Today commemorates the birthday of civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing the third Monday in January as the Martin Luther King National Holiday on Nov. 3, 1983. The first observance was Jan. 20, 1986; that year, 17 states also had official King holidays, including Illinois, which recognized King with a holiday in 1973, the first state to do so.
Today, the King holiday also is observed in more than 100 countries, according to The King Center.
In 1994, the meaning of King’s holiday shifted, as Coretta Scott King called for less of an emphasis on his life and more of a focus on his legacy. The mission was expanded to include volunteerism, interracial cooperation and youth anti-violence initiatives.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy was for freedom, peace and equality. In an excerpt from his famous “I Have A Dream Speech” Dr. King said:
“Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
“Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
What will you do today in honor of Dr. King’s memory?
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