Today is a national and state holiday honoring the Civil Rights Movement icon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Banks, government offices, post offices, most schools, and many businesses will be closed today in observance of the holiday.
King was born in Atlanta on October 15, 1929. In 1955 he was the new pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church just a block from Alabama Capitol Building in Montgomery. King ignited the Civil Rights Movement when Rosa Parks was arrested for failing to surrender her seat to a White man on a Montgomery bus – then the law in Montgomery and many southern cities.
King responded to Parks’ arrest by launching the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Black people, at the urging of King and the NAACP, refused to ride the buses, bringing the bus system to its knees. Eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government buses could not discriminate on the basis of race.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott made King a national celebrity. He and like-minded Black ministers formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to urge non-violent protest to fight discrimination and for social justice. King was the SCLC’s first president. When Alabama State Troopers attacked voting rights marchers in Selma, King went to Selma and led a new march that went all the way to Montgomery, protesting for voting rights. He was beaten, jailed, and his life threatened repeatedly for his bold activism. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination in the United States and the Jim Crow laws that had been on the books for generations in southern states. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for his work. He was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. He was only 39.
King’s “I have a Dream” speech that he made at the Civil Rights March in Washington D.C., was highly influential at the time and is quoted frequently today.
King Jr. is easily the most well-known and celebrated civil rights leader in American history, though many people were involved in the movement.
President Ronald Reagan signed legislation making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday.
On Monday, at 1:00 p.m. CST, Congresswoman Terri Sewell will host a “TerriTalks” virtual discussion entitled “Carrying the Torch Forward: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Sewell will be joined by King’s son, global human rights activist Martin Luther King III. The conversation will focus on the legacy of Dr. King and the struggle for racial equality and voting rights that continues to this day. It will be streamed live on Sewell’s official Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. Sewell is the first Black woman to represent Alabama in the United States Congress.
There are a number of prayers, breakfasts, and other events today across the state honoring Dr. King and his legacy.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is hosting a whole day of activities beginning at 10:00 am CST. Visit their website for more information or to buy tickets.
Alabama celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Robert E. Lee Day on the same day. Lee, a noted Confederate general, was born on January 19. This angers some in the civil rights movement.
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