Detroiters like Stevie Wonder and John Conyers were instrumental in making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Donald Trump's inauguration will result in the closure of several key offices and services.

Monday, January 20, commemorates the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This year, the holiday coincides with President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, though the majority of business closures will be for MLK Day.

It was first proposed four days after King's 1968 assassination outside a Memphis motel. It took 15 years until it became a federal holiday.

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.

This year's MLK Day also falls on Inauguration Day for President-elect Donald Trump, marking only the second time in 28 years that these federal observances align. The last time the two dates overlapped was during President Bill Clinton's second inauguration in January 1997, which also included both inauguration events and MLK Day commemorations.

Congressman Kweisi Mfume reflects on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the importance of service. Learn more about his life and work.

It took a long political effort to make the King Holiday commemoration a federal law. ATLANTA — The MLK Day holiday is marked annually as a day of service and remembrance of the struggle for justice, equality and the Beloved Community that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his life's work.

Go to a MLK celebration these days and you will hear Black politicians using this holiday as a platform to run for Office. Most white pastors use the day as a time to get in a pulpit and talk to their mostly white congregations about King’s dream about racial harmony,

As the nation recognizes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a traditional celebration will take place locally. The 2025 MLK Day Beloved Community Commemorative Service kicks off at 9 a.m. on Monday, and you can watch it live from home.

Before you settle into your federally mandated day of action (or day of chillin,’ if that’s your groove), allow me to bestow upon you an inconvenient truth: The Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday is one of the worst things that happened to the man’s legacy. Let’s be clear: King was a radical.

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