5 Things You Need To Know Today: Martin Luther King Day Edition
Five things you probably don't know about Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Good morning, Melrose! Today, Monday, Jan. 21, is Martin Luther King Day. Here are five things you probably don't know about the nation's youngest holiday.
1. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed on Jan. 20, 1986. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
2. Not every state was anxious to acknowledge the Federal holiday. In 1991, the New Hampshire legislature created "Civil Rights Day." In 1999, "Civil Rights Day" was officially changed to "Martin Luther King Day."
South Carolina was the last state to recognize the day as a paid holiday for all state employees, when Gov. Jim Hodges signed a bill to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday an official state holiday on May 2, 2000.
3. Believe it or not, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is also recognized internationally. The city of Toronto, Canada, has officially recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day, although it is not a paid holiday in Toronto. The city of Hiroshima holds a special banquet at the Mayor's office to highlight the city's call for peace with King's message of human rights.
4. King won the Nobe Peace Prize in 1964
5. Martin Lurth King's Jr.'s birthday is actually on Jan. 15.
cliff webb
10:27 am on Monday, January 21, 2013
They don't make men like him anymore.
Here is something else few ever mention.
Senators Robert Byrd, Albert Gore, Sr. and Sam Ervin fought the 1964 Civil Rights Act. These Democratic Senators were against the Reverend Kings movement.
It says a lot about what reshaping history can accomplish when you influence the media and school systems.
Senator Byrd, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan refered to Rev. King as a trouble maker who runs away after causing trouble and riots in 1968.
In 1912 Democrat President Woodrow Wilson removed all blacks from federal government positions. And mean old Richard Nixons administration worked for affirmative action measures.
And in 1967, after viewing Kings speach against the Vietname War, then President Lyndon Johnson refered to him as “that N***** preacher.” Real nice.
Oh, yes, LBJ was a Democrat as well.
Just a few more things very few are ever taught anymore.
They don't make men like MLK anymore.