On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his well-known I Have a Dream address in 1963. He choose that spot in part to pay tribute to President Abraham Lincoln, a great American whose shadow we still stand in today. Millions of people now pay tribute to King in the same manner.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed by federal, state, and municipal governments, organizations, and a variety of sectors on the third Monday in January, which is around King’s birthday on January 15. Holidays are simply time off from work or education for some people. However, King’s family and those who continue his legacy of nonviolent protest, equality, and justice encourage Americans to keep in mind that the true meaning of this holiday is to serve others.
Even though it is now a respected custom, the holiday’s creation had a lengthy and challenging journey to gain approval.
How the idea for MLK day began
As the country fell into mourning, the notion to create a national holiday in honor of the civil rights icon emerged. Four days after King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Democratic Representative John Conyers of Michigan, one of the longest-serving members of Congress and a prominent liberal civil rights advocate, introduced legislation to memorialize King.
Supporters were aware that it would be difficult. According to Lerone Martin, director of Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, King, who was 39 at the time, was a divisive figure to half the nation even before his passing. According to polls by the New York Times and the Washington Post, King’s comments against the Vietnam War, housing issues, and poverty made most Americans distrust him or believe he was too extreme.
After 1965, King is accused of moving too quickly, essentially saying, “Hey, you got the Voting Rights bill done.” “That’s sufficient,” Martin stated.
Conyers established the Congressional Black Caucus, which spent the next 15 years trying to get the measure up for a vote. Republican rebuttals include the claims that King was a womanizer, a communist, and that private persons are exempt from public holidays. Coretta Scott King, his widow, continued to advocate for it in the interim. To garner support, musician Stevie Wonder even recorded a song called “Happy Birthday.”
What changed, then?
According to Martin, the social and cultural landscape in the United States had changed by the 1980s, and people were considering racial advancement. The majority of Americans now regretted the Vietnam War as well. In the meantime, proponents continued to demand federal holiday status.
About 20 years after King’s I Have a Dream speech, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday of January after it had passed Congress.
States held back as activists stepped up
Other Republicans did not follow Reagan’s example. All fifty states would not observe it for another seventeen years. With the exception of Arizona, the majority of the foot-dragging originated in the South. Then, in 1987, Governor Evan Mecham revoked the executive order issued by his predecessor declaring a state holiday in Arizona.
“Black people don’t need a holiday,” he remarked. “Everyone needs a job,” said Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr., head pastor of Phoenix’s First Institutional Baptist Church. The war began as a result.
Stewart formed an organization to organize protest marches for individuals of various races, religions, and political parties. Wonder and other entertainers canceled gigs in Arizona. Conventions were shifted by companies. The loss of hosting the Super Bowl was the decisive factor. The first state to reestablish the King holiday through voter initiative was Arizona in 1992.
The next MLK Day, supporters celebrated with a sold-out stadium show that included Wonder and other performers. Rosa Parks was present as well. Stewart recalls addressing the audience.
“We have won the holiday, but it is a symbol of liberty and justice for all, and we must move from symbol to substance,” he remarked, echoing what I stated there and still relevant today.
Until 2000, South Carolina was the last to remain. However, it also permitted a Confederate Memorial Day, therefore civil rights organizations did not support it.
A day on, not a day off
Over the past 42 years, the significance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day has only increased.
The only federal holiday that is a day on rather than a day off is this one. Congressman John Lewis and Senator Harris Wofford’s legislation, which established it as a National Day of Service, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
The weekend before, there are celebrations in almost every major city and suburb, including concerts, street festivals, and parades. The range of service programs includes blood donation, food box packing, and neighborhood cleanup.
200 nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and other organizations have received grants totaling $1.5 million from AmeriCorps, the federal organization that sends volunteers to help communities across the country. According to CEO Michael Smith, hundreds of thousands of people have participated in hundreds of initiatives for MLK Day in recent years. It appears that engagement is growing.
Smith, who was in President Joe Biden’s administration, stated, “You know, every day I see another project that has nothing to do with us.” The King holiday is significant not just because of the service that will take place but also because it inspires individuals to consider serving throughout the year.
The Rev. Bernice King, the CEO of the King Center in Atlanta and King’s daughter, also wants that. We love to cite King, but she wishes people would do more. They must work hard and make a daily commitment to upholding the nonviolent spirit.
Martin also believes it’s critical to understand the man. When people read or hear about the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he gets excited. However, he added, nothing is like reading King’s own works, including his 1963 Letter from the Birmingham Jail.
Martin stated that we can arm ourselves with his principles. We may talk to him repeatedly throughout the year rather than just on one occasion.