Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday falling on the third Monday of every January. This year Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 20, 2020, marks the 25th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. King was assassinated in April 1968 on a motel balcony in Memphis. On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill marking the third Monday of every January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. King was born on Jan. 15, 1929. The holiday was approved as a federal holiday in 1983, becoming the first federal holiday honoring an African American. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. The Corporation for National and Community service has been charged to lead this effort for the last quarter century.
A few things you may not know about MLK.
~The civil rights activist was born Michael King Jr on January 15, 1929. ~When Martin Luther King Jr received a Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence, he was just 35 years old, the youngest man at the time to do so. ~The civil rights leader was arrested 29 times and assaulted four times. ~From 1957 to 1968, King traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over 2,500 times. ~King was awarded 20 honorary degrees and was named ‘Man of the Year’ by Time magazine. ~There are approximately 900 streets named after MLK in the US, and over 70% in Southern States. ~His mother was also murdered by a gunman.
