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| Text on Button | JANUARY 15, 1982 Martin Luther King NATIONAL HOLIDAY MARCH WASHINGTON, D.C. |
| Image Description | White text on a dark blue background |
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| Additional Information | On January 15, 1982, 50,000 people marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol in freezing temperatures to honor the birth and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. This particular march took place before the government recognized King's birthday as a federal holiday. Meanwhile, civil rights activists were continuing their fight to get the day memorialized by the federal government. After King's assassination on April 4, 1968, his birthday was honored with civil rights marches, parades, and speeches. Several states and cities started to mark King's birthday as a holiday and gave employees the day off to remember the civil rights leader. Republican opposition blocked the creation of a federal holiday in honor of King for fifteen years. They claimed private citizens were ineligible to receive a federal memorial holiday, and accused King of having ties with the Communist party. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill, declaring the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. |
| Sources |
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. (2024, August 18). In Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. (n.d.). The 15 year battle for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/15-year-battle-martin-luther-king-jr-day The Associated Press. (1982, January 16). In snow and icy winds, a nation honors Dr. King. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/16/us/in-snow-and-icy-winds-a-nation-honors-dr-king.html |
| Catalog ID | EV0981 |