Today is the federal holiday to honor the birthday of the late civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The holiday is observed annually on the third Monday in January, and became federal law in 1983 with the signing by President Ronald Reagan.
Despite the signing by the President, which went into effect in 1986, it was not until the year 2000 that all 50 states observed the holiday.
King was the chief spokesperson for non-violent activism during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.
The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in Memphis in 1968.
Dr. King was born on January 15th of 1929 in Atlanta, and would have been 95 years old today.
