Martin Luther King Jr. Day history celebrated with service, optimism

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

On Monday, Jan. 18, 1993, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.

This year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated on Monday, with several events planned across Utah and around the nation. It has become a national day of service. This year it is also Inauguration Day in the United States.

The history

According to historical accounts, King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, and on April 8 of that same year, a the proposed bill was reportedly put forward by former Democratic Michigan Congressman John Conyers, “to create a holiday in King’s honor.”

While there was support for the bill, not just in the U.S. but around the world, it would take years of Conyers “reintroducing the legislation annually with the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, which he helped found.”

On Nov. 2, 1983, then President Ronald Reagan signed the bill named the “King Holiday Bill” that forevermore set the third Monday in January as a federal holiday in order to remember and observe the civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It took 15 years to get the bill signed into law. Then it took 17 more years to get each state to recognize the holiday.

Arizona was the last state to formally celebrate the holiday, on this day in 1993. The state had lost the rights to host the 1993 Super Bowl — it was moved to California that year — because of its reluctance to honor the holiday, and didn’t want to have that happen again.

Utah was also one of the last states to formally celebrate the federal holiday.

A day of service

This holiday is also reportedly the only federal holiday designated “as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities.”

Here are some stories from Deseret News and Church News archives about Martin Luther King Jr., how Americans can honor King’s legacy and how the peaceful civil rights protester can inspire others:

“Why Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a national day of service”

“Perspective: What Coretta Scott King asks of us on Martin Luther King Jr. Day”

“The story behind how Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday”

“Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — a model overcomer”

“President Russell M. Nelson honors Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘Abandon attitudes and actions of prejudice’”

“Service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day blesses communities, volunteers”

“What to do for Martin Luther King Day in Utah”