The Importance of MLK Day and How to Celebrate

Have you ever taken a minute to look into why you really have off from school on Martin Luther King Jr Day? On the third Monday of each year, MLK Day is celebrated as a federal holiday. However, it is so much more than just a day off from school or work. The importance of the holiday goes far back into history.

Almost all students know who Martin Luther King Jr. was and what he did for America. However, many are unaware of what the holiday is really about. “I wish that we were taught more about the importance of this holiday in school,” Lily Long, a graduate of Pennridge High School shared. It is necessary to fully understand MLK’s life in order to understand why the holiday is so significant.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. After growing up in Tennessee and spending some time in Connecticut working on a tobacco farm he noticed a major difference between the north and the south. The segregation in the south was much harsher than it was in the north. King noted how he was able to attend the same church as white people, which left him shocked. The seemingly peaceful coexistence between races in the north only fueled his hate towards segregation. He would go on to become a major leader in the American Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. He played a significant role in ending the segregation of African Americans in the south. From the years of 1957 to 1968 he traveled over 6 million miles and spoke to crowds over 2500 times.  MLK is best known for his “I Have A Dream,” speech that he gave in 1963. This speech became one of the most defining moments of the entire Civil Rights movement and is one of the most famous speeches in American history. After being fatally shot while standing on the balcony of his motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968, MLK’s legacy would go on to be remembered forever.

Instantly after MLK died, people were already calling for a national holiday to be put in place in honor of him and his life’s work. In 1970, some people began celebrating January 15, King’s birthday, as a holiday to commemorate him. Before this in 1968, the idea of making it a federal holiday was introduced to Congress but kept getting blocked for racial and political reasons. Finally, in 1983, Congress was able to pass legislation that made the third Monday in January a federal holiday that would honor MLK. The first time that the holiday was celebrated by the entire nation was in 1986.

So what exactly happens on MLK Day each year? There are many different types of celebrations that take place in King’s honor. In many of the major cities in the U.S., there are marches and parades. For those in Washington D.C., there is a peace walk and parade that all are welcome to. In Atlanta, Georgia there is an annual church service commemorating King at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. In Columbia, South Caroline there is a prayer service, march, and State House rally. San Antonio holds some of the largest marches for MLK Day. In 2018 the march had 300,000 people participating, making it the largest march in the nation. These cities are only some of the events that take place all over the country.

However, not everybody lives in a big city and is able to attend these large-scale events. Cheryl Archibascio, a resident of Perkasie, Pennsylvania said, “It upsets me that there aren’t any large celebrations that take place in this little town.” It can be hard to sit back and watch when you want to be actively involved. There are plenty of other ways to celebrate MLK on this day, even in your small town. You can use the day off as a day of service. Volunteering in one way or another in your community is a great of honoring everything that MLK stood for. Another thing that you can do is support black-owned businesses in your area. King dedicated his entire life to giving African Americans basic human rights. Although you should always be supporting black-owned

businesses, doing so on MLK Day is a good way to honor his legacy.

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day think about how you can get involved and spend part of your day commemorating a man who played a major part in bettering America and the lives of African Americans.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/

https://nationaltoday.com/martin-luther-king-jr-day/

https://mlkholidaydc.org/

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/us/mlk-events-across-the-us/index.html