Derek AldermanOpinionWhat If the MLK Holiday Were April 4?Since its first observance in 1986, the Martin Luther King federal holiday has become an important moment for the nation to reflect on King’s historical importance and the broader significance of the Civil Rights Movement. The observance of the MLK holiday on the third Monday of January has become an almost taken for granted memorial tradition for classrooms and government offices. The decision to establish a federal holiday for King was far from inevitable. It was the subject of heated debated within the U.S. Senate. Passage of the holiday came 15 years after Representative John Conyers first proposed the idea in legislation and 13 years after Congress received an unprecedented 6 million signatures in support.January 10, 2018Page 1 of 1
