Martin Luther King Jr. Day in United States ― Date, History, and Details
Martin Luther King Jr. Day in United States may be something you want to learn more about, and we want to help with that.
Let's dive deeper into learning more about the history of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in United States and why people celebrate or observe it.
History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in United States and How to Celebrate/ Observe It
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a national holiday in the United States. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King’s birthday, January 15. The holiday is meant to honor King’s legacy and promote his dream of racial equality.
King was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He became a Baptist minister like his father and grandfather before him. In 1955, he helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest against segregation on public buses. The boycott lasted for 381 days and ended with a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation on buses.
In 1957, King co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which organized nonviolent protests to achieve civil rights for African Americans. King became the SCLC’s first president.
In 1963, King led the March on Washington, a massive demonstration for jobs and freedom. His famous “I Have a Dream” speech called for an end to racism.
The following year, King won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, he helped lead a voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The march ended with a violent attack by police on the demonstrators, which came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” Despite the violence, the march helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
King continued to fight for civil rights until his assassination in 1968. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday.