It is a federal holiday in the US, meaning most people are granted leave from school and work to observe the occasion.  

A Baptist minister born in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King is best known as one of the foremost spokesmen for the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 60s. During this time, Black Americans were subjected to discrimination and violence at the hands of white supremacists as racial segregation was widespread across the country.  

After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, King organised a peaceful protest alongside other activists in Alabama. The Montgomery Bus Boycott protested segregated seating and spanned over 380 days. The boycott was ultimately successful, resulting in segregation on public transport being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.  

Resultantly, King became an integral force in the battle for equal rights, using a non-violent approach to protests and demonstrations, prioritising the power of words. On the 28th of August 1963, 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to hear Martin Luther King deliver the most famous and influential speech of all time. In his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, King outlined the history of racial injustice. How slavery may have ended, but discrimination against Black Americans was a persistent issue. This helped get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed by congress, outlawing racial discrimination. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 followed shortly after, providing Black Americans the right to vote without barriers and discrimination.