The first national holiday honoring King was celebrated in 1986. Here’s what you need to know about how Martin Luther King Jr. Efforts from King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, lawmakers, activists and others took years. The holiday is observed each year on the third Monday of January, and the commemoration is the only federal holiday that is “designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities,” according to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.īut the holiday didn’t come together seamlessly. Day, the federal holiday that honors the life and legacy of the American civil rights icon who was assassinated in 1968. Watch Video: King Center announces 2023 MLK Day Events
