MARTIN LUTHER KING
Congressman John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, first introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday four days after King was assassinated in 1968. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage.
The King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public to make it a paid holiday. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981.
Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 article in The Nation as "the largest petition in favor of an issue in U.S. history.
At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King.It was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986. The bill established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission to oversee observance of the holiday, and Coretta Scott King was made a member of this commission for life by United States President George H. W. Bush in May, 1989.
In 1990, Arizonans were given an opportunity to vote to observe an MLK holiday. McCain successfully appealed to former President Ronald Reagan to support the holiday. Prior to that date, New Hampshire and Arizona had not observed the day.
One place where this day is observed as important is in the Japanese city of Hiroshima under the mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, who holds special banquet at the mayor's office as an act of unifying his city's call for peace with King's message of human rights.
I wish the Inguration was today that would have been so fitting. He was a great man with a great purpose. There are others that use his name that dont have a great plan.Jesse Jackson comes to mind
ReplyDeleteIn this state, everything shuts down on MLK Day. I was surprised to read of a blogger in another state who had to get up at 4am to work in the high school cafeteria! There's no school here today, or mail delivery, or any government service. Who knew that this policy varies? Not I!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betty
Bobbie, I like that O has reflected Lincoln so much. I think he sees beyond the subterfuge and aspires to be the kind of trend setter that Lincoln was. I'm not slighting MLK at all, just looking at how broadly O looks at his job and the future as it relates to the past. The man knocks my sox off!
ReplyDeleteBetty, it is still a strangely viewed holiday. I don't know how it is determined who is closed and not. I personally think kids should be in school on this day (don't throw things at me!!
), but with the focus for the entire day to be on MLK, the history and progress of human rights in our country and around the world. To be honest, I'm stunned at times about how little kids today know of it.
I totally agree Lyn me and Mike were talking about that today
ReplyDeleteBobbie, good. many people out there to be admired, aren't there?
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of hearing people around here grouse about MLK and I bet you most of them don't even KNOW any of his speeches. They call him a hate-monger and a rabble rouser and he was about peaceful demonstrations, patterned after Mahatma Gandhi.
ReplyDeletePatti, yes, you're right. But you must remember that you live in the deep South, and while the surface is okey-dokey, there remains a definite and strong undercurrent of the Old South. Many people who were involved in the movement (on either side) are still alive and still in pain. For goodness sake, I can't get over how many rebel flags are still on poles and on trucks all over the US, but especially in the South. This man will hopefully change a lot, A LOT, of that!
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