Signed Into Law In 1983 But Not Observed By All States Until 2000.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King’s birthday, January 15th. The floating holiday is set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
King was the main spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, successfully protesting racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. In the beginning some states resisted observing the holiday calling it other names or combining it with another holiday. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
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