Martin Luther King Day
Description:
Black priest and civil rights activist Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His great-grandfathers were slaves, his grandfather was a peasant, but King’s father was already a priest, and after receiving a doctorate in theology at Boston University in Massachusetts, he returned to his native South and became a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama.
King’s era of leadership began in December 1955 with one seemingly unremarkable event. Returning home from work, black seamstress Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. Under King’s leadership, the Negro community boycotted Montgomery’s transportation for 382 days. In November 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Alabama segregation law unconstitutional, and in December, blacks and whites shared buses.
It was King's first victory. In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Over the course of 11 years, King has travelled more than seven million kilometers, giving a speech more than 2,500 times, constantly finding himself in places of protest, action and the fight against injustice. He has written five books and many articles. While leading a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, King was arrested and jailed for nine days, where he wrote a series of his famous essays, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," a kind of anti-discrimination manifesto arguing for a person's moral right to speak out against unjust laws. He registered black voters in Alabama, co-organized a half-million peaceful march on Washington that culminated in King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, one of Luther King’s most cited speeches.
King’s role in the nonviolent struggle to pass a law that wiped out remnants of racial discrimination was awarded the Nobel Prize. At 35, he became the youngest laureate in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The world has recognized the enduring value of Martin Luther King's contribution to peace. But it wasn’t until 15 years after his death, in 1983, that the U.S. Congress constitutionally recognized the importance of his legacy, declaring the third Monday in January a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday. It was first celebrated by the American people on January 20, 1986.
On this day, schools, offices, post offices and banks are closed. All TV channels broadcast videos of performances from the 60s. From the radio receivers are heard statements of the leaders of the movement for equal civil rights. On Sunday, small sermons are given in churches. On Monday, memorial services and exquisite ceremonies are held to commemorate King's life dedicated to the struggle for peace. And young moms and dads tell their children a fairy tale about Martin, the “apostle of militant nonviolence,” who did so much to make America known today as a land of freedom and equality.