Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. He chose this location, in part, to honor President Abraham Lincoln, “a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today.” Now, millions honor King in the same way.
On the third Monday of January, close to King’s January 15th, federal, state and local governments, institutions and various industries commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. they recognize the day. For some, a vacation is just that: a break from work or school. But King’s family and others who carry on his legacy of equality, justice and nonviolent protest want Americans to remember that this holiday is about helping others.
Although it is now a long-standing tradition, the establishment of the holiday had a long and difficult road to acceptance.
The idea to establish a national holiday for the civil rights icon came about when the nation was mired in grief. US Democrat Representative John Conyers of MichiganA member of Congress, known for his liberal stance on civil rights, proposed legislation to recognize King outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, four days after his death on April 4, 1968.
Followers knew it wasn’t going to be easy. King, who was 39 at the time, was a polarizing figure for half the country even before his death, said Lerone Martin, Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Directors of the Research and Education Institute. According to polls by the Washington Post and the New York Times, most Americans did not trust King or thought he was too radical because of his speeches against poverty, housing and the Vietnam War.
“People say King is going too fast after 1965 and basically, ‘Hey, you got the Voting Rights bill done. That’s enough,'” Martin said.
The Congressional Black Caucus, founded by Conyers, tried to bring the legislation to a vote for the next 15 years. Rebuttals to Republicans include – holidays don’t apply to private citizens, whether King was a communist, or whether King was a womanizer. Meanwhile, his widow, Coretta Scott King, continued to lobby. Musician Stevie Wonder even released a song called “Happy Birthday” to rally support.
So what has changed?
In the 1980s, the social and cultural climate in the US was changing and the public was thinking about racial progress, Martin said. Most Americans now regretted the Vietnam War. Supporters, on the other hand, were still demanding federal holiday status.
In 1983, about 20 years after King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr. Legislation for the day cleared Congress on the third Monday in January and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan’s signing did not lead other Republicans to follow suit. It would be another 17 years before all 50 states would observe it. Most of the foot drags came from the South, with the exception of Arizona. Then, in 1987, Governor Evan Mecham rescinded his predecessor’s executive order establishing a state holiday in Arizona.
“He said ‘Black people don’t need a holiday.’ You all need a job,’” Warren H. Stewart Sr. recalled. Dr., senior pastor of First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix. “That started the war.”
Stewart launched a team to lead “people of all colors and persuasions, faiths and parties” in protest marches. Wonder’s in-house entertainers canceled the Arizona events. Conventions were moved by companies. The tipping point was the loss of the Super Bowl host. In 1992, Arizona became the first state to restore the Royal holiday by voter initiative.
Fans took a victory lap the following MLK Day with a packed arena concert featuring Wonder and other artists. Rosa Parks was there too. Stewart remembers talking to people.
“What I said there – and it still applies today – we won the holiday, but the holiday is a symbol of freedom and justice for all and we have to move from the symbol to the substance,” he said.
South Carolina was the last holdout until 2000. But it was without the support of civil rights groups because it also allowed Confederate Memorial Day.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day’s reach has only grown in his 42 years.
It’s the only federal holiday where you get “a day, not a day off.” In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed legislation from Senators John Lewis and Harris Wofford making it a National Day of Service.
Almost every major city and neighborhood has a festival the weekend before, including parades, street festivals and concerts. The different service projects run the gamut: community cleaning, packing food boxes, donating blood.
AmeriCorps, the federal agency that deploys volunteers to serve communities across the nation, has awarded $1.5 million to 200 nonprofits, faith-based groups and other organizations for projects. CEO Michael Smith estimates there have been hundreds of projects involving hundreds of thousands of people on MLK Day in recent years. Engagement seems to be spreading.
“You know, every day I see another project that has nothing to do with us,” said Smith, who served in President Joe Biden’s administration. “What’s so important about the royal holiday is not just the service that will happen, but how it sparks people to think about how they’re going to serve the rest of the year.”
That’s what King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King and CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, also wants. He he wants people to do more than “quote King, what we like to do”. They must do a good job and make a daily commitment to “embrace the spirit of non-violence”.
Martin also thinks it’s important to get to know the man himself. He gets excited when people read or hear about the Nobel Peace Prize. But there’s nothing wrong with taking King’s writings, such as his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he added.
“We can arm ourselves with his ideals,” Martin said. “We can continue to have a conversation with him, not just one day, but throughout the year.”
