Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Ep15

Weird, Wacky, and Traditional Holidays - Ep15 Show Notes

Today’s featured holiday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Let’s begin with a question asked by Dr. King: “Life’s most
persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for
others?”

Dr. King. asked this question of everyone in the United States and
beyond.

We’ll return to this question in a moment, but let’s first explore
how Dr. King’s birthday become a federal holiday despite fierce
opposition by some of our elected representatives.

Dr. King’s birthday ultimately became a federal holiday after his
death, but enacting the law was not an easy legislative effort A
bill was introduced in the House of Representative in 1979 by
Democratic Representative John Conyers of Michigan. Republican
Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts introduced the bill in the
Senate.

The bill was first debated in the House. While there was bipartisan
support from many Republicans and Democrats, the bill fell five
votes short of passage. Those who opposed the bill pointed to the
cost of creating another federal holiday and to historical
precedent that restricted naming federal holidays for private
citizens.

The King Center reached out to the corporate community and general
public. In 1980, singer Stevie Wonder released the song, “Happy
Birthday”. His song acted as an anthem for the movement to make Dr.
King’s birthday a federal holiday.

A nation wide petition was launched that gained six million
signatures. That was the largest number of people in history to
sign a petition advocating for federal legislation.

In 1983, a new bill to name Dr. King’s birthday a federal holiday
was filed. This time the bill sailed through the House of
Representative by 338 to 90. It also passed the Senate with 78 in
favor and 22 opposed. The legislation had strong bipartisan report
among Republicans and Democrats.

President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on November 2,
1983.

During the signing ceremony, Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King
said, “This is not a black holiday; it is a people’s holiday.” And
she was right.

Dr. King was all about service. That is why his birthday is
celebrated as a Day of Service. I encourage you to walk in Dr.
King’s spirit and find a charitable organization or worthy project
to dedicate time and money to.

I also encourage you to continue asking the same question voiced by
Dr. King: What are you doing - what am I doing - for others?”

If you enjoyed today's show, share this episode with friends and
family and on your social media. They’ll thank you for the
gift.

Tune into tomorrow’s show to learn all about, “National Religious
Freedom Day".

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This is your host, Stephen Carter, reminding you, this day is
special, and so are you. Have fun, smile, and take action to help
others today… and every day.