Martin Luther King Day is observed every year on the third Monday of January. It is a federal holiday in America, his life and achievements are remembered and celebrated on this day.
King is well know for his powerful speech; “I Have a Dream” - delivered in 1963 where he warranted an end to racism as well as equal civil and economic rights. Throughout his life and through his dedication to his causes; Martin Luther King achieved great things and extraordinary changes including actions that lead to Congress passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Signed into law in 1983 and first observed in 1986, the holiday is a tribute to King for advancing civil rights and social justice through non-violent protest. King was an influential civil rights leader- best known for his work on racial equality. As a Baptist pastor, King led a mass movement for freedom and human rights in the twentieth century. In confronting white supremacy, King challenged a fundamental contradiction at the heart of the United States, one that denies equality for all.
At 39, King was a private citizen engaged in public protest when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. As president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King was preparing to lead a march in support of Black sanitation workers as part of the Poor People’s Campaign. King was shot and died in the company of movement associates. In his iconic speech at the Lincoln memorial for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for all People, King urged America to “make real the promises of democracy”.
Click the link below to hear some of his renowned speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xXZhXTFWnE
