Cover of Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was the man who behind much of the African-American civil rights movement. He is the person who led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and delivered the well-known "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
(Image found on Google Images.)
Sadly, he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968.
The US federal holiday was first observed in 1986, meant to coincide with King's birthday on January 15th. But despite being signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1983 it was only observed--by all 50 states--in 2000.
So, for those of you in the USA (and, according to Wikipedia, Hiroshima, Japan and Toronto, Canada) have a great holiday--and remember the man that it is meant to honor.
-----The Golden Eagle
27 comments:
what a great holiday. Have a wonderful day!
It is sometimes easy to forget the real reason behind our holidays. Thanks for the reminder!
Nice post. I didn't know about Hiroshima and Toronto. Thanks.
Wonderful post and tribute.
I hope people don't forget the true reason why we have a holiday today.
Great tribute to someone who made a real difference to people's lives and society as a whole. :O)
I did not know MLK was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Learn something new every day. Thanks!
Today I learned that he was actually a genius.
Happy Dr. King day. He's one of my heros.
Jai
Took that long for all fifty states to adopt the holiday? I wonder who was last?
Super tribute. Loved reading it. :)
You taught me some things today.
Nice tribute golden.
Great news... I finally finished my WIP last night. It took another 7600 words to finish the story... Me and a few friends are doing the happy dance at my blog. Hop over for a good laugh....
Thanks for all the support and cheers...
MIchael
This is a brilliant day to celebrate and a wonderful man to honour!!! A true hero. I think in the current toxic political climate, it's worth remembering how one man was able to change society not through hate or vitriol but through intelligent debate and humanity.
Take care
x
Interesting how it took until 2000 for all fifty states to observe the holiday. It's that little bit of trivia that gets the wheels in my writing brain going. Thanks for sharing and observing with all of us!
I am not from the US. But King was truly a great man who deserves to be honoured.
A fitting tribute to an extraordinary human being.
Wow, Hiroshima and Toronto? Just those two cities? And it really took until 2000 for all the states to celebrate MLK Day? It's hard to believe that it took them well into my lifetime to all accept it. Great post! =)
Great tribute and wonderful reminder.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Thanks for this lovely post. I'm inclined to find out why Hiroshima and Toronto--that's fascinating.
Wonderful post! I learned something new about a great man. Thanks! :D
I've never read a biography of him, well other than encyclopedia type entries. I should.
Happy MLK day! I did a similar post yesterday. He inspires me so much.
I always think it ironic - and sad - that it's always the good people who are assassinated.
Thank you for the reminder of a wonderful man.
This is a meaningful tribute of a man with so much legacy and inspiring vision.
Emily: Thanks! I hope you did, too. :)
Lisa: There's so much energy around the holiday, but not the people, a lot of the time.
You're very welcome!
Carol: Thank you!
I didn't, either, until I read the Wikipedia article.
Lydia: Thank you for the compliment. :)
I hope so, too.
Madeleine: Thank you!
He really did.
Stephen: Neither did I, until I--again--read the Wikipedia article. :P
You're welcome!
Clarissa: Of the highest order. :)
Jai: He was an amazing person!
Alex: Yup. Kind of surprising, isn't it?
I don't know . . . hang, on I just looked it up. One article said that SC was the last state to recognize it as a paid holiday.
Robyn: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the read.
I did, too, researching Martin Luther King, Jr. for this post.
Michael: Thanks! :)
Congrats, congrats, congrats! *happy dances some more out of celebration* That's awesome!
Old Kitty: I definitely agree!
Mary: Trivia intrigues me, too.
You're welcome! I enjoy spreading the word about little things that people might find interesting. :)
Misha: I agree--he did so much, he deserves to be honored!
Wendy: He was such an impressive figure.
Amanda: Indeed, it did take them that long.
Thank you!
Mason: Thanks! :)
Tricia: You're very welcome.
It explains in the Wikipedia link I posted. :)
Brenda: Thank you for the compliment!
You're welcome!
Charles: Well, encyclopedia articles can be informative all by themselves--but it's true that a biography will give you a lot of details that an article will not.
Pk: I saw your post! It was wonderful. :)
Sangu: I know. People like Martin Luther King, Jr. do so much . . . and could have done so much more if only they hadn't died.
Talli: You're quite welcome. :)
Jen: Thank you!
It is kind of sad that it took them so long . . .
You're welcome!
Paul: Thank you--that means a lot to me. Being meaningful when it comes to posts like this really matters.
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