Martin Luther King Jr. Day

{{Redirect-distinguish|MLK Day|Milk Day (disambiguation){{!}}Milk Day}}

{{Infobox holiday

| holiday_name = Martin Luther King Jr. Day

| type = federal

| image = Martin Luther King press conference 01269u edit.jpg

| image_size = 200px

| caption = King in 1965

| official_name = Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

| nickname = MLK Day, King Day, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

| scheduling = nth weekday of the month

| duration =

| frequency = Annual

| week_ordinal = third

| weekday = Monday

| month = January

| date =

| firsttime = {{start date and age|df=yes|1986}}

}}

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.,{{cite web |url=http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/snow-dismissal-procedures/federal-holidays/#url=2013 |title=Federal Holidays |publisher=Opm.gov |access-date=January 20, 2014 |archive-date=July 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710025314/https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/snow-dismissal-procedures/federal-holidays/#url=2013 |url-status=live }} and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society. The movement led to several groundbreaking legislative reforms in the United States.

Born in 1929, Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual birthday is January 15 (which in 1929 fell on a Tuesday). The earliest Monday for this holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21. The Monday observance is similar for those federal holidays which fall under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later on January 20, 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. Official observance in each state's law as well as federal law occurred in 2000.

History

=Proposals=

File:Don%27t_Work_sign_ppmsca.03197_Cropped.jpg

File:President Ronald Reagan at the Signing Ceremony for Martin Luther King Holiday Legislation.jpg and Coretta Scott King at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day signing ceremony]]

The initial idea of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations.{{cite news|last=Jones |first=William P. |date=January 30, 2006 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/working-class-hero?page=full |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629021941/http://www.thenation.com/article/working-class-hero?page=full |title=Working-Class Hero |work=The Nation |access-date=January 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }} After King's death, Representative John Conyers{{cite web |last1=Blakemore |first1=Erin |title=The Fight for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |url=https://www.history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-day-controversial-origins-of-the-holiday |publisher=History.com |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120022100/https://www.history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-day-controversial-origins-of-the-holiday |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |date=January 10, 2018}} (a Democrat from Michigan) and Senator Edward Brooke (a Republican from Massachusetts) introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national/official holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. It fell five votes short of the number needed for passage.{{cite web|last=Wolfensberger |first=Don |date=January 14, 2008 |archive-date=March 3, 2011 |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/King%20Holiday-essay-drw.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303194404/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/King%20Holiday-essay-drw.pdf |title=The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday: The Long Struggle in Congress, An Introductory Essay |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |access-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }} Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive and that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition (King had never held public office). Only two other figures have national holidays in the U.S. honoring them: George Washington and Christopher Columbus.

Soon after, the King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 article in The Nation as "the largest petition in favor of an issue in U.S. history".

Senators Jesse Helms and John Porter East (both North Carolina Republicans) led the opposition to the holiday and questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. Helms criticized King's opposition to the Vietnam War and accused him of espousing "action-oriented Marxism".{{cite news|last=Dewar |first=Helen |date=October 4, 1983 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/helms_stalls_kings_day.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629031519/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/helms_stalls_kings_day.html |title=Helms Stalls King's Day in Senate |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A01 |access-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }} Helms led a filibuster against the bill and on October 3, 1983, submitted a 300-page document to the Senate alleging that King had associations with communists. Democratic New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan declared Helms' document a "packet of filth", threw it on the Senate floor, and stomped on it.{{cite news|last=Romero|first=Frances|title=A Brief History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1872501,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120235156/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1872501,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 20, 2009|newspaper=Time|date=January 18, 2010}}{{cite book|last=Courtwright|first=David T.|title=No Right Turn: Conservative Politics in a Liberal America|year=2010|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-674-04677-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5Vb52f6rOIC&q=moynihan+%22packet+of+filth%22&pg=PA13|page=13|access-date=November 16, 2020|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116233511/https://books.google.com/books?id=J5Vb52f6rOIC&q=moynihan+%22packet+of+filth%22&pg=PA13|url-status=live}}

=Federal passage=

President Ronald Reagan originally opposed the holiday, citing cost concerns. When asked to comment on Helms' accusations that King was a communist, the president said "We'll know in thirty-five years, won't we", referring to the eventual release of FBI surveillance tapes that had previously been sealed.{{cite journal|last1=Younge|first1=Gary|title=The Misremembering of 'I Have a Dream'|journal=The Nation|date=September 2–9, 2013|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/175764/misremembering-i-have-dream|access-date=April 12, 2015|archive-date=April 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426110321/http://www.thenation.com/article/175764/misremembering-i-have-dream|url-status=live}} But on November 2, 1983, Reagan signed a bill into law, proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana, to create a federal holiday honoring King.{{cite web|last=Woolley |first=John T. |author2=Gerhard Peters |date=November 2, 1983 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40708 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720080942/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40708 |title=Ronald Reagan: Remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a National Holiday |publisher=The American Presidency Project |access-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{USStatute|98|399|98|1475|1984|8|27}} The final vote in the House of Representatives on August 2, 1983, was 338–90 (242–4 in the House Democratic Caucus and 89–77 in the House Republican Conference) with 5 members voting present or abstaining,{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/h289|title=TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PASS H.R. 3706, A BILL AMENDING TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE TO MAKE THE BIRTHDAY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., A LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY. (MOTION PASSED;2/3 REQUIRED).|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520080737/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/h289|url-status=live}} while the final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983, was 78–22 (41–4 in the Senate Democratic Caucus and 37–18 in the Senate Republican Conference),{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19.|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520132928/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Dewar |first1=Helen |title=Solemn Senate Votes For National Holiday Honoring Rev. King |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/solemn_senate_votes_for_national_holiday.html |access-date=March 11, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 20, 1983 |archive-date=January 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123184908/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/solemn_senate_votes_for_national_holiday.html |url-status=live }} both veto-proof margins. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986. It is observed on the third Monday of January.{{cite news |author=May, Ashley |title=What is open and closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/18/mlk-day-what-open-and-closed-martin-luther-king-jr-day/2612990002/ |work=USA Today |date=January 18, 2019 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118213547/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/18/mlk-day-what-open-and-closed-martin-luther-king-jr-day/2612990002/ |url-status=live }}

The bill also established the "Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission" to oversee observance of the holiday, and Coretta Scott King, King's wife, was made a member of this commission for life by President George H. W. Bush in May 1989.{{cite web|last=Woolley |first=John T. |author2=Gerhard Peters |date=May 17, 1989 |archive-date=October 2, 2012 |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17040 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002135726/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17040 |title=George Bush: Remarks on Signing the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission Extension Act |publisher=The American Presidency Project |access-date=January 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{USStatute|101|30|103|60|1989|05|17}}

=State passage=

Although the federal holiday honoring King was signed into law in 1983 and took effect three years later, not every U.S. state chose to observe the January holiday at the state level until 1991, when the New Hampshire legislature created "Civil Rights Day" and abolished its April "Fast Day".{{cite web|last=Gilbreth |first=Donna |year=1997 |archive-date=January 2, 2011 |url=http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/fast.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102115710/http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/fast.html |title=Rise and Fall of Fast Day |publisher=New Hampshire State Library |access-date=January 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }} In 1999, New Hampshire became the last state to name a holiday after King, which they first celebrated in January 2000{{snd}}the first nationwide celebration of the day with this name.{{cite web |url=https://www.nhpr.org/post/nhs-martin-luther-king-jr-day-didnt-happen-without-fight#stream/0 |publisher=New Hampshire Public Radio |title=N.H.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Didn't Happen Without A Fight |date=August 27, 2013 |access-date=August 27, 2013 |archive-date=August 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815141308/http://nhpr.org/post/nhs-martin-luther-king-jr-day-didnt-happen-without-fight#stream/0 |url-status=live }}

In 1986, Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, created a paid state MLK holiday in Arizona by executive order just before he left office, but in 1987, his Republican successor Evan Mecham, citing an attorney general's opinion that Babbitt's order was illegal, reversed Babbitt's decision days after taking office.{{cite news|last=Ye Hee Lee|first=Michelle|title=Recalling Arizona's struggle for MLK holiday|url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20120112martin-luther-king-holiday-dilemma.html#ixzz2IYEyGRdg|access-date=January 20, 2013|newspaper=The Arizona Republic|date=January 15, 2012|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116233454/https://help.azcentral.com/#ixzz2IYEyGRdg|url-status=live}} Later that year, Mecham proclaimed the third Sunday in January to be "Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day" in Arizona, albeit as an unpaid holiday. This proposal was rejected by the state Senate the following year.{{cite web|title=Civil Rights Day in United States|url=http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/civil-rights-day|website=timeanddate.com|publisher=Time and Date AS|access-date=April 12, 2015|archive-date=March 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329035022/http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/civil-rights-day|url-status=live}} In 1990, Arizona voters were given the opportunity to vote on giving state employees a paid MLK holiday. That same year, the National Football League threatened to move Super Bowl XXVII, which was planned for Arizona in 1993, if the MLK holiday was voted down.{{cite web |url=http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/101611_az_mlk_dedication/arizonans-recall-fight-state-mlk-holiday |title=tucsonsentinel.com |publisher=tucsonsentinel.com |access-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205033001/http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/101611_az_mlk_dedication/arizonans-recall-fight-state-mlk-holiday/ |url-status=live }} In the November 1990 election, the voters were offered two King Day options: Proposition 301, which replaced Columbus Day on the list of paid state holidays, and Proposition 302, which merged Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays into one paid holiday to make room for MLK Day. Both measures failed to pass, with only 49% of voters approving Prop 302, the more popular of the two options; although some who voted "no" on 302 voted "yes" on Prop 301.{{cite web|last1=Shumway|first1=Jim|title=STATE OF ARIZONA OFFICIAL CANVASS – GENERAL ELECTION – November 6, 1990|url=http://azsos.gov/sites/azsos.gov/files/canvass1990ge.pdf|website=Arizona Secretary of State ~ Home Page|publisher=Arizona Secretary of State|access-date=April 11, 2015|page=12|date=November 26, 1990|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317014021/http://www.azsos.gov/sites/azsos.gov/files/canvass1990ge.pdf|archive-date=March 17, 2015|url-status=dead}} Consequently, the state lost the chance to host Super Bowl XXVII, which was subsequently held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. In a 1992 referendum, the voters, this time given only one option for a paid King Day, approved state-level recognition of the holiday.{{cite book|last=Reingold|first=Beth|title=Representing Women: Sex, Gender, and Legislative Behavior in Arizona and California|url=https://archive.org/details/representingwome0000rein|url-access=registration|access-date=May 4, 2014|year=2000|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=9780807848500|pages=[https://archive.org/details/representingwome0000rein/page/66 66]–}}

On May 2, 2000, South Carolina governor Jim Hodges signed a bill to make King's birthday an official state holiday. South Carolina was the last state to recognize the day as a paid holiday for all state employees. Before the bill, employees could choose between celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day or one of three Confederate holidays.[http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkhistory1.html The History of Martin Luther King Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704203142/http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkhistory1.html |date=July 4, 2011 }}, Infoplease

Alternative names

While all states now observe the holiday, some did not name the day after King. For example, in New Hampshire, the holiday was known as "Civil Rights Day" until 1999, when the State Legislature voted to change the name of the holiday to Martin Luther King Day.{{cite news |last=Goldberg |first=Carey |date=May 26, 1999 |archive-date=November 11, 2012 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E0DC1031F935A15756C0A96F958260&scp=2&sq=Carey%20Goldberg%20Martin%20Luther%20King%201999&st=cse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111011843/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E0DC1031F935A15756C0A96F958260&scp=2&sq=Carey%20Goldberg%20Martin%20Luther%20King%201999&st=cse |title=Contrarian New Hampshire To Honor Dr. King, at Last |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }}

Several additional states have chosen to combine commemorations of King's birthday with other observances:

In Alabama: "Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Birthday".{{cite web|website=Alabama.gov|url=http://inform.alabama.gov/calendar.aspx|title=Calendar|access-date=January 5, 2015|archive-date=February 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205173025/http://inform.alabama.gov/calendar.aspx|url-status=live}}
In Arizona: "Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day".{{cite web|url=http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=%2Fars%2F1%2F00301.htm&Title=1&DocType=ARS|title=1–301. Holidays enumerated|website=Arizona Legislature|access-date=January 22, 2008|archive-date=January 10, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110204959/http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=%2Fars%2F1%2F00301.htm&Title=1&DocType=ARS|url-status=live}}
In Arkansas: it was known as "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday and Robert E. Lee's Birthday" from 1985 to 2017. Legislation in March 2017 changed the name of the state holiday to "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday" and moved the commemoration of Lee to October.
In Idaho: "Martin Luther King Jr.–Idaho Human Rights Day".{{cite web|website=Idaho.gov|url=http://legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title73/T73CH1SECT73-108.htm|title=TItle 73|access-date=January 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906042351/http://legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title73/T73CH1SECT73-108.htm|archive-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=dead}}
In Mississippi: "Martin Luther King's and Robert E. Lee's Birthdays".{{cite web|website=MS.gov|url=https://www.dfa.ms.gov/dfa-offices/human-resources/explanation-of-benefits/state-holidays/|title=State Holidays|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618090740/https://www.dfa.ms.gov/dfa-offices/human-resources/explanation-of-benefits/state-holidays/|url-status=live}}
In New Hampshire: "Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Day".{{cite web|url=http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/xxv/288/288-mrg.htm|title=CHAPTER 288 HOLIDAYS|website=New Hampshire General Court|access-date=January 14, 2008|archive-date=April 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409115335/http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/xxv/288/288-mrg.htm|url-status=live}}
In Virginia: it was known as Lee–Jackson–King Day, combining King's birthday with the established Lee–Jackson Day.{{cite web|last=Petrie|first=Phil W.|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/3783538/mlk-holiday-branches-work-make-work|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119044638/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/3783538/mlk-holiday-branches-work-make-work|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-01-19|title=The MLK holiday: Branches work to make it work|date=May–June 2000|work=The New Crisis|access-date=November 12, 2008}} In 2000, Lee–Jackson Day was moved to the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday in its own right.{{cite news|last=Duran |first=April |date=April 10, 2000 |archive-date=July 11, 2010 |url=http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/cns/on-the-lege-2000/holiday.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711171616/http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/cns/on-the-lege-2000/holiday.htm |title=Virginia creates holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |newspaper=On The Lege |publisher=Virginia Commonwealth University |access-date=January 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }} Lee-Jackson Day was eliminated in 2020.{{cite news | url=https://www.cbs19news.com/story/42315567/new-state-laws-that-go-into-effect-july-1 | title=New state laws that go into effect July 1 | website=CBS 19 News | location=Charlottesville, Virginia | date=July 1, 2020 | access-date=July 16, 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716120357/https://www.cbs19news.com/story/42315567/new-state-laws-that-go-into-effect-july-1 | archive-date=July 16, 2020 }}
In Wyoming: it is known as "Martin Luther King Jr./Wyoming Equality Day". Liz Byrd, the first black woman in the Wyoming legislature, introduced a bill in 1991 for Wyoming to recognize MLK day as a paid state holiday; she compromised on the name because her peers would not pass it otherwise.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/liz-byrd-first-black-woman-wyoming-legislature|title=Liz Byrd, First Black Woman in Wyoming's Legislature {{!}} WyoHistory.org|website=www.wyohistory.org|access-date=January 16, 2020|archive-date=January 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102142948/https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/liz-byrd-first-black-woman-wyoming-legislature|url-status=live}}

Observance

=Workplace leave=

File:MLK Day March (Eugene, Oregon).jpg

Overall, as of 2019, 45% of employers gave employees the day off.{{cite news |title=Does Observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day Align With Your Company Values? |url=https://www.yahoo.com/video/does-observing-martin-luther-king-221124283.html |access-date=16 January 2023 |date=January 14, 2021 |work=Yahoo Video |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116233455/https://www.yahoo.com/video/does-observing-martin-luther-king-221124283.html |url-status=live }}{{unreliable source?|date=January 2023}} The reasons for not providing the day off have varied, ranging from the recent addition of the holiday to its occurrence just two weeks after the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, when many businesses are closed for part or all of it. The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ both close for trading, and banks are generally closed. Additionally, many schools and places of higher education are closed for classes; others remain open but may hold seminars or celebrations of King's message. The observance of MLK Day has led to some colleges and universities extending their Christmas break to include the day as part of the break. Some employers use MLK Day as a floating or movable holiday.{{cite news|title=MLK Day's crafters urged a day of meaning, service|last=Stewart|first=Jocelyn|date=January 16, 2006|work=Contra Costa Times}}

File:MLK Day Horizontal Logo.png

=National Day of Service=

File:MLK service obama.JPG serving lunch at a Washington soup kitchen on MLK Jr. Day, 2010]]

The national "Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service"{{cite web | url = https://www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday | title = Volunteer opportunities and resources for organizing an MLK Day of Service event | website = Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service homepage | publisher = Corporation for National and Community Service | access-date = January 16, 2018 | archive-date = January 16, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180116152708/https://www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday | url-status = live }} was started by former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act. The federal legislation challenges Americans to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action [https://americorps.gov/newsroom/events/mlk-day volunteer service] in honor of King. The federal legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994. Since 1996, Wofford's former state office director, Todd Bernstein, has been directing the annual Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service,{{cite web|url=http://www.mlkdayofservice.org/|title=Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service|publisher=Global Citizen|access-date=January 16, 2007|archive-date=June 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630003246/http://www.mlkdayofservice.org/|url-status=live}} the largest event in the nation honoring King.{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Doug |date=January 16, 2011 |archive-date=January 20, 2011 |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_4429b5c3-3d55-5c08-81d4-e9ac71919ebe.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120150234/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_4429b5c3-3d55-5c08-81d4-e9ac71919ebe.html |title=MLK events in Missouri form man's legacy |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url-status=dead }}

Since 1994, the day of service has been coordinated nationally by AmeriCorps, a federal agency, which provides [https://americorps.gov/partner/funding-opportunities grants] to organizations that coordinate service activities on MLK Day.{{cite web |title=About the MLK Day of Service |url=https://www.nationalservice.gov/serve-your-community/mlkdaygov/about-mlk-day-service |publisher=Corporation for National and Community Service |access-date=2020-09-21 |archive-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917141305/https://www.nationalservice.gov/serve-your-community/mlkdaygov/about-mlk-day-service |url-status=live }}

The only other official national day of service in the U.S., as designated by the government, is September 11 National Day of Service (9/11 Day).{{Cite web|title=President Proclaims Sept. 11 Patriot Day and National Day of Service, Remembrance|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/939950/president-proclaims-sept-11-patriot-day-and-national-day-of-service-remembrance/|access-date=2021-01-22|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US|archive-date=May 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503030521/https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/939950/president-proclaims-sept-11-patriot-day-and-national-day-of-service-remembrance/|url-status=live}}

=Speeches=

Cesar Chavez campaigned with him to call attention to the economic needs of farmworkers in the United States. Chavez used his speech on this day in 1990 to again call attention to the similarity between his campaign regarding pesticide issues and King's campaigns.{{Cite web |url=https://ufw.org/biography-martin-luther-king-jr-praised-cesar-chavez-for-his-indefatigable-work/ |title=Biography: Martin Luther King Jr. Praised Cesar Chavez for His 'Indefatigable Work' – UFW |date=October 3, 2019 |access-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-date=December 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201184129/https://ufw.org/biography-martin-luther-king-jr-praised-cesar-chavez-for-his-indefatigable-work/ |url-status=live }} He later was honored with the creation of Cesar Chavez Day in imitation of this holiday.{{Cite web |url=https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=476 |title=California: Chavez Holiday - Rural Migration News | Migration Dialogue |access-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-date=July 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713115822/https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=476 |url-status=live }}

=Canada=

The day is not a holiday in Canada. It is commemorated annually by the City of Toronto{{cite web|last=Miller |first=David |author-link=David Miller (Canadian politician) |year=2008 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |url=http://www.toronto.ca/proclamations/2010/martinlutherkingjrday2010.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707073120/http://www.toronto.ca/proclamations/2010/martinlutherkingjrday2010.htm |title=City of Toronto Proclamation |website=City of Toronto government |url-status=dead }} and City of Ottawa governments in Ontario and Montreal in Quebec.{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mlk-martin-luther-king-day-city-hall-ottawa-first-time-1.3937716| title = City of Ottawa observes Martin Luther King Day for first time in 2005 {{!}} CBC News| access-date = January 14, 2020| archive-date = October 1, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201001054225/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mlk-martin-luther-king-day-city-hall-ottawa-first-time-1.3937716| url-status = live}}

=Israel=

In 1984, during a visit by the U.S. Sixth Fleet, Navy chaplain Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff conducted the first Israeli presidential ceremony in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, held in the President's Residence, Jerusalem. Aura Herzog, wife of Israel's then-President Chaim Herzog, noted that she was especially proud to host this special event, because Israel had a national forest in honor of King, and that Israel and King shared the idea of "dreams".The Jewish Week & The American Examiner, pg 37, February 3, 1986. Resnicoff continued this theme in his remarks during the ceremony, quoting the verse from Genesis, spoken by the brothers of Joseph when they saw their brother approach, "Behold the dreamer comes; let us slay him and throw him into the pit, and see what becomes of his dreams." Resnicoff noted that, from time immemorial, there have been those who thought they could kill the dream by slaying the dreamer, but – as the example of King's life shows – such people are always wrong.{{cite web|website= Library of Congress Veterans History Project Oral History|title= Arnold Resnicoff|date= May 2010|url= http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.70629/mv0001001.stream|access-date= January 16, 2017|archive-date= November 18, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181118212944/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.70629/mv0001001.stream|url-status= live}} At 1 hour 37 Min.

=Japan=

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In January 2005, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba held a special banquet at the mayor's office as an act of unifying his city's call for peace with King's message of human rights.{{cite web|url=http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/shimin/heiwa/martin.html|title=Mayor's Speech at U.S. Conference of Mayors' Luncheon in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.|website=city.hiroshima.lg.jp|access-date=January 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605124242/http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/shimin/heiwa/martin.html|archive-date=June 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}

=Netherlands=

Every year since 1987, the Dr. Martin Luther King Tribute and Dinner has been held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands.{{Cite web|url=https://nl.usembassy.gov/martin-luther-king-jr-tribute-dinner/|title=Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Dinner|date=January 30, 2017|website=U.S. Embassy & Consulate in the Netherlands|access-date=March 30, 2017|archive-date=March 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331120920/https://nl.usembassy.gov/martin-luther-king-jr-tribute-dinner/|url-status=live}} The Tribute includes young people and veterans of the Civil Rights Movement as well as music. It always ends with everyone holding hands in a circle and singing "We Shall Overcome". The Tribute is held on the last Sunday in January.{{Cite web|title=Annual Tribute and Dinner in Honour of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.|url=https://www.thehagueonline.com/event/annual-tribute-and-dinner-in-honour-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr|access-date=2021-01-23|website=The Hague Online|language=en-GB|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116233505/https://www.thehagueonline.com/event/annual-tribute-and-dinner-in-honour-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr|url-status=live}}

Dates

1986–2103

Observed on the third Monday in January. Dates with a gray background indicate Martin Luther King Jr. Day falling on the same day as the Presidential Inauguration.

Date !colspan=21\| Years
class="wikitable"
January 21		1991		2002	2008	2013	2019		2030	2036	2041	2047		2058	2064	2069	2075		2086	2092	2097
January 20	1986	1992	style="background-color:gray" \|1997	2003		2014	2020	style="background-color:gray" \| 2025	2031		2042	2048	style="background-color:gray" \| 2053	2059		2070	2076	style="background-color:gray" \| 2081	2087		2098
January 19	1987		1998	2004	2009	2015		2026	2032	2037	2043		2054	2060	2065	2071		2082	2088	2093	2099
January 18	1988	1993	1999		2010	2016	2021	2027		2038	2044	2049	2055		2066	2072	2077	2083		2094	2100
January 17		1994	2000	2005	2011		2022	2028	2033	2039		2050	2056	2061	2067		2078	2084	2089	2095	2101
January 16	1989	1995		2006	2012	2017	2023		2034	2040	2045	2051		2062	2068	2073	2079		2090	2096	2102
January 15	1990	1996	2001	2007		2018	2024	2029	2035		2046	2052	2057	2063		2074	2080	2085	2091		2103

=General holidays=

=Volunteer day events=

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20101226100645/http://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/martin-luther-king-jr-federal-holiday-commission Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission] at the Federal Register
[http://mlkday.gov/ Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service] official government site
[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:H.R.1933: King Holiday and Service Act of 1994] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215194735/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:H.R.1933: |date=December 15, 2012 }} at THOMAS
[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=49010 Remarks on Signing the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994], President William J. Clinton, The American Presidency Project, August 23, 1994
[http://www.thekingcenter.org/ The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change]
[https://www.nhpr.org/post/nhs-martin-luther-king-jr-day-didnt-happen-without-fight#stream/0 N.H.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Didn't Happen Without A Fight]