South Carolina was the last to do so, joining the other 49 states in 2000. The holiday was first observed in 1986, but it took many more years before every state made it a full holiday complete with a paid day off for state workers. Another rally followed the next year, and on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill. Martin Luther King."Ī highlight of the rally was Wonder's performance of this song, and over the next few years, Wonder continued his work to raise awareness of the movement and apply political pressure to get the holiday recognized. Its an anthem of peace and love, a great explanation of t. I'd like to ask all of you just for one moment, if you will, to be silent and just to think and hear in your mind the voice of our Dr. Stevie Wonders 'Happy Birthday,' which he wrote as part of the effort to make MLK Day a holiday. With the crowd chanting, "Martin Luther King Day, we took a holiday," black leaders and celebrities appeared, and when Wonder spoke, he said: "As an artist, my purpose is to communicate the message that can better improve the lives of all of us. He helped organize a rally in Washington on Janu(King's birthday), that was a key event in the movement. But better late than never.Stevie Wonder had a huge role in getting Martin Luther King day recognized as a national holiday in America. And some companies even gave King Day off for the very first time this year. Now? King Day is largely used as a day of service for many. King, with the help of thousands, had accomplished too much and come too far to be stopped by a few companies or a few people who preferred to ignore civil rights history. It speaks to the power of music, the power of the people and to the power of ancestral alignment. Also, despite being signed into law in 1983, the federal government first celebrated King Day on Monday, January 20, 1986. Sometimes it even falls on his actual birthday of January 15. Regardless of the day off or on, it is a federal holiday and federal employees do not work on King Day, which is usually the third Monday of January. Some, however, do offer it as a floating holiday for employees. In fact, fewer than 50% of American companies recognize King Day. (New Hampshire was the last, in 1999, using it to replace Civil Rights Day.) Yet, it’s 2023 and not all companies are in compliance, though those same companies often happily release Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas as non negotiable holidays. However, by the year 2000, all states were in compliance. And to this day, many companies still won’t allow their employees to have the day to volunteer for the King Day of Service or to volunteer. Though the vote passed, some states - and many companies - still refused to honor Dr. Let’s consider the second and third sections of the song: On October 19, 1983, the bill passed Senate and on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed it into law. The naysayers were ready to vote it down except their plan to use FBI files against King’s memory fell flat. King’s legendary “I Have A Dream” speech, the anniversary of March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the 15th anniversary of King’s assassination, it finally happened. Then, in 1983, after the 20th anniversary of the Dr. M.L.K Gala at The Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta Georgia, Janu(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images Getty Images ATLANTA JANUARY 01: Martin Luther King III, Stevie Wonder and Coretta Scott King backstage during.
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