Martin Luther King Jr. day is celebrated on January 16th during 2017, which is around the time of his birthday. The special holiday honors and celebrates the life of Martin Luther King Jr. who was the main leader of the Civil Rights Movement that ended racial segregation in America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a wonderful and supportive family. He also had a few medals that awarded his accomplishments, many other awards and one of his many speeches became well known.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was a very important man in America during the 1950s and 1960s. Being the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, he also played a very important role in the history of America. He fought to make rights equal between all Americans, which meant ending the segregation between the people. The Civil Rights Movement served to make all Americans equal and not separate. Before 1954, which was when segregation in public schools was outlawed, there was a saying “separate but equal” which was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act outlawed all segregation in every state across America.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a wonderful and supportive family. He had a wife named Coretta Scott King, and four children. Coretta and Martin’s children’s names were, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, Yolanda Denise King, and Bernice Albertine King. Finally, King had two siblings named Christine and Alfred. His parents were Alberta and Martin Luther King Sr.
In his lifetime, which was cut short in 1968, King achieved many accomplishments for his work. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at 35 years old. Martin Luther King Jr. was also Time magazine’s “Man of The Year” in 1963. King also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Because he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, his wife, Coretta King, received the awards on behalf of her husband.
In short, Martin Luther King Jr. day serves to honor and celebrate a man who helped shape America into what it has become today. He was the main leader in the Civil Rights Movement and helped end segregation among Americans. Because of his hard work, he earned many awards for his accomplishments, including an entire day to honor and celebrate his life and accomplishments.
Image from: http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086