What's open, what's closed?
By Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, is Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday commemorating the life and achievements of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
The day has also become a time when people in communities throughout the country participate in service events in their neighborhoods.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation designating every third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Day — commonly abbreviated as MLK Day.
Because MLK Day is a national holiday, some institutions and businesses are closed on Monday. Here’s a closer look at what’s open and what’s closed.
HE WAS a Christian minister and activist who led a groundbreaking civil rights movement - and gave African Americans the courage to speak up against injustice.
But Martin Luther King Jr.'s life was tragically cut short, when he was assassinated at age 39. Here we tell you everything you need to know about King, and how his life and work is remembered today.
Getty Images Martin Luther King Jr. was a leading figure in America's civil rights movement
When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an American federal holiday.
King was born in Atlanta on January 15 - and the holiday falls on the nearest Monday to this date.
Several cities and states began to mark the day in 1971, just three years after his death, and the date became an American federal holiday in 1986.
Hundreds of streets in the United States have been renamed in King's honour, as well as a whole county in Washington State.
Nearly 50 years after his death, King continues to inspire - and President Barack Obama famously asked for his bust to be placed in the Oval Office.
AP Pictured with his wife, Coretta, after leaving jail in 1956. King was found guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses, but a judge suspended his $500 fine following an appeal
Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
King was born in 1929 and became a Baptist minister and activist, who led a movement of nonviolent civil disobedience.
He led the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, where people took a stand against racial segregation by refusing to surrender their seats to white people.
The campaign lasted for a year, and was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks - who refused to give up her seat.
Getty Images King addresses a crowd of demonstrators at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
King organised several nonviolent protests and marches in the following decade.
He helped to organise the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream speech' and earned his reputation as one of he greatest public speakers in American history.
More of King's famous quotes include 'injustice is a threat to justice everywhere', and 'our lives begin to end the day we become silent on the things that matter'.
In 1964, King received a Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent fight against racial inequality.
Getty Images King arrives in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 - at the culmination of the Selma to Montgomery March. Pictured with Ralph Bunche, Coretta Scott King, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Hosea Williams (left-right)
In the final years of his life, King's focus changed to include a resistance to widespread poverty and the Vietnam War. The latter alienated many of his liberal allies.
In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington - called the Poor People's Campaign.
King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4 - and his death was followed by riots in many US cities.
He was shot by a single bullet fired by James Earl Day at 6pm, as he stood on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
King died an hour later at St Joseph's Hospital, and Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison - after pleading guilty to avoid receiving the death penalty.
Ray died in prison in 1998, when he was 70 years old.
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How is Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrated?
As Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday, civil servants and most school pupils get the day off. Some other companies also opt to have a paid holiday on MLK Day.
It's a day for religious services, educating the kids and looking back on how race relations have improved.
Over the years, it has evolved into a 'day of service' - when Americans are encouraged to volunteer and help those less fortunate.
The US financial markets will be closed for the day.
Google
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018 is the subject of the January 15, 2018 Google Doodle that honors the day celebrating the civil rights legend and his legacy of “justice, peace and reconciliation.”
“Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Baptist minister, Nobel Laureate, and civil rights activist who dedicated his life working tirelessly for peace, social justice, and opportunity for all Americans – irrespective of color or creed,” the Google Doodle notes.
King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, has explained how she sees the meaning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. “On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child,” she wrote in an essay published on the King Center’s website.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Federal Holiday Dates to the Ronald Reagan Era
It was President Ronald Reagan who officially made Martin Luther King Jr. day a national holiday. “On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor Dr. King,” reports Google. The day morphed into a day of service in honor of King’s life work.
“It was federally observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, and over 30 years later, the day is traditionally celebrated as a day of service, with people volunteering time and talent to help others, thus paying homage to Dr. King’s legacy,” Google notes. The day honors King’s birthday; he was born on January 15. However, it’s not always held on exactly that day as it falls on the third Monday of every January.
“This is not a black holiday; it is a people’s holiday,” Coretta Scott King said when the day was created. Time Magazine notes that the first efforts to create a national holiday fell short, although some states individually honored King with a day. “Coretta continued her fight for approval of a national holiday, testifying before Congress several more times and mobilizing governors, mayors and city council members across the nation to make the passage of a King-holiday bill part of their agenda,” Time reports. Eventually, her efforts succeeded.
2. Coretta Scott King Says the Day Honors Her Husband’s ‘Revolutionary Spirit’
In the essay posted on the King Center’s website, Coretta Scott King explains what the national holiday day means to her and what she hopes people take away from it. “The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America,” she wrote. “We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership.”
King’s widow added, “On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit. We commemorate Dr. King’s inspiring words, because his voice and his vision filled a great void in our nation, and answered our collective longing to become a country that truly lived by its noblest principles.”
Equality. Tolerance. Intercultural cooperation. These are just some of the values that King championed, his widow wrote. “We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America,” she said.
3. Dr. King, a Baptist Minister, Was Born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. King was born in an era of segregation and racism. According to Biography.com, “Born as Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The King and Williams families were rooted in rural Georgia.”
His grandfather was a minister and his family was sharecroppers in the South, the site notes, adding that King’s father also became a pastor and “adopted the name Martin Luther King Sr. in honor of the German Protestant religious leader Martin Luther” with his son doing the same.
“The King children grew up in a secure and loving environment. Martin Sr. was more the disciplinarian, while his wife’s gentleness easily balanced out the father’s more strict hand,” reports Biography.com, noting that King Jr. followed in his family’s religious footsteps after college. He married Coretta Scott in 1953, and they had four children together. By 1964, he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
4. Dr. King’s Legacy of Non-Violent Resistance in the Fight for Equality Helped Shape His Legacy as One of History’s Greatest Leaders
Dr. King advocated non-violence and his approach created “genuine progress” toward more equality in the United States. “During the less than 13 years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 until April 4, 1968, African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced,” the King Center notes in its biography of Dr. King.
“Dr. King is widely regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history,” the Center writes, adding that he was influenced by people like Mahatma Gandhi. “While others were advocating for freedom by ‘any means necessary,’ including violence, Martin Luther King, Jr. used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience to achieve seemingly-impossible goals,” writes the Center.
King’s “I have a dream” oration is one of the greatest and most moving speeches in world history. You can read a draft of it here. The Montgomery Bus boycott, his leadership in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, civil rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama, and his involvement in the “March on Washington” are among his signature moments. King was assassinated in 1969 at a Memphis motel.
5. The Google Doodle Was Designed to Show a Young Girl ‘Enthralled’ by the Words of Dr. King
The Google Doodle contains the stirring image of a child moved by the words of Dr. King. “Today’s Doodle by guest artist Cannaday Chapman was also developed in collaboration with the Black Googlers Network (BGN), one of the largest employee resource groups at Google,” noted Google.
“The image depicts a young girl perched on her father’s shoulders, enthralled by the power and eloquence of Dr. King’s words. The scene is evocative of Dr. King’s dream for children everywhere to one day live in a better world.”
Chapman told Google: “Martin Luther King Jr.’s message is especially relevant today and will be relevant for the remainder of civilization. Dr. King is most remembered for fighting for the rights of African Americans, but he fought for the rights of all Americans. He believed in fairness and equity for everyone. As a black man, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today if it wasn’t for him and the brave people of the civil rights movement.”
Arts Council of Princeton Day of Activities
The Arts Council of Princeton will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a day of live music, interactive workshops, and discussions as they relate to Dr. King’s life, teachings and civic engagement. The celebratory day will begin with a community Breakfast at 9 a.m., followed by hands-on activities for all ages.
Schedule:
Community Breakfast – Speakers: Princess Hoagland, Not in Town Princeton; Monique Jones, Princeton Public Schools; James Fields, Christian Union of Princeton. 9 a.m.
Art and history activities for all ages including open archive by the Historical Society of Princeton from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
First Baptist Church Choir performs 2 to 3 p.m.
Screening of Teach US All from 3 to 5 p.m. Teach Us All is a documentary and social justice campaign on educational inequality set against the backdrop of the 1957 Little Rock school crisis.
Hopewell Valley Scouts Host a Day of Service for All
Hopewell Valley Scouts will host a Martin Luther King Day of Service event from 9 a.m. to noon at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, which is located at 80 W Broad Street in Hopewell Borough. All are welcome – participants do not need to be Scouts. Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Activity stations will include native seed bombs, fleece blankets, baking and more. Donations of winter coats, canned goods and money will be accepted. Service and donations will benefit several local organizations including The Sourland Conservancy, Seeds to Sew, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Rescue Mission of Trenton and Mercer Street Friends.
West Windsor Day of Service
La Convivencia, the West Windsor Arts Council, and the African-American Parent Support Group are partnering to have their first MLK Day of Service. Families are invited to make personal care kits and decorate bags to donate to Arm In Arm families. Personal care items will be supplied. A great event for children, from pre-schoolers to teens. The aim of the event is to bring diverse communities together through service in order to build strong relationship and create the “Beloved and Inclusive Community” that Dr. King envisioned. Make it a day on, not a day off where everyone can be great because everyone can serve. 9 a.m. to noon, West Windsor Arts Council, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor.
Martin Luther King Day of Service at the Mapleton Preserve
Join Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands for an invigorating cleanup session, clearing small trees, brush, vines, and trash in the Mapleton Preserve. Come spend a winter afternoon outdoors, and discover the special joys of stewardship! Bring tools such as saws, clippers, loppers, and rakes. Work gloves, sturdy shoes, warm clothing and hats are a must. All are welcome. noon to 3 p.m. The entrance to the Mapleton Preserve is at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston. If approaching the Preserve from Rt. 27, the entrance is on the left, marked by a wooden sign for the D & R Canal State Park.
Trenton Music Makers Orchestra Concert
An open-door concert in honor of the Rec. Martin Luther King Jr. by the Trenton Music Makers Orchestra. 5:30 p.m., Lewis Center for the Arts, Lee Family Music Room, Princeton University.
Princeton Clergy Association Multifaith Service
Join the Princeton Clergy Association’s annual multi-faith Service to commemorate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 30 Green Street Princeton. Half of a free-will offering collected during the service will go toward the work of the Coalition for Peace Action. The other half will go to the United Negro College Fund. The service will include music from a range of faith traditions.The Rev. Robert Moore will give the sermon at the service. The public is welcome to attend.
