January 20 marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the federal holiday that honors the life and legacy of the American civil rights icon who was assassinated in 1968.
The holiday didn’t come together seamlessly. Efforts from King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, lawmakers, activists and others took years.
Here’s what you need to know about how Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a holiday.
When is MLK Day 2025?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be observed on Jan. 20, 2025.
This year, the inauguration falls on the same day.
The holiday is observed each year on the third Monday of January, and the commemoration is the only federal holiday that is “designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities,” according to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
How did Martin Luther King Jr. Day become a holiday?
Former U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation to create a federal holiday honoring King on April 8, 1968, just four days after the civil rights leader’s assassination.
Over the next decade, support for the holiday would swell across the country, and several states, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Connecticut, would enact statewide holidays honoring King.
Conyers spent years reintroducing the federal legislation, with support from lawmakers in the Congressional Black Caucus. And in 1979, on what would have been King’s 50th birthday, the bill came up in the House, but it failed by five votes.
The fight to create the holiday didn’t stop at the narrow vote. Coretta Scott King and others campaigned for the holiday and rallied the public.
King would testify before Congress multiple times. She and singer Stevie Wonder, who released his song “Happy Birthday” in support of enacting the holiday, delivered a petition in favor of the holiday with over 6 million signatures in 1982.
The House ultimately approved the holiday in 1983, and though the push to create the commemoration faced some opposition in the Senate, former President Ronald Reagan signed it into law later that year.
When was Martin Luther King Jr. Day first celebrated?
The first national holiday honoring King was celebrated in 1986.
But it took longer than that for states across the country to adopt the holiday, including fights in Arizona, South Carolina and elsewhere, according to the National Constitution Center. The holiday has been recognized in each state since 2000.
When did Martin Luther King Jr. Day become a holiday in Texas?
Texas officially recognized MLK Day in 1991. Today, it remains the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, encouraging all Americans to volunteer and contribute to their communities.
Why is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January?
The holiday recognizes King’s birthday, January 15.
But Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which former President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law in 1968. It originally designated three federal holidays, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and former President George Washington’s birthday, to be marked on Mondays.
So even though the anniversary of King’s birthday falls on a Sunday, it’s commemorated on Monday like the other holidays under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
What role did music play in getting Martin Luther King Jr. Day to become a holiday?
According to the National Constitution Center, in 1981, Stevie Wonder released “Happy Birthday to You,” making a powerful political and social statement that helped alter U.S. history. The musical genius wrote the song to urge and shame lawmakers and voters to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a national holiday. Until then, there wasn’t a clear majority of lawmakers ready to support the vote needed to establish the holiday.
-USA TODAY Network contributed to this report.
