Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born into a spiritual household in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929.  His father and his father before him were both church ministers and his mother was a schoolteacher.

Racism against black people was something Dr. King experienced from an early age. He decided that he wanted to work to change the world for the better.  After getting married and graduating college, Dr. King moved to Alabama where he worked as a minister.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was active in the civil rights and racial equality movement of the 1950's. He participated in many peaceful demonstrations against the unjust treatment of African-Americans - including the famous bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 in recognition of his efforts.

Dr. King is most remembered for his August 28th, 1963 "I have a Dream" speech - read the text of the speech here.

On April 4, 1968 Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.  Fifteen years later Congress voted for a public holiday to commemorate him and his contributions to the American civil rights movement.  The holiday was moved from Dr. King's birthday of January, 15 to the third Monday in January because it was felt the holiday was too close to Christmas and New Year's.

A few southern states opposed the holiday arguing that the civil rights movement as a whole should be honored not just one person.   Arizona was pressured into accepting the holiday after tourists threatened to boycott the state in 1992.  The name "Martin Luther King Jr., Day" began in 1999 for New Hampshire which had previously referred to the day as "Civil Rights Day".