African-American History

If you thought getting Dr. King's birthday declared a national holiday was easy, think again. Below, from the The King Center website, is a breakdown of events leading up to the signing of the King Holiday declaration into law.

April 8, 1968 - Four days after Dr. King is assassinated, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) introduces first legislation providing for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday.

April, 1971 - Petitions gathered by SCLC bearing 3 million signatures in support of King Holiday are presented to Congress. But Congress takes no action to move holiday legislation forward.

1973 - First state King Holiday bill (sponsored by then Assemblyman Harold Washington) signed into law in Illinois.

1974 - Massachusetts, Connecticut enact statewide King Holidays.

1975 - New Jersey State Supreme Court rules that state must provide a paid holiday in honor of Dr. King in accordance with the state government's labor contract with the New Jersey State Employees Association.

November 4, 1978 - National Council of Churches calls on Congress to pass King Holiday.

1979 - Mrs. King testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee and before joint hearings of Congress in behalf of the King Holiday. She directs King Center staff to begin intensive organizing of a nation-wide citizens lobby for a national Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. King Center launches new nation-wide King Holiday petition campaign, which is signed by more than 300,000 before end of year. President Carter calls on Congress to pass national King Holiday. Energized by a grass roots "prairie fire," The King Holiday bill finally begins to move through Congressional committees.

November, 1979 - King Holiday bill is defeated in floor vote in U.S. House of Representatives.

1980 - Stevie Wonder releases "Happy Birthday," a song celebrating Dr. King and urging a holiday in his honor. It becomes a hit and a rallying cry for the holiday.

November, 1980 - Holiday bill is defeated again, but only by 5 votes.

1981 - King Center mobilizes coalition to lobby for the holiday. Stevie Wonder funds holiday lobbying office and staff based in Washington, D.C.

February 23, 1982 - Mrs. King testifies in support of the Holiday before the Subcommittee on Census and Population of the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.

1982 - Mrs. King and Stevie Wonder present King Center petitions bearing more than 6 million signatures in support of King holiday to Tip O'Neil, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

August, 1983 - The House of Representatives passes King Holiday Bill sponsored by Reps. Katie Hall (D.-IN) and Conyers by a vote of 338 to 90.

August 27, 1983 - King Center convenes the "20th Anniversary March on Washington," in which more than 750,000 demonstrators at the Lincoln Memorial called on the U.S. Senate and President Reagan to pass the King Holiday.

October 19, 1983 - Holiday Bill sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.) passes U.S. Senate by a vote of 78-22.

November 3, 1983 - President Reagan signs bill establishing the 3rd Monday of every January as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday.

August 27, 1984 - President Reagan signs legislation providing for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission.

January 20, 1986 - First national King Holiday Observed.

January 16, 1989 - Number of states which have legislated a MLK holiday grows to 44.

1990 - The United Auto Workers negotiate contracts with the big three auto companies requiring a paid holiday for all their employees.

January 15, 1990 - The Wall Street Journal reports that only 18 % of 317 corporate employers surveyed by the Bureau of National Affairs provide a paid King Holiday.

November 3, 1992 - After a coalition of citizens for an Arizona King Holiday launches successful protest and boycott campaigns, the people of Arizona pass referendum establishing Martin Luther King, Jr. state holiday.

January, 1993 - Arizona observes first statewide King holiday, leaving only New Hampshire without a state holiday in honor of Dr. King.

August 23, 1994 - President Clinton signs the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act, expanding the mission of the holiday as a day of community service, interracial cooperation and youth anti-violence initiatives.

1996 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission concludes mission, transfers responsibility for coordinating nationwide holiday activities to The King Center

1998 - A Bureau of National Affairs survey of 458 employers found that 26 percent provide a paid holiday for their workers on the King Holiday. The survey found that 33 percent of firms with union contracts provided the paid King Holiday, compared to 22 percent of nonunion shops.

June 7, 1999 - Governor Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire signs the King Holiday legislation into law, completing enactment of holiday in all states.

October 29, 1999 - U.S. Senate unanimously passes legislation requiring federal institutions to fly the U.S. flag on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.