In January. [144] In 1987, a bill was introduced to recognize it as a state holiday and was passed by the House and Senate before being signed by Governor Sinner on March 13, 1987. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January in the United States. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen and Christian Zapata. On January 16, 2023, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday will mark the 28th anniversary of the national day of service. Martin Luther King, Jr., original name Michael King, Jr., (born January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.died April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee), Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. But though the first federal holiday was celebrated in 1986, it took years for observance to filter through to every state. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. [48], Every year since 1987, the Dr. Martin Luther King Tribute and Dinner has been held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. This proposal was rejected by the state Senate the following year. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.,[1] and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther KingJr. ", "George Bush: Remarks on Signing the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission Extension Act", "N.H.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Didn't Happen Without A Fight", "Recalling Arizona's struggle for MLK holiday", "STATE OF ARIZONA OFFICIAL CANVASS GENERAL ELECTION November 6, 1990", "Contrarian New Hampshire To Honor Dr. King, at Last", "The MLK holiday: Branches work to make it work", "Virginia creates holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr", "New state laws that go into effect July 1", "Liz Byrd, First Black Woman in Wyoming's Legislature | WyoHistory.org", "Does Observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day Align With Your Company Values? One of King's most famous legacies was his "I Have a Dream" speech, which he delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Recognized Federal Holiday to begin in 1986, This page was last edited on 14 July 2023, at 00:44. Martin Luther King Day, by State | The Busybody [9][10] The final vote in the House of Representatives on August 2, 1983, was 33890 (2424 in the House Democratic Caucus and 8977 in the House Republican Conference) with 5 members voting present or abstaining,[11][5] while the final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983, was 7822 (414 in the Senate Democratic Caucus and 3718 in the Senate Republican Conference),[12][13] both veto-proof margins. 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. [42][43] However, state employees were still required to work on the day leading to a union lead lawsuit that was ruled in their favor and the state was ordered to give $500,000 to its employees for overtime pay. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. Her work focuses on African American history, including the Civil Rights Movement. At the time, only 27 states and Washington, D.C., honored. His life and achievements are remembered and celebrated on this day. MLK Day (short for "Martin Luther King Day", also known as King Day or Martin Luther King Jr. Day) is a United States federal holiday celebrated annually on the third Monday of January.In some states it is also commonly referred to as "Civil Rights Day" or "Human Rights Day". The song became a hit, and in the early 1980s, Wonder worked with Coretta Scott King to gain support for the national holiday, according to the King Center. However, that record was broken in 2014 by Malala Yousafzai, who was 17 when she was awarded the prize. [10] It is observed on the third Monday of January. Arizona initially observed the holiday, then rescinded it, leading to a years-long scuffle over whether to celebrate King that ended in multiple public referenda, major boycotts of the state, and a final voter registration push that helped propel a final referendum toward success in 1992. On these days non-essential national offices are closed although the employees receive pay. [149][150][151], Representative Rodger McDaniel introduced a bill in 1973 that would create a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., but nothing became of the bill. Day. [36] The legislature didn't take action until 1984 when the Alabama House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of the bill, passed the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee with all six members in favor, passed the Alabama Senate, and Wallace signed the bill into law on May 8, 1984, recognizing Lee-King Day. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Martin Luther King in pictures: The life and times of a Civil Rights icon. 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. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill in the White House Rose Garden designating a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., to be observed on the third Monday of January. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. With Biden's signature, Juneteenth is the first holiday to be approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was established in 1983. In 1994 Congress passed a bill to dedicate the national. [75] Due to the failure of the governor and state legislature to create the holiday, another movement to boycott Arizona was created with support from Jesse Jackson and Democratic delegates supporting it and planning to perform a demonstration outside of the Democratic National Convention. Stories Memorial March after assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law, designating the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Outside Links Congress.gov, H.R.1933 King Holiday and Service Act of 1994 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Before the bill, employees could choose between celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day or one of three Confederate holidays. In 1983, then-Republican Congressman Jack Kemp and Newt Gingrich and then-Democratic Congressmen Jim Wright and Tip O'Neill gave speeches in support of the holiday, and it passed in the House by 53 votes. All Rights Reserved. [77] Arizona State University later chose to end its observation of President's Day and replaced it with the Martin Luther King Jr. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Every single attempt failed, even after the bill was brought to the floor for debate. At first Indiana only approved MLK Day as a temporary holiday, by governor decree. Praised Cesar Chavez for His 'Indefatigable Work' UFW", "California: Chavez Holiday - Rural Migration News | Migration Dialogue", "City of Ottawa observes Martin Luther King Day for first time in 2005 | CBC News", "Mayor's Speech at U.S. Conference of Mayors' Luncheon in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr", "Annual Tribute and Dinner in Honour of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr", The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Remember, Celebrate, and Forget? [74] Mofford later stated that she would wait until after the elections to attempt to create a King holiday. On Nov. 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill marking the third Monday of January, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to the center. The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. On August 2, the House voted 338 to 90 in favor of the bill, passing it on to the Senate. King was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. In the 1970s, support for a national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday grew. When was Martin Luther King, Jr., Day established? King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Although some southern states protested the new holiday by commemorating the Confederacy on the same day, by the '90s, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established everywhere in the U.S. Lisa Vox, Ph.D. is a History professor, lecturing at several universities. Her book, The Heroine's Bookshelf (Harper), won the Colorado Book Award for nonfiction. A march down Pennsylvania Avenue publicly campaigning for Martin Luther King Jr's birthday to be made a national holiday in the United States, January 15, 1981. [152] Another bill creating a King holiday was introduced in 1986 by Representative Harriet Elizabeth Byrd, but it was rejected. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Jonathan C. Katzenellenbogen/Getty Images, https://www.history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-day-controversial-origins-of-the-holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination on April 4, 1968. The vote was conducted and Tempe was awarded the game, but committee chairman and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman warned that if the King Day ballot initiative went against adoption of the holiday, the NFL would pull the game from Arizona and move it somewhere else.[87]. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and led the 1963 March on Washington. Conyers worked in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, was elected to Congress in 1964, and championed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Just four days after his death, then-Representative John Conyers introduced a motion to make King's birthday a federal holiday, according to the National Constitution Center. The idea of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations. As a result, Americans commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. 's birthday on the third Monday in January, but few are aware of the history of the long battle to convince Congress to establish this holiday. In 1970, Conyers convinced New York's governor and New York City's mayor to commemorate King's birthday, a move that the city of St. Louis emulated in 1971. See the map below, where Indiana is a yellow state in a sea of progressive blue. John Knight and Frank Bray were the first black people to serve on the commission after being inaugurated in November and voted in favor with Joel Barfoot while Mack McWhorter and Bill Joseph voted against it. A powerful orator, he appealed to Christian and American ideals and won growing support from the federal government and Northern whites. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first celebrated in 1986, although it would be over a decade before all 50 states adopted the holiday. While King was actually. King, of course, was not a Communist and broke no federal laws, but by challenging the status quo, King and the civil rights movement discomfited the Washington establishment. [29] On February 13, 1981, Representative Alvin Holmes introduced a bill to create a state holiday in honor of King, but nothing came of it. [41] Following the federal recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day a bill was introduced in the Alaska legislature to recognize it on January 15, 1987, and Governor Bill Sheffield declared it as a holiday on January 20. [18], 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. Martin Luther King Day is observed every year on the third Monday of January on January 15 this year. Reagan's administration concurred with Dannemeyer, but the House passed the bill with a vote of 338 for and 90 against. [88] On March 19, 1991, NFL owners voted to remove the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix due to the rejection of both referendums. King is arguably one of the best orators of all time, but, according to the National Constitution Center, not everyone felt that way. Martin Luther King Day: The song that changed the US [123][124] However, Davis was absent when the bill came to the senate, but was able to offer an amendment to another holiday bill although the bill was defeated after her amendment passed. [19] During the Senate deliberation on the bill, Senator Jesse Helms attempted to add amendments to kill the bill and distributed a 400-page FBI report on King describing him as a communist and subversive, leading Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to throw the report on the ground and refer to it as garbage. Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday and Day of Service: January 16 Florida Faces Social Security Crisis as Soaring Inflation Hits Benefits. MLK Day 2021 | Smithsonian Digital Volunteers In Alabama and Mississippi, it's also Robert E. Lee Day, honoring the famed Civil War general of the Confederacy whose birthday falls just days later on January 19. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. [138] The bill passed both the House and Senate before being signed into law by Governor Francis Sargent on July 8, 1974. As a result, Americans commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on the third Monday in January, but few are aware of the history of the long battle to convince Congress to establish this holiday. OnMartin Luther King Jr. Day, the entire nation pauses in remembrance of a civil rights hero. READ MORE:Black History Milestones: Timeline. Here's what the FBI had on Martin Luther King, Jr. From the mid 1950s until his assassination in 1968, the FBI obsessed over trying to paint Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a communist. In 1983 legislation making the third Monday in January a federal holiday finally was passed, and the first observance nationwide was in 1986. 12 standout performances in MLK Day history | NBA.com HOW TO COMMEMORATE MLK DAY WHILE STAYING AT HOME Here is a timeline of the events that ultimately led to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day being observed as a federal holiday. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress", "House Delays Vote for U.S. Holiday on Kings Birthday", "Martin Luther King national holiday bill set back in House", "House rejects shortcut to creating new holiday", "Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Wins In House, Goes To Senate", "Martin Luther King Jr. Day 1979 House Vote", "James proposes holiday for Dr. King's birthday", "Wallace Calls King Holiday 'Appropriate', "Proposed King Holiday Brings Sharp Exchanges", "King Memorial Passes Senate In Tight Vote", "1,000 Tucsonans march to honor memory of Martin Luther King", "5,000 march in Phoenix to honor memory of fallen civil-rights leader", "Senate panel favors state holiday for King", "Senate kills bill to repeal vehicle-sales tax", "Arizona House defeats King holiday plan", "Babbitt to Declare State Holiday in Honor of King", "Babbitt declares state holiday for King", "Babbitt invites suit over decision to create Martin Luther King Day", "State of Arizona Official Canvas General Election November 3, 1992", "The Timeline of Passage of Martin Luther King Jr Day", "Jackson asks Mecham to restore King holiday", "Young Democrats keep convention in Phoenix", "Judiciary panel sends King bill to full Senate", "Senate defeats proposal for voters to pick holiday", "Mofford mulls ways to tackle King holiday", "Convention to hear Arizonans on King day issue", "Regents approve paid King Day at state universities", "Usdane assigns King Day bill to committee", "GOP-controlled House committee cuts King holiday from economic-aid bill", "Senate panel OKs King holiday in lieu of Columbus Day", "Mofford signs King holiday, hails 'proud day', "Referendum petitions put paid state King holiday on hold", "When Arizona lost the Super Bowl because the state didn't recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day", "Holiday's rejection costing millions now", "Arkansas Splits Its Holidays For Martin Luther King Jr. And Robert E. Lee", "Black Leaders Attack Veto of Dr. King Holiday", "Bill To Honor King With Holiday Passes State Senate by 1 Vote", "Bill to Make Holiday Of King's Birth Killed", "Mrs. Morton Files Bill On Holiday for Dr. King", "Bill for Holiday To Honor King Will Get Hearing", "House Votes Bill to honor King with Sunday Holiday", "Sunday Holiday Bill Is Voted To Honor Dr. King in State", "Jan. 15 Holiday Is Voted; Governor Due to Approve", "House Approves Holiday Honoring Martin Luther King", "Create Holiday To Honor Martin Luther King", "Bill Would Schedule Dr. King Observance", "How Harold Washington fought for MLK Day and paid the price", "Chicago Public Schools Observe MLK Jr. Birthday", "States Offices To Be Closed On King's Birthday", "MLK Holiday Bill Introduced in Kentucky", "Martin Luther King Jr. honored by state holiday", "AN ACT to Change Martin Luther King Day from a Special Observance Day to a State Holiday", "Black caucus pushes bid for holiday honoring Dr. King", "Senate revives bill for King half-holiday", "Establishes Day For Dr. King In St. Louis", "N.H. governor signs MLK holiday into law", "Senate votes to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr", "Bill For Martin Luther King Holiday Protested", "Jackson stays clear of Wyo politics during Cheyenne visit", "Albany employees to observe King holiday", "House vote restores King's name onto bill", "Liz Byrd, First Black Woman in Wyoming's Legislature", "Wyoming governor signs bill creating paid King holiday", 129 Congressional Record (Bound) - Volume 129, Part 16 (July 28, 1983 to August 3, 1983), 129 Congressional Record (Bound) - Volume 129, Part 20 (October 5, 1983 to October 20, 1983), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Passage_of_Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day&oldid=1165255477. Reagan later apologized, though a federal judge blocked the release of King's FBI files. On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday effective Jan. 20, 1986. WATCH: The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Corrections? Martin Luther King, Jr. | Biography, Speeches, Facts - Britannica [95][96][97] The bill was reintroduced by Representative Irving J. Stolberg in 1972, and it passed in the senate again, but was defeated in the house. Years later, Veterans Day was returned to its original date of Nov. 11. Illinois was the first progressive in 1973; Utah the last holdout in 2000. Reagan capitulated, signing the bill into law. A Black church leader and a son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr., King advanced civil rights for people of . "[18] The Atlanta Constitution argued that declaring the holiday was an inexpensive way to celebrate King's democratic ideals and that it had "been too long about this business already."[18]. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. Twitter Has Undeniably Gotten Better Under Elon Musk, MLK Would Be 'Proud' Of Trump, Bannon Says, Seven MLK Jr. The peaceful protests he led throughout the American South were often met with violence, but King and his followers persisted, and the movement gained momentum. [23] President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on November 2, 1983, and on January 20, 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986. Legislation making Martin Luther King, Jr., Day a federal holiday in the United States was passed in 1983, and the first nationwide observance took place in 1986. It's on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Iowa Republicans say the party's presidential nominating caucuses will be held Jan. 15, on the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. That announcement Saturday puts the first votes of the 2024 election a little more than six months away as the GOP tries to reclaim the White House Top Questions All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. While attempts were made to have a federally recognized holiday, numerous U.S. states recognized holidays in honor of King. [49] On January 18, 1986, 1,000 people marched from the University of Arizona to El Presidio Park to honor King and in support of the recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day along with members of Tucson's city council. Vox, Lisa. ThoughtCo. Even then, it faced an upward battle for all states to recognize the holiday, only getting nationally recognized in 2000. He enlisted the help of the Congressional Black Caucus, of which he was a founding member. It failed to pass by five votes. January 16 is Martin Luther King Day. [145][146][147], On January 14, 1975, Cincinnati's city council recognized a city holiday in honor of King and approved a resolution in support of a statewide holiday bill created by state Senator Bill Bowen. In 1954, Armistice Day was broadened to honor Americans who . He was 35 years old at the time, which made him the youngest winner ever. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., [1] and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19", "Solemn Senate Votes For National Holiday Honoring Rev. Carter called King the "conscience of a generation" and King's widow, Coretta Scott King, accepted the medal on her husband's behalf. [20][21] Senator Ted Kennedy accused Helms of making false and inaccurate statements, causing Helms to attempt to have Kennedy punished for a violation of rules that prohibit senators from questioning each other's honor. In 1986, Coretta Scott King chaired the committee responsible for creating the first celebration of her husband's birthday. Federal holidays in the United States - Wikipedia 1 / 9: Metropolitan Museum of Art While Washington's Birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s, it was not until the late 1870s that it became a federal holiday. [25] Hobson City, Alabama's first self-governed all-black municipality, recognized King's birthday as a town holiday in January 1974. When his first bill failed, Conyers was undaunted. [15][16], 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[3] until 1991, when the New Hampshire legislature created "Civil Rights Day" and abolished its April "Fast Day". [4] Only two other figures have national holidays in the U.S. honoring them: George Washington and Christopher Columbus. [98][99] Governor Meskill issued a proclamation in 1973 recognizing King's birthday and Representative Maragaret Morton, the first black women in the state assembly, later introduced a bill to create a holiday in honor of King, but it was shelved by the General Law Committee as they felt that Meskill would veto it again. [5] 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. [55][56] Babbitt circumvented the state legislature and declared the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday via executive order on May 18, although only executive office employees would receive a paid holiday. In 1963, he led his massive March on Washington, in which he delivered his famous I Have a Dream address. The federal legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994. Several states, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Connecticut, become the first states to enact statewide King holidays, but Congress failedto act on a national level, according to The King Center. Helms criticized King's opposition to the Vietnam War and accused him of espousing "action-oriented Marxism". 1983 MLK federal holiday declared President Ronald Reagan signs a bill in the White House Rose Garden designating a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., to be observed on the third. [155], A bill creating a holiday in honor of King that would end Wyoming's observation of Columbus Day was introduced in 1990. Itcalled for nationwide ceremonies and began working to gain support for the holiday. [11][12] On October 23, the bill was reported to the House floor, but Conyers later had the bill delayed on October 30 as he felt that the bill would not reach the two-thirds vote needed for passage, without the addition of amendments that could weaken the bill. Race News Stats for Stories: Bill of Rights Day (1791): December 15, 2022 From Statistics in Schools (SIS), Classrooms Powered by Census Data: "I Have a Dream" - Learning About Martin Luther King Jr. Statistics, Love, and African American History! When a reporter asked about the communism accusations, the president said that Americans would find out in around 35 years, the length of time until FBI materials are declassified. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Here are 5 ways to do good on MLK Day. Planning an MLK Day for Colleges and Universities: A Collection of What is Martin Luther King Jr Day and why is it celebrated? history". "The campaign to get the holiday started almost immediately after he was killed, and people worked on it for a long time before it happened, saidHoney, who wrote "Going Down Jericho Road:The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign.". The bill passed with ease the following day (78-22) and President Ronald Reagan immediately signed the legislation. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! In 1968, King intended to revive his movement through an interracial Poor Peoples March on Washington, but on April 4 escaped white convict James Earl Ray assassinated him in Memphis, Tennessee.