WASHINGTON (voa) – Tributes to the slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are planned throughout the United States on Monday, a federal holiday commemorating the Dr. King’s birthday.
President Bush has described Dr. King as a “modern American hero,” and says Monday’s observances are an opportunity to celebrate the life and principles of the civil rights leader.
Former President Ronald Reagan declared the third Monday of January as holiday to mark Dr. King’s birthday on January 15, 1929.
Various cities have events planned, some offices will be closed and many schools have the day off, although some places and businesses do not celebrate the holiday.
Dr. King advocated nonviolence in the fight for racial equality in the 1950s and 1960s.
In Washington, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, Dr. King delivered his famous “I have a Dream” speech, saying he envisioned a world where his children would live in a nation where they would be judged by the content of their character – not the color of their skin.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington that day for the “March on Washington” to press for racial equality. Afterwards, Dr. King and other civil rights leaders met with then-President John F. Kennedy at the White House.
Dr. King, an ordained Baptist minister, received the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.
On April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His killing sparked widespread and violent riots throughout parts of the United States.
James Earl Ray confessed to killing Dr. King, but recanted later and said he had been framed. Numerous conspiracy theories arose surrounding the slaying. Ray was convicted and sent to prison, where he died in 1998
