Martin Luther King Day 2024: The Special Significance of This Year’s Civil Rights Holiday Date.
On January 15th, Americans unite to commemorate and pay tribute to the late civil rights champion, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Traditionally observed on the third Monday of January each year, this time around, the federal holiday aligns perfectly with the esteemed civil rights icon’s actual birthdate.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. tragically lost his life when he was assassinated while standing on the balcony of his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Just four days after this devastating event, legislation was put forward to establish King’s birthday as a federal holiday. Over a decade later, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed this legislation into law. The holiday is scheduled to coincide with the Uniform Holiday Act of 1968, which aims to provide extended weekends for several federal holidays, including Memorial Day and Labor Day, by ensuring they fall on a Monday.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, founded in 1968 by civil rights advocate and MLK’s spouse Coretta Scott King, announces an annual theme. For this year, the organization’s chosen theme is “Transforming the Cultural Landscape through the Study and Application of Kingian Nonviolence.” Additionally, the center holds an annual commemorative event on Martin Luther King Day. You can also catch a live stream of this year’s program, commencing at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta at 10 a.m. EST (9 a.m. CST), on YouTube.
