On This Day in History: Martin Luther King Day Bill Signed in 1983

From the African American Registry

The official holiday, on the third Monday of January, began in 1986. It was the first new American holiday since 1948, when Memorial Day was created.

Also it was only the second national holiday in the twentieth century (the other was Veterans Day). King is the only American besides George Washington to have a national holiday designated for his birthday (those of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee and others are celebrated in some states but not nationwide).

Internationally, King was one of the few social leaders of any country to be honored with a holiday (Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday is observed in India). Such standing by a member of a country’s racial minority is almost unheard of. Usually, the honor is reserved for military or religious figures. When President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating the holiday, it marked the end of a persistent, highly organized lobbying effort across the nation that lasted 15 years.

It took bipartisan support to overcome the opposition of Sen. Jesse Helms, R-North Carolina, who called King a Communist, and President Reagan’s lukewarm feelings toward the legislation….

[R]esponding to criticism that the holiday would be too close to the Christmas/New Year’s week, its observance [was moved] to the third Monday of the month. The notion of a three-day weekend, plus the fact that the third Monday (at the time) followed Super Bowl Sunday, helped push the measure through.

Read more.

Discover more Black history.

More breaking news.