The third Monday of every year celebrates Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr.’s peaceful protests, powerful speeches, and message of unity with community events throughout the nation on this day in commemoration of him.
According to an article about the honor of MLK Day, “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S. federal holiday marking the birthday of King. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King’s birthday, January 15. This year, the MLK Day of Service will be recognized on January 20” (goodfellow.af.mil).
According to an article about the history of MLK, “King came from a comfortable middle-class family steeped in the tradition of the Southern Black ministry: both his father and maternal grandfather were Baptist preachers. His parents were college-educated, and King’s father had succeeded his father-in-law as pastor of the prestigious Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta” (britannica.com).
According to National Geographic, “His first major role in the Civil Rights Movement came in 1955, after an African American woman – Rosa Parks – was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. This sparked outrage in the African American community and Martin helped to organise a boycott of the city’s buses. After 381 days of protest, a court finally ruled that such segregation laws should no longer be recognised” (nationalgeographic.com).
According to Teach for America, one can celebrate MLK day by engaging in community based service, educating oneself about King and the Civil Rights Movement, and by donating to civil rights organizations (teachforamerican.org).
On August 29, 1963, the march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom occurred. “A quarter-million people strong, the march drew activists from far and wide. Leaders of the six prominent civil rights groups at the time joined forces in organizing the march. Dr. King, originally slated to speak for four minutes, went on to speak for 16 minutes, giving one of the most iconic speeches in history: ‘I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.’ – I Have a Dream, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” (naacp.org).
According to Senior Kemyla Pollard, “Martin Luther King Jr. was an upstanding man who helped people of color fight to be free, and he was assassinated by someone who did not want him to make a change. What I do with that information is, I honor him on his birthday, and turn up for Martin Luther King Jr.. Although, I don’t know all of what he has gone through, I would still love to learn more. As a community, we like to put his poster up, to keep him in remembrance for all he has advocated for.”