Why do we commemorate Martin Luther King
Jr. Day?
On the third Monday of January people in the U.S. celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day to remember one of the great heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Shortly after the day that he died people asked the federal government to create a national holiday in his honor. The federal government initially refused to make King’s birthday a holiday. In 1970 some states and cities began to commemorate January 15th, his birthday, as a holiday. Finally, in 1983 the federal government made the third Monday of January a national holiday. The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day was commemorated in 1986. This year, 2007, the third Monday of January is on the 15th which also happens to be his birthday.
Why do we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day? We celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day to remember King and to honor his memory. He spoke out against segregation, discrimination, and hate. Also, he stood up for African-American and poor people. We should remember that there still is discrimination, hate, and poverty in our society today. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day children in the MCCSC School District have the day off so to honor King’s memory it is good to do community service. Usually, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day my family and I participate in a program organized by Congregation Beth Shalom and The Unitarian Universalist Church in which people pack goodie bags with food and games for children in the Shalom Center Homeless Shelter.
http://bert.lib.indiana.edu:2127/eb/art-90738?articleTypeId=1
Links to the rest of my website:
Martin Luther King Jr. Biography
Other People who participated in the Civil Rights Movement