LINCOLN MEMORIAL FIRST AMENDMENT MUSEUM

WHEREAS, in March 1989, 12 students from Scottsdale, Arizona, lobbied Congress and the National Park Service for a plaque to be placed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech; and

WHEREAS, it was discovered that to do so would be a violation of the Commemorative Works Act; and

WHEREAS, the students then successfully formed a partnership with the National Park Service to place a permanent museum in the Lincoln Memorial; and

WHEREAS, this museum will show how the Memorial has been used by thousands of Americans to exercise their First Amendment Rights by demonstrating at the site to convey to our government their concern and wishes for a better America; and

WHEREAS, by doing so, these Americans, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., succeeded in making a difference in the economic, social and political lives of our country; and

WHEREAS, the "l Have a Dream" committee hopes that such a museum would inspire the hundreds of thousands of young people who yearly visit the site so that they, too, would become encouraged to make a difference; and

WHEREAS, the "l Have a Dream" committee will give the students of our nation ownership of this museum by offering every school child in the country an opportunity to donate one penny for the project; and

WHEREAS, this collection day would be a day when the students of our country would learn about the accomplishments of these persons who are honored in the Lincoln Memorial museum:

RESOLVED, that the AFT pledge its support for this project, prepare appropriate educational material about the museum and encourage its local and state affiliates to participate in the fund raising efforts of the Lincoln Memorial museum project; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT seek the cooperation and supposed of the AFL-CIO and other organizations to ensure the success of the Lincoln Memorial museum project.