The United States Celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
Jan. 16, 2012
Parades, musical performances, speeches, and church services were among the activities scheduled to celebrate the birthday and legacy of famed civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., on January 16. 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.
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.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was an African American Baptist minister who was the main leader of the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950's and 1960's. He won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for leading nonviolent civil rights demonstrations. © Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
On January 15, King’s actual birthday, President Barack Obama and his family attended services at Zion Baptist Church, an historic church in Washington, D.C. Also on that day, the National Park Service laid a wreath at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. The towering granite monument was dedicated on Oct. 16, 2011.
Additional World Book articles:
- African Americans
- Back in Time (Civil rights 1968)
- March on Washington
- Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site
