Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today, Monday, January 15, 2018. In observance of the holiday, government offices, both state, local, and federal, will be closed. Many school systems will also be closed, including Jefferson County Schools. Banks and other organizations that operate on a federal holiday schedule will not be open for service as the country remembers the contributions of Dr. King.

King, who was born in Georgia on January 15, 1929, is considered one of the most pivotal individuals in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1963, Dr. King gave the now famous I Have a Dream speech during the March on Washington. That speech became the talking point of the Civil Rights Movement and one of the most recognized orations in the history of the United States, cementing King’s legacy. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. Though independent celebrations were hosted in his honor, in 1986 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became a federal holiday.