The History of Martin Luther King Day

January 15th is the official birthday of a man with a dream, yet his holiday is celebrated and recognized on the third Monday every January. Schools all over the country and television specials observe and honor Martin Luther King Jr. and the sacrifice he made for what he believed in and his willingness to fight for it. He stood up for the rights of blacks and all minorities; defending the equality of all peoples with the intention to create a better United States, and he did.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, growing up with with two siblings and a pastor for a father. He would soon become a Baptist minister himself. His parents’ names were Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta King, who his father met in Boston. He was an outstanding student in the segregated public school systems which he attended, and later was accepted to Morehouse College. He would later attended Boston University, after earning a Bachelor of Divinity Degree, where he would achieve a doctorate in systematic theology. He also met his wife in Boston, Coretta Scott, who would become the mother of his four children. Adapting lessons he learned from great philosophers and renowned world religious figures, King recognized a problem in the U.S. and did what he could.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of Southern Christian Leadership Conference where he delivered speeches and was an activist for equal rights amongst the people of America, blacks in particular. He traveled around speaking out against segregation and for equal opportunity and treatment. It was because of this great and honest man that the March on Washington D.C. was possible, where the concerns and issues of equally were brought to a higher scale of recognition. He also fronted the Montgomery Bus Boycott and his determination and constant hard work led to the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights act of 1965. All the work King did earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and earned him and all minorities equal rights and opportunity. King made a significant and powerful push for equality.

Martin Luther King Jr. would soon expand his speeches and goals to decrease poverty in all races and creeds and to refute all violence. Some opposers of his belief system and his preachings felt negatively towards him. On April of 1968, King was shot and killed while standing on a balcony by James Earl Ray, who would later plead guilty. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national day of mourning as the news of King’s death created a wave of rioting, anger, and sadness that spread throughout the country.

King’s lasting legacy is one of great power and influence still respected and honored today with the national holiday that includes no school for kids and a remembrance of the terrible segregation that once existed in the United States and how King solved a national issue. The holiday was signed by President Ronald Reagan with Coretta Scott King and Congress creating the holiday in 1983. It was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s greatest speech was his“I Have A Dream” Speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March On Washington where over 200,000 listeners gathered. Today, many people do their best to keep King’s legacy timeless, as it most definitely deserves, Martin Luther King Jr. Day does just that, so that we may always remember the sacrifice King and many others made for their beliefs.