Why We Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday

Eddie Mae Herron Center celebrates MKL day on the official holiday, when schools are closed, and the community comes out to march with us. The holiday highlights the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta; he was assassinated for his beliefs on April 4, 1968 in Memphis.

During the less than thirteen years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, (December 1955 until April 4, 1968), African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced. Dr. King is widely regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history. He is a hero for all Americans not just for African Americans.

The struggle to get a federal holiday to celebrate the life of Dr. King began shortly after his death in 1968. It wasn’t an easy task for supporters, who had to push hard in Congress to get the federal holiday created. The fight to get his birthday recognized as a federal holiday in 1983 had taken 32 years; and it took another 17 years, until 2000 before all 50 states finally recognized it and made it a state government holiday as well.

Most people know that Martin Luther King Jr. stood for equality of all people, regardless of color. But he stood for much more. He stood for education, he stood for character, he stood for non-violence; he stood for faith in humanity, and he stood for taking a stand for what you know is right. He taught us that every single person is of value, regardless of class, race, religion, national origin, degrees, or pedigrees.

Now that he is gone, we are left only with the eloquence of his words that continue to guide us as we strive to become a better people.

“For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.”

—“I've Been to the Mountaintop” speech, April 3, 1968

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

—Oberlin College commencement speech, 1965

So, this day means a lot to us. Today, the King holiday honors the legacy of King; it focuses on the issue of civil rights; it highlights the use of nonviolence to promote change; and it also calls people to public service.

We see that a good person with a vision to help others and to right obvious wrongs can make a difference in our country. We encourage people to not just consider this as “another day off” from work or school, but to think about what Dr. King meant to all of us. The holiday should be a call to us all to volunteer to improve our communities.

King embodied for us all the “struggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity,"   Remember, the struggle isn't finished. Come walk with us and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.