MLK day is a Federal holiday in the United States, and more and more companies are recognizing the need for this day to be honored. That means businesses giving the day off of work, but also having individuals recognize the importance and meaning of the man behind the holiday.
Here are some poignant and powerful images of Dr. King himself, along with an excerpt from one of our favorite speeches of his, I’ve Been to the Mountaintop. One day after delivering the speech, Dr. King was assassinated.
Especially during rough times, it’s heartening to remind ourselves of deep goodness and intellect that still resides within some of us. Images via Time:
“The United States honors the most prominent figure in its civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., on Monday. The national holiday was hard won by his family and activists in 1983 and has been marked on the third Monday of January ever since.
It’s a day to remember King’s life and legacy. He championed nonviolent resistance in the struggle for civil rights; won a Nobel Peace Prize; led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., to demand Black voting rights; and drew over a quarter-million people to the National Mall in 1963, when he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. King, who was also the target of an FBI surveillance and disinformation campaign and was assassinated at age 39 in 1968, is honored in cities across the world, and his accomplishments have been well chronicled.”
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at ‘Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom’ at Lincoln Memorial.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (C) speaking with Rev. Ralph Abernathy (2nd R) and others.
Leaders of March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom marching w. signs (R-L): Matthew Ahmann, Floyd McKissick, Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Eugene Carson Blake and unident.
American religious and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr (1929 – 1968) leads a prayer in a church before the second Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights march, also known as ‘Turnaround Tuesday’, Selma, Alabama, 9th March 1965. (Photo by Frank Dandridge/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sitting with demonstrators who walked through Mississippi to encourage voter registration. (Photo by Vernon Merritt III/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)