Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a United States federal holiday in 1983, and first observed nationwide on January 20, 1986.

Key dates

  • Holiday established: Congress passed legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday in 1983.
  • First national observance: The holiday was first celebrated federally on January 20, 1986, the third Monday in January that year.
  • All 50 states: Every U.S. state did not formally recognize the holiday by name until 2000.

How it was established

  • After Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, supporters pushed for a national holiday in his honor, and a bill was first introduced in Congress that same year.
  • The proposal faced years of political resistance and debate over cost, symbolism, and whether another federal holiday was needed.
  • In 1983, both houses of Congress finally approved the bill by wide margins, and President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on November 2, 1983.

What the holiday represents

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors King’s leadership in the civil rights movement, especially his advocacy of nonviolent protest against racial segregation and discrimination.
  • It is observed on the third Monday in January, close to King’s actual birthday of January 15, and is now widely promoted as a day of community service and civic engagement.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.