Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Birthday of Martin Luther King) and often
referred to shorthand as MLK Day is a federal holiday in the United
States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on
the third Monday of January each year. Born in 1929, King's actual
birthday is January 15. The holiday is similar to holidays set under the
Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil
Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and
state law. 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. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time
in 2000.
History
Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The idea of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by
labor unions in contract negotiations. After King's death,
Representative John Conyer (a Democrat from Michigan) and Senator Edward
Brooke (a Republican from Massachusetts) introduced a bill in Congress
to make King's birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a
vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five
votes short of the number needed for passage. 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". 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.
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. 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. 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, 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), 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.
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.
State-level 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". In 1999, New Hampshire became the last state to name a
holiday after King, which they first celebrated in January 2000 – the
first nationwide celebration of the day with this name.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Several additional states have chosen to combine commemorations of
King's birthday with other observances:
Workplace leave
A march in Eugene, Oregon
Overall, as of 2019, 45% of employers gave employees the day off. 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.
President Barack Obama serving lunch at a Washington soup kitchen on MLK
Jr. Day, 2010
The national "Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service" 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 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, the largest event in the nation honoring King.
Since 1994, the day of service has been coordinated nationally by
AmeriCorps, a federal agency, which provides grants to organizations
that coordinate service activities on MLK Day.
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).
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. He later was honored
with the creation of Cesar Chavez Day in imitation of this holiday.
Outside the United States
Canada
The City of Toronto government in Ontario officially recognizes Martin
Luther King Jr. Day, although not as a paid holiday: all government
services and businesses remain open. The Ottawa municipal government in
Ontario officially began observing this national holiday on January 26,
2005.
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." 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.
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.
Netherlands
Every year since 1987, the Dr. Martin Luther King Tribute and Dinner has
been held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. 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. |