Every year on the third Monday of January, schools in the United States take a day off in honor of a man who helped change the course of history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights icon who fought for equality among the human race.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 during his fight for equality. In the months following, Congressman John Conyers Jr. introduced the first legislation that would make King’s birthday (Jan. 15) a federal holiday.

Three years after this legislation, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference presented Congress with a petition signed by over three million people in support of the holiday. The bill sat in Congress for eight years, unable to obtain support before President Jimmy Carter vowed to support the holiday.

Coretta Scott King, his wife, also fought for the approval of the holiday. She testified before joint hearings for Congress, and with the help of Stevie Wonder, presented a second petition to Congress with six million signatures of support. Finally, the House of Representatives passed the bill in August 1983 with a vote of 338 to 90. The bill was signed into law by President Reagan in November 1983.

According to Time magazine, the first official holiday was observed on the third Monday of January in 1986. At this time, only twenty-seven states and Washington D.C. honored the holiday. Arizona did not vote in favor of recognizing the holiday until 1992, and in 2000, South Carolina was the last state to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day is widely celebrated across the United States. In Columbus, an event is being held on Monday, Jan. 15 honoring the lasting impact of Martin Luther King Jr.’s inspirational words and actions.

Sponsored by the City of Columbus and the African American Foundation, the free to attend performance begins at 2:00pm in the Nugent-Custer Performance Hall at the Commons downtown.