Past Displays - Books: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, protesting racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society with speeches, marches, and gatherings. In 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial equality through nonviolent resistance, and he began to turn his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War, as well. Throughout the late 1960s, several civil rights laws were passed by the United States Congress, attempting to realize King's "dream" of racial equality, but the leader was tragically assassinated in April 4, 1968, causing a state of national mourning and anger. King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2003. Every year, the third Monday of January honors King, whose actual birthday is January 15. Though the holiday was first observed in 1986, the campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. His legacy continues to be honored each year as a federal holiday, as well as at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.