Martin Luther King Jr. Day is just as much a Detroit holiday as it is a federal one. Created after overwhelming approval in Congress and being signed into a law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 ...

How did Martin Luther King Jr. Day become a holiday? Former U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation to create a federal holiday honoring King on April 8, 1968, just four days after ...

U.S. Rep. John Conyers says today's dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. provides the nation with an opportunity to reflect on the works of the civil rights leader ...

April 4 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, TN. April 8 – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduces legislation on the House floor to establish a federal holiday ...

For the first time, the 85-year-old will observe the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday as dean of the House, the ceremonial title for the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives.

In the months after the death of the civil rights icon, Congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan introduced the first legislation seeking to make King’s birthday, Jan. 15, a federal holiday.

Then, on Nov. 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as we know it. On Jan. 20, 1986, the country officially observed the holiday for the first time.

Supporters respond to Martin Luther King's death. Four days after an assassin's bullet struck the peace activist on April 4, 1968, Michigan Congressman John Conyers Jr. submitted a bill to make ...

On the third Monday of January — close to King’s Jan. 15 birthday — federal, state and local governments, institutions and various industries recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Every third Monday of January, the United States observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday to honor the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1994 Congress passed a bill to ...

A brief timeline of the rocky origins of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 1968. Months after King’s death, Michigan Congressman John Conyers Jr. introduced preliminary legislation to mark the civil ...