MLK Day 2019: Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Jr: March on Washington

Today, Monday, 21 Jan 2019, is Martin Luther King Day, commonly abbreviated as MLK Day, a federal holiday commemorating the life, times, and accomplishments of the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), who was assassinated on April 4, 1968.  


This day has become a time when people in various communities throughout the country participate in service events in their neighborhoods.


After initial hesitation, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan reluctantly signed legislation designating every third Monday in January MLK Day.   MLK Jr. was a civil rights leader whose work established much of the freedoms we enjoy today.  He was the example that most serious non-violent, direct action civil rights leaders aspire to.

Members of the African Diaspora who live in the US should use the occasion of the MLK Day to establish or deepen the bonds between Africans and Black Americans.