GUEST WORDS-In one of the most politically fraught eras in the history of the United States since the Civil War, many Americans last week turned their thoughts to commemorating the life and work of civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
First celebrated nationally in 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18 marked the 35th nationwide observance of this federal holiday, passed through legislation in 1983. The day commemorates a masterful organizer, orator, and thinker whose work is not yet complete. His “I Have a Dream” speech delivered on August 28, 1963, before a crowd of more than 260,000 people at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, is considered one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would not have been passed without his and others’ tireless struggles.