Nobel Peace Prize winner and visionary civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died on April 4, 1968, but it took 32 years for a government holiday in his honor to be recognized by all fifty states. Dr. King’s birthday was signed into law as a federal holiday in 1983 and took effect three years later on January 20, 1986. However, it was not until 2000 that all fifty states officially observed the holiday. This rather bumpy road to recognition included a major boost from a hit song by Stevie Wonder called “Happy Birthday,” a petition to Congress signed by six million people, and the support of labor unions and the general public. Following the guidelines of the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, the holiday is always observed on the third Monday of January. While in some years the holiday falls on Dr. King’s January 15 birthday, this year’s celebration occurs on January 20, 2025. The commemoration gives us an opportunity not only to honor the legacy of Dr. King but to reflect on the road ahead to racial justice and equality and the role and responsibility of each individual in achieving this universal goal. The King Center has declared its 2025 strategic goal to be “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365.” According to the King Center, “the pioneering work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated that Kingian Nonviolence is the sustainable solution to injustice and violence in our world...” Click here to learn more about the struggle to create Dr. King’s holiday. Click on the book jackets below to be taken to catalog links.
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom, 1958
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
Last Modified January 22, 2025