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Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968) addresses crowds during the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, where he gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)
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The third Monday in January is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The federal holiday is also the only federal holiday of service.
"Everybody can be great because everybody can serve," King said.
CNN
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January, although King was actually born on the 15th of January 1929, 94 years ago.
Coretta Scott King and musician Stevie Wonder fought for years to make it a federal holiday. Wonder told CNN that they started with tours and marches in the early 1980s. “And so our first march was in 1981, and we had another one in ’82, ‘83. And then ultimately the bill was signed by President Reagan.”
Below are some facts and numbers related to the federal holiday, in which Americans are encouraged to participate in a day of service.
“That’s all this whole thing is about. We aren’t engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people.”
From the King sermon delivered on the night of April 3, 1968, at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. Titled “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” it was his last speech.
Source: Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University
View this interactive content on CNN.com
View this interactive content on CNN.com
December 1, 1955 - The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott against segregated seating lasted approximately one year, starting December 1, 1955. This is what King said in his book, “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story”: We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.
Source: Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story by Martin Luther King, Jr.
February 4, 1968 - King encourages his congregation to seek greatness through service and love
“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve,” King said in his sermon “The Drum Major Instinct.” Coretta Scott King read the same statement when, in 1994, she asked congress to make the holiday an official national day of humanitarian service.
Source: Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University
April 8, 1968 - The first legislative bill to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) sponsored the bill to establish the federal holiday on April 8, 1968.
Source: National Archives; Congressional Record
1980 - Wonder calls for a day of remembrance
Wonder’s release of “Happy Birthday,” a song asking for a day “in full remembrance.”
Source: Billboard; Universal Music Group
November 2, 1983 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day becomes a national holiday
President Ronald Reagan signed the November 3, 1983, legislation, creating the national holiday, which started in 1986.
Source: Congressional Record; National Archives
January 20, 1986 - The very first national celebration
In proclaiming January 20, 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President Reagan wrote, “King’s activism was rooted in the true patriotism that cherishes America’s ideals and strives to narrow the gap between those ideals and reality.”
Source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum; US Government Publishing Office
August 23, 1994 - The holiday becomes a day of service
The holiday became a day of service on August 23, 1994, when President Bill Clinton signed the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.
Source: AmeriCorps; The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara
Central Press/Getty Images
A walk through history: It's probably the most iconic moment of our collective memory of Martin Luther King Jr. -- his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on August 28, 1963. Click through the gallery for photos of destinations where you can walk in MLK Jr.'s historical footsteps.
David Goldman/AP
Birth home (Atlanta): You can see the house where Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised. Other important King sites in Atlanta are nearby. While you're there, take a stroll and look at other beautifully restored homes in the Sweet Auburn and Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods.
CNN
Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta): This is a sign to sacred ground in Atlanta and for the civil rights movement.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta): King and his father were co-pastors at Ebenezer, which has been meticulously restored to how it appeared when they led their flock there in the 1960s.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Final resting place (Atlanta): Right by Ebenezer, you'll find the tombs of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
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National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis, Tennessee): MLK Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in 1968. Fittingly, the motel is now home to the National Civil Rights Museum.
Bob Miller/Getty Images
National Memorial for Peace and Justice (Montgomery, Alabama): The solemn memorial opened in 2018, and it has already attained must-see status for visitors to the capital of Alabama.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (Montgomery, Alabama): Here's a chance to see another church where MLK Jr. delivered stirring sermons back in the day. He was pastor here from 1954 to 1960, and it was from this building that he and his team made many of their important plans for the civil rights movement.
Beth J. Harpaz/AP
Dexter Parsonage Museum (Montgomery, Alabama): A tour group gathers in 2018 to see the house where King and his family lived while he served as pastor of Dexter. The house was bombed several times during his pastorship, but no one was injured during the attacks.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, Alabama): Alabama's largest city holds an important place in the civil rights movement, and the Civil Rights Institute has artifacts that King aficionados will want to see.
Al Drago/Getty Images
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial (Washington): On the National Mall, King's memorial is framed by blooming cherry trees on a gorgeous early April day in 2019.
AFP/Getty Images
Lincoln Memorial (Washington): Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" on August 28, 1963. The stirring words King delivered from these steps echo into today.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington): Water rains down from a cylindrical fountain as people visit the Contemplation Court at the museum. It's an ideal place to reflect on the dreams and goals that King had for his country.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Boston University (Boston): New England's largest city is where MLK Jr. and Coretta Scott met and courted. He attended Boston University, and she went to the New England Conservatory of Music. In this photo, she unveils a bas relief of her late husband at Mugar Memorial Library on the BU campus.
Josh Noel/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Getty Images
Bimini, Bahamas: King visited the mangrove swamps of Bimini to write in a quiet place, leading to a memorial in the swamps.
Rita Funk/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Cape Coast Castle (Ghana): King's first trip abroad was to Ghana to help the West African nation celebrate its independence from colonial rule in 1957. There, he saw sites such as the Cape Coast Castle, an important base for the Atlantic slave trade.
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Mani Bhavan (Mumbai, India): King drew much inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's effort to liberate India from British rule. During a tour of India, King visited Mani Bhavan, which served as Gandhi's Bombay headquarters for many years. It's now a museum.