Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

 in the United States, holiday (third Monday in January) honouring the achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. (King, Martin Luther, Jr.) A Baptist minister who advocated the use of nonviolent means to end racial segregation, he first came to national prominence during a bus boycott by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and led the 1963 March on Washington. The most influential of African American civil rights leaders during the 1960s, he was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, facilities, and employment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

      Almost immediately after King's death, there were calls for a national holiday in his honour. Beginning in 1970 a number of states and cities made his birthday, January 15, a holiday. Although legislation for a federal holiday was introduced in Congress as early as 1968, there was sufficient opposition, on racial and political grounds, to block its passage. In 1983 legislation making the third Monday in January a federal holiday finally was passed, and the first observance nationwide was in 1986. The day is usually celebrated with marches and parades and with speeches by civil rights and political leaders.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1964 Official name Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Observed by U …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day — ˌMartin ˌLuther ˌKing ˈJr. Day 7 [Martin Luther King Jr. Day] noun a national holiday in the US on the third Monday in January to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was active in the struggle to win more rights for Black… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. — Martin Luther King and MLK redirect here. For other uses, see Martin Luther King (disambiguation) and MLK (disambiguation). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King Day — Martin Luther King, Jr. le 26 mars 1964. Autre nom Day of Service Observé par …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Martin Luther King III — in New York City, in 2007. Born October 23, 1957 (1957 10 23) (age 54) Montgomery, Alabama …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. — Martin Luther King (1964) Martin Luther King, Jr. (* 15. Januar 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia; † 4. April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee) war ein US amerikanischer Baptistenpastor und Bürgerrechtler. Er zäh …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King, jr. — Martin Luther King (1964) Martin Luther King, Jr. (* 15. Januar 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia; † 4. April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee) war ein US amerikanischer Baptistenpastor und Bürgerrechtler. Er zäh …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King Jr. — Martin Luther King (1964) Martin Luther King, Jr. (* 15. Januar 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia; † 4. April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee) war ein US amerikanischer Baptistenpastor und Bürgerrechtler. Er zäh …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King jr. — Martin Luther King (1964) Martin Luther King, Jr. (* 15. Januar 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia; † 4. April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee) war ein US amerikanischer Baptistenpastor und Bürgerrechtler. Er zäh …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King (disambiguation) — Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968) was a minister and Civil Rights activist. Martin Luther King may also refer to: Martin Luther King, Sr., Baptist minister Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a former head of the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”