On Jan. 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Southern Baptist parents Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. In 1963, he gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Five years later, he was assassinated on the second floor of his hotel balcony. Since 2000, all 50 states have celebrated his life on the third Monday of every January. 

   King guided the first nonviolent civil rights protest, the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. The boycott lasted 382 days, ending on Dec. 20, 1956. The Supreme Court ruled segregation on public buses unconstitutional, violating the Fourteenth Amendment.  

   King lead campaigns against racist segregation policies and brutality against people of color. His campaigns went on throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, until his unfortunate assassination on Apr. 4, 1968.  

   On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that declared Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday. The holiday wouldn’t be federally recognized until 1986, and it would take until 2000 for the holiday to be recognized nationwide.  

   All 50 states observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the holiday is not celebrated with the same name in every state. Several states have their own name for the holiday, combining King’s birthday with other local observances. Some states celebrate it along with the life of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, such as Alabama’s “King-Lee Day.” 

   There are plenty of ways to celebrate the life of King. An annual “MLK Day of Greatness March” is hosted by Boise State University’s MLK Living Legacy Committee. On Jan. 18, Serve Idaho hosted service projects and a celebration in honor of King. However, another great way to honor King is to continue the important work he started.