What is Martin Luther King Day?
Martin Luther King Day 2019 – Martin Luther King Jr was born on January 15, 1929. He is popularly known for his fights against racial discrimination using non violent civil defiance based on his principles. He was also an American activist, humanitarian, pastor and the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
Luther was originally named as Michael King, but his name was changed by his father to Martin Luther King Jr. The name was taken from a German activist named Martin Luther. Back in 1955, he took part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He also contributed to the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957 and acted as the SCLC president.
During his leadership, SCLC encountered futile struggle against the separation of Albany, Georgia in the year 1962. Because of that, King encouraged a non-violent protest in Alabama, Birmingham that received countrywide attention through television exposure reporting police brutality.
Martin Luther King had successfully established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in the history of America and gained trust from people after he stood up for the rights of others.
On October 14, 1964, he received a Nobel peace prize for battling against racial discrimination through defying non-violence. In the latter part of his heroic career, King emphasized poverty and the Vietnam war. He then encouraged his allies through his speech back in the year 1967, he named his speech “Beyond Vietnam”.
In 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. After his death, riots around several cities in the U.S followed.
Martin Luther King Jr was awarded with a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Congressional Gold Medal, in early 1971, Martin Luther King’s Day was recognized.
Celebrations on Martin Luther King’s Day
Every third Monday of January, Martin Luther King’s day is observed. Martin Luther King’s Day is emphasized as a federal holiday that revels the achievements of Martin Luther.
In recent times, most federal legislation in America has been encouraging citizens to participate on Martin Luther King’s day through civil works and work as volunteers in citizen action groups.
Martin Luther King’s day is usually celebrated in various ways, such as marching in peace parades, church bells rings, marching at night with candles, the flying of helium balloons in the sky, turning on car headlights on the afternoon and sparing time to study Martin Luther King’s history.
When is Martin Luther King Day 2019?
January 21
