Celia Bueno
Senior Staff Writer
Celebrated on the third Monday of January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day) honors one of the most prominent civil rights activists in contemporary history.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, and dedicated his entire life to advocating for social justice, fighting against racial inequality, and promoting peaceful activism.
During the 1950s and 1960s, he led numerous initiatives and movements that would go down in history, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott — sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks — or the March on Washington in 1963, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Dr. King played a key role in the passage of landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the same year. His death occurred on Apr. 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was killed by a gunshot at the Lorraine Motel while in the city to support a sanitation workers’ strike. His assassination sparked a wave of grief and indignation across the country. Today, his legacy endures as a symbol of hope, equality, and the fight for social justice through nonviolence.
According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the designation of MLK Day was a 15-year struggle. The legislation that first recognized MLK Day was enacted on Apr. 8, 1968. However, it would take another 17 years for it to be recognized in all states. The first rituals commemorating Dr. King’s birth took place in Atlanta every Jan. 15 at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Just four days after Dr. King’s assassination, Democratic Congressman John Conyers proposed making MLK Day a national holiday. According to a quote recorded by the NMAAHC, John Conyers stated: “To me, [Dr. King] is the outstanding international leader of the 20th century without ever holding office. What he did — I doubt anyone else could have done.”
In 1979, another attempt was made to pass this bill on Dr. King’s 50th birthday. Despite the support of President Jimmy Carter, the proposal was rejected by five votes.
In 1981, singer and activist Stevie Wonder released his song “Happy Birthday To You”, a musical work with a strong political message advocating the need to designate a national holiday on Dr. King ‘s birthday.
The White House finally approved MLK Day as a national holiday in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan signed it into law.
According to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by Congress in 1968, federal holidays were moved to Mondays to provide workers with a certain number of three-day weekends throughout the year. Three national holidays were initially designated: Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and George Washington’s Birthday. After 1983, a new national holiday was added to the official calendar: MLK Day.
MLK Day will forever be a reminder of the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who demonstrated that the fight for human rights and freedom can be waged without the use of violence. It will always be a national holiday not only to reflect on the past but to become aware of the racial inequality of the present and to look toward the future, following the example of Dr. King.