OLYMPIA – Freshman Rep. Strom Peterson (D-21) used his first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives to ask his colleagues a simple question: what would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. see if he were alive today?
Peterson said Dr. King would find the quality of Washington state schools still largely divided by race and class.
“Today, it’s not enough to honor Dr. King with words,” Peterson said. “Fifty years ago it was separate drinking fountains, and today it’s the achievement gap in our schools. It’s not as obvious and it’s not as visible, but the damage to our children is just as real. And Dr. King would march.”
You can view Rep. Peterson’s speech below or here.