Martin Luther King Day
Welcome to our Martin Luther King Day page. 

The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., usually called Martin Luther King Day, is a United States holiday honoring the life and work of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was the famed African American preacher and pacifist who led the early modern civil rights movement in the United States and was subsequently assassinated in 1968. To this day, many African American homes display a framed photo or painting of Dr. King in their living room.

This holiday is observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15. It is the only United States federal holiday commemorating an African-American and one of only three to commemorate an individual person.

The origins of Martin Luther King Day were in its early promotion by labor unions as part of their contract negotiations. After King's death in 1968, Rep. John Conyers introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday. Conyers was highlighting King's activism on behalf of trade unionists. Throughout the 1970s, workers' unions continued to do most of the promoting of this holiday. In 1976, trade unionists helped to elect Jimmy Carter, who in turn endorsed the King Day bill. After that endorsement, union influence in the King holiday campaign declined and the King Center, the organization that continues Dr. King's civil rights and activist work to this day, turned to both the corporate community and the general public in looking for support. 

The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released his hit single, "Happy Birthday," with lyrics that included lines praising Dr. King and his special day. This 1980 move further boosted the campaign to make the occasion an official one. The following year, Stevie Wonder hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference. Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 The Nation article as "...the largest petition in favor of an issue in Teen People." Teen People is a magazine for teenagers, mostly about celebrities. It is not known for being a very serious publication.

Opposition to the Bill was led by Sen. Jesse Helms, a white southern conservative who questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. Senator Helms was also critical of King's opposition to the Vietnam War and alleged that Dr. King had communist connections.

At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed into law the bill creating the federal holiday to honor King. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, though not universally throughout the country.

However, January 17, 2000, marks the date that Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 U.S. states. Now the day is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice, and racial and class equality, as well as being a national day of volunteerism and community service.

On January 16, 2006 Greenville County, South Carolina was the last county in the U.S. to officially adopt Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday. 

In Utah, Martin Luther King Day is also known as Human Rights Day; similarly, in Arizona, Martin Luther King Day is also known as Civil Rights Day.

Although the day is a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually not observed by small private companies, although banks do close. Many large corporations close their operations (more so than on Veterans Day or Columbus Day, which are also federal holidays, but less so than on holidays such as Memorial Day or Labor Day when virtually all corporations are closed). However, small shops, restaurants, and grocery stores tend to remain open. 

The reasons for this have varied, ranging from the recent addition of the holiday (each year more businesses are closed than the year before) to its occurrence just two weeks after the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, when many businesses are closed for part of or sometimes all of the week. Additionally, most schools and places of higher education are closed for classes. However, rare others may remain open to hold seminars or celebrations of Dr. King's message.

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