one.
A day when people of all races, religions, classes, and
stations in life put aside their differences and join in a
spirit of togetherness.
A day for our nation to pay tribute to Martin Luther
King, Jr. who awakened in us the best qualities of the
American spirit,
A day for nations of the world to cease all violent
actions, a dream, but a real possibility, if only for one
day.
If only for one day each of us serves as a "drum major
for justice and peace," then we will bring to life the
inspiring vision of freedom which Martin Luther King,
Jr. dreamed.

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EPA Events Honoring Dr. King
The following events have been planned in commemoration
of Dr. Martin Luther King at EPA facilities and other Federal
buildings throughout the country:
EPA
Headquarters:
Region 2:
Region 4:
Region 8:
Research
Triangle Park
Edmund D. Cooke, Jr., counsel, U.S. House
of Representatives, Committee on Labor and
Education, will deliver the keynote address
honoring Dr. King at a special program on
January 15,1986. Mr. Cooke has worked as
Counsel to the Subcommittee on Employment
Opportunities, Chief Legislative Assistant to
Representative Harold Washington, and
Special Counsel to the Committee on House
Administration. He has had experience with
the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, and
has worked as an associate in the Washington
office of the Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather, and
Geraldson law firm. Howard M. Messner,
Assistant Administrator for Administration
and Resources Management, will serve as the
Master of Ceremonies for the program, which
is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in conference room
3906-08.
January 13, 1986, 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. EPA
joins an interagency (50 agencies) observance
of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday in the
Lobby of the Federal Plaza Building, featuring
Secretary Samuel Pierce, U.S. Housing and
Urban Development. An Asian choir, a
Hispanic poet, and a black choir round out
the program.
January 15, 1986, Bernice King, daughter of
Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking on the role
of her father in living a dream espousing love
and understanding.
Marcia Glenn, Office of Regional Counsel, is
on a 60-day detail to the King Center, to
assist in the planning for the federal holiday.
Marcia also serves as the Black Employment
Program Manager for Region 4.
January 16, 1986, EPA participates in a
commemorative breakfast for Martin Luther
King, Jr., Lowry AFB, Colorado.
Appropriate displays depiciting the life and
dreams of Dr. King in the main lobbies of the
ERC and Administration Buildings and near
the elevators on the eighth floor of the
Mutual Building.
A 30-minute film, "The Life and the Dream"
will be presented, as follows:
1/14 Gold Conference Room 10:00 a.m./2:00
p.m. Administration Building
1/15 Classroom #1, ERC 10:00 a.m./2:00 p.m.
1/16 5th Floor Conference Room 10:00
a.m./2:00 p.m. Mutual Building
Pledging Allegiance
To Love and Peace
The federal commission on the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Holiday has created an unusual oppportunitv for federal
employees to demonstrate their agreement with Dr.
King's principles of equality and nonviolence.
Employees may do so by signing a card on which is
printed the "Living Dream Pledge." The cards are to be
sent to the King Center in Atlanta for inclusion in the
archives as a national memorial to his life and legacy. In
EPA, the cards are being distributed to each employee
along with statements by Lee M. Thomas. Administrator
of EPA, and President Reagan. Each employee who signs
the card is requested to send the card to the EEO Officer
for each facility. The EEO Officer will then send the
cards, in bulk, to the Office of Civil Rights at
headquarters, which will forward them to Atlanta.
The card states:
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr's life and work, I
pledge to do everything that I can to make America
and the world a place where equality and justice,
freedom and peace will grow and flourish.
On January 20, 1986, I	
(Name)
commit myself to living the dream by:
Loving, not hating
Showing understanding, not anger
Making peace, not war
Administrator Lee Thomas signs pledge card as Howard
Messner, AA for Administration and Resources Management,
and Nathaniel Scurry, Director of the Office of Civil Rights,
look on.
Las Vegas: Appropriate displays and film on Martin
Luther King, Jr., and his life.

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington
In America, in the fifities and sixties, one of the
important crises we faced was racial discrimination.
The man whose words and deeds in that crisis stirred
our nation to the very depths of its soul was Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 in America
where, because of color of their skin, nearly one in ten
lived lives that were separate and unequal In a nation
that proclaimed liberty and justice for all, too many
black Americans were living with neither ..
Dr. King made equality of rights his life's work. Often,
he was beaten, imprisoned, but never stopped teaching
nonviolence....In 1964, Dr. King became the youngest
man in history to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
But traces of bigotry still mar America. So each year
on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr.
Mng, but rededicate ourselves to the commandments he
lieved in and sought to live every day. Thou shall
love thy God with all thy heart, and thou shall love thy
neighbor as thyself. And I just have to believe that if all
of us, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, do all
we can to live up to those commandments, then we will
see the day when Dr. King's dream comes true, and in
his words, "All of God's children will be able to sing
with new meaning, land where my fathers died, land of
the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let
freedom ring."

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Washington DC 20460
The Administrator
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: First National Observance of the Martin Luther
King Day
TO: All EPA Employees
President Reagan recently signed legislation establishing the
first official Federal Holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther
King. Jr. to be observed on January 20, 1986. I have attached a
copy of the President's statement regarding this new national
holiday.
On January 16, 1986, special holiday events will be taking
place in our nation, and around the world. In Washington.
Congress will conduct a special tribute that will include the
unveiling of a bust of Dr. King, and the President's Federal
Holiday Commission will sponsor a special program for
Federal employees at the Departmental Auditorium. In
Atlanta, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent
Social Change will be observing, as it does every year, an
entire week of festivities honoring this great American.
In cooperation with the Federal Holiday Commission. EPA
and the other Federal agencies have set aside January 15,
1986 for our in-house celebrations. The Federal Holiday
Commission is also asking that each Federal employee sign
the attached "Pledge Card" which commits us to live and
support Dr. King's dream.
• loving, not hating;
® showing understanding, not anger;
o making peace, not war.
I encourage each of you to join me in signing the pledge
and in sharing our commitment together in celebration. Cards
should be deposited in the collection chests located m EPA
facilities. These cards will be forwarded to the archives of the
of the King Center as a national memorial to his life and
legacy.
For additional information regarding planned observances
and pledge card submissions contact the Office of Civil Rights
or your Regional/Laboratory EEO officer.
Lee M. Thomas

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Planning a Holiday
The Federal Holiday Commission, convened to direct the
planning and implementing of the first national holiday
honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is composed of 31
members of our society. Its composition reflects the broad
range of support and respect of all segments of our society for
Dr. King's inspiration and accomplishments. Mrs. Coretta
Scott King serves as the Chairperson of the Commission and
Illinois Governor James R. Thompson is the Vice Chairperson.
Recognizing that the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center is the
official memorial established to continue Dr. King's legacy
and work, Congress mandated that the Commission include,
in addition to Mrs. King, two members of the King family and
two representatives of the King Center. The Commission is
bipartisan and composed of four officers of the executive
branch, appointed by the President; eight members of
Congress, four each from the House and Senate, selected by
the leadership of Congress; and 14 Commissioners
representing organized labor, business, civil rights, education,
religious groups, youth organizations, sports, and the
entertainment world selected by the original 17 appointees.
Some of the more prominent members of the Commission
include Andrew Young, Mayor of Atlanta; Clarence
Pendleton, Jr., Chairman, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights;
Senators Bob Dole and Edward Kennedy; Congressmen
William Gray III and Mickey Leland; Mary Hatwood Futrell,
President, National Education Association; Mario Obledo,
National President, League of United Latin American Citizens;
Peter Ueberroth, Commissioner of Baseball; and Stevie
Wonder, entertainer/composer.
The Commission has established 17 different committees
ranging from the National Special Events Committee to the
Committee on Federal Agency and Employee Involvement to
ensure public and private sector support in planning and
participating in this holiday. Some of the ceremonies and
activities include the following: television special in honor of
Dr. King, which will be broadcast nationally on the evening of
the holiday; special ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda
during which a bust of King will be unveiled; federal
agencies requesting that federal employees sign a card
pledging to "Live Martin's Dream"; and a week of observances
at the King Center in Atlanta. ~
Activities Planned for
Black History Month
February is Black History Month and EPA has already begun
planning for the events and activities which serve to keep the
public informed of the contributions of Blacks to America.
The theme this year for Black History Month is the
Afro-American Experience: International Connection. The
basis for selecting this theme is to broaden areas of
understanding about the black experience in selected places
in the world. Attempts are being made to bring into focus
regions other than the continental United States and Africa.
This will not be to omit these two regions, but to focus upon
known territories where there is a great knowledge gap.
For EPA Headquarters, Charlotte Northern, Chair of the
Black History Month Committee, has announced the
following activities to be held in commemoration of Black
History Month '86:
Tuesday	Kickoff Ceremony featuring Congressman
Feb.4	William Gray, Chair of the House Budget
Committee.
Friday	Ethnic Food Feast and Talent Show.
Feb. 7
Wednesday Reverend George Stallings and his Gospel
Feb. 12	ensemble.
Wednesday Drama presentation by the Duke Ellington
Feb. 19	School for the Performing Arts.
Friday, Feb. 28 Closing Ceremony featuring Congressman
Louis Stokes.
Other regional and laboratory facilities are beginning to
plan similar events for Black History Month '86. Notices and
announcements will be distributed with more specific
information on each event sponsored by EPA. ~
Phone Feature
In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to
feature Dr. King on the cover of its Winter 1986 phone
directory. The new directory will be distributed in
March 1986.
"Even though we face the
difficulties of today and
tomorrow, I still have a
dream. It is a dream
deeply rooted in the
American dream. I have a
dream (hat one day this
nation will rise up and
live out the true meaning
of its creed..."
I Have a Dream
August, 1963

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