Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Adafruit is open and shipping as usual. Postal orders will go out on Tuesday.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King’s birthday, January 15. The floating holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, though the act predated the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by fifteen years.
King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed on January 20, 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
If you have a moment here are some good videos about the life of MLK.
- Citizen King, from PBS.
- The Legacy of MLK on Hulu.
- Martin Luther King: Look Here, an interview from NBC on Hulu.
- The Road to Memphis: The Manhunt for MLK’s Killer from American Experience on PBS.
- Remember MLK from Thirteen/ PBS.
- Remembering MLK from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, from Thirteen.
- MLK and the Arts from PBS.