January 19, 2015

Parades, musical performances, speeches, and church services are among the activities scheduled to celebrate the birthday and legacy of famed civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., on January 19. King, the main leader of the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950′s and 1960′s, was assassinated in 1968. In 1983, Congress established the third Monday in January as a federal holiday in King’s honor. First celebrated on Jan. 20, 1986, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is now observed by the federal government and by all the states.

Martin Luther King, Jr., organized a boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. Many blacks stopped riding buses because the law required them to sit in the rear. In 1956, a federal court ordered Montgomery to desegregate its buses. (AP/Wide World)

Many Americans also planned to devote time on the holiday to community service. In 1994, the U.S. Congress designated the holiday as a national day of service–a “day on, not a day off.” Many volunteers work with nonprofit and community groups, faith-based organizations, and schools and businesses to promote King’s dream of a Beloved Community, a society of justice, peace and harmony achieved through nonviolence.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama planned to spend part of their day participating in a community service project at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington. Vice President Joe Biden planned to deliver remarks at the Organization of Minority Women’s 31st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast in Wilmington, Delaware.

Additional World Book articles:

• African Americans
• Back in Time (Civil rights 1968)
• March on Washington
• Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site
• Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

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