What’s happening this Monday, January 18, 2021?
The US will celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr on Monday, remembering all of the tremendous strides the activist led in promoting civil liberties for all Americans.
The US commemorates the birthday of American civil rights leader Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr and celebrates his life on January 18.
In 1963, King helped organize the March on , where he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
In October 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.
On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He died at the age of 39.
He delivered his remarks in front of over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
At the beginning of his speech, King made a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared millions of African American slaves free in 1863.
He said, "One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free."
Towards the end of his speech, King described his dreams of freedom and equality arising from a land of slavery and hatred, translating into the theme "I have a dream."
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," King said in 1963.
Who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr?
James Earl Ray was convicted of assassinating King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1969, Ray was convicted after entering a guilty plea, thus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentence.
He was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
He served 29 years of his sentence until he died on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70.
When did MLK Day become a federal holiday?
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law, and it was first recognized three years later.
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Some states resisted the holiday, attempting to co-opt its meaning by combining it with other holidays.
It was finally observed in all 50 states as a federal holiday in 2000.