I got this from WWW.History.com On MLk Day the entire nation pauses in remembrance of a civil rights hero. At least that is the intention of the federal holiday that takes place on the Third Monday of each January. MLK Day was designated to honor the activist And member assassinated in 1968 whose accomplishments have continued to inspire generations of Americans .

But though now the holiday is included in the United States federal calender And it affects countless offices schools businesses And other public And private spaces it was not always observed . The fight for a holiday in MLK Day honor was a epic struggle In And of itself.
King was the first moderate private citizen to be honored with a federal holiday And familiar with his non violent leadership of the civil rights movement it made sense to celebrate him.
But for others the suggestion that King a Black minister who was vilified during his life And gunned down when he was just 39 years old deserved a holiday was nothing short of incendiary.