Celebrating ​The Importance of MLK Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Washington D.C. (Photo by Brian Kraus on Unsplash)

Growing up in India and Oman, I knew of this person named Martin Luther King who was famous in America because he fought for the rights of black people in the country. He gave speeches everywhere and the black community held him in high esteem. He did a lot of work to promote equal rights for black people in society. His famous speech was "I have a Dream"...then one day he was shot and the world mourned his loss. This is literally everything I knew about him/learned at school until I moved to the US at the age of 25. I expected more out of MLK Day in the US other than it being a holiday for government employees and a few people mentioning him on the news. This resulted in some reading up on him and his story to understand the true importance of MLK Day here in he U.S and globally. Here’s a note from contributor Shannon Luders-Manuel on this day and how people can learn more of his efforts and legacy…

National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta (Photo by Michael Barera on Creative Commons)

For many Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is just a three-day holiday celebrating a black man. They may know that Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in the civil rights movement, that he gave a famous speech called “I Have a Dream,” and that he was assassinated. Some, as witnessed in Jimmy Kimmel’s “Lie Witness News – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Edition,” know much less than that. So who was MLK, and why is this holiday so important?
 
My parents instilled in me the importance of Martin Luther King from a young age. My white mother bought me the early reader book Meet Martin Luther King, Jr., and my black father had me watch the PBS civil rights documentary Eyes on the Prize. But even I need brush-ups on what exactly this great man did. 
 
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister who organized the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was the first major protest in the civil rights movement. The boycott was in response to the Jim Crow laws, which separated blacks and whites in all common areas, including buses. Black passengers were relegated to the back of the bus, and many were required to stand for lack of room. Not giving up a seat was grounds for arrest.
 
King continued his activism, leading the March on Washington in 1963, at which he gave his famous speech to an audience of about 250,000 people. The march was instrumental in the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made segregation illegal in public places. All during his activism, King faced serious threats of death. He was incarcerated, segregationists bombed his home, and the FBI wiretapped his phone lines. In 1968, a man named James Earl Ray assassinated King while he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 
 
Ronald Reagan created Martin Luther King Jr. Day during his presidency, though it wasn’t officially observed in all 50 states until the year 2000. It is also observed in Hiroshima, Japan; is officially recognized in Toronto, Canada; and is celebrated in The Netherlands. 

Statue of Protester with Signage at National Civil Rights Museum in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee (Photo by Adam Jones, Ph.D from Wikimedia Commons)

Where to Learn More about King and Celebrate MLK Day

• Growing up, I celebrated Martin Luther King Day in San Francisco with my family. We participated in the parade/march, which still takes place today. Other events for the Martin Luther King J. Festival and Parade include a film festival, an arts festival, and a panel. 
• The Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated, was turned into a museum in 1991. The National Civil Rights Museum went through an enormous renovation in 2013 and 2014. Join them in Memphis for King Day 2019, where they will celebrate with performances and educational experiences for the whole family.  
• The largest Kingdom Day Parade is held in Los Angeles. The parade is televised and takes place partly on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Last year, Senator Kamala Harris (who is herself part black) acted as Grand Marshall. Other large parades take place in Dallas, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and San Diego, California.
• It’s only natural that Atlanta, Georgia, King’s birthplace, would have a center in honor of him. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) was established by his late wife, Coretta Scott King. The nonprofit has about a million visitors each year. They provide classes and events, and they recognize those who are advocating for change. They also have a library that contains the greatest number of original texts about King and the civil rights movement in the country.

Martin Luther King has been gone for 50 years, but it’s still easy to learn about this great man. This year, when you get to sleep in and relax, remember just why we celebrate. 
 
Shannon Luders-Manuel is a freelance writer and editor in Los Angeles, with bylines in The New York Times, Real Simple, and The New York Daily News, among others. She authored Being Biracial: Where Our Secret Worlds Collide: Educators' Guide.