Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Behold the dreamer comes;

let us slay him and throw him into the pit,

and see what becomes of his dreams."

~(Rabbi Arnold Resnnicoff)~ 

"The calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, 

but we must speak.  

We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, 

but we must speak."

~(Martin Luther King, Jr.)~

On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his first major public address on the War in Vietnam at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City. In that address he articulated his reasons for his opposition to the Southeast Asian conflict. 

In this speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out harshly against the war in Vietnam. His speech "Beyond Vietnam" was condemned by many civil rights leaders who thought it hurt their cause. It incensed President Lyndon Johnson, 

who revoked King's invitation to the White House. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.)[1] is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King's birthday, January 15. The floating holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

The idea of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations.^[2] After King's death, United States Representative John Conyers (a Democrat from Michigan) and United States Senator Edward Brooke (a Republican from Massachusetts) introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage.

 Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive, and that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition (King had never held public office).^[3] Only two other people have national holidays in the United States honoring them: George Washington and Christopher Columbus.

While all states now observe the holiday, some did not name the day after King. For example, in Utah, the holiday was known as "Human Rights Day" until 2000,^[20] when the Utah State Legislature voted to change the name of the holiday from Human Rights Day to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In that same year, Governor Michael O. Leavitt signed the bill officially naming the holiday "Martin Luther King Jr. Day".

Several additional states have chosen to combine commemorations of King's birthday with other observances, in some cases creating compatible pairings, in other cases incongruous ones:

• In Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is known as "Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Birthday".^[22]

• In Arizona, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is known as "Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day".^[23]

• In Arkansas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is known as "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee’s Birthdays".^[24]

• In Idaho, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is known as "Martin Luther King, Jr.-Idaho Human Rights Day"^[25]

• In Mississippi, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is known as "Martin Luther King's and Robert E. Lee's Birthdays".^[26]

• In New Hampshire, its official name is "Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Day".^[27]

• In Virginia, it was known as Lee–Jackson–King Day, combining King's birthday with the established Lee–Jackson Day.^[20] The incongruous nature of the holiday, which simultaneously celebrated the lives of Confederate Army generals and a civil rights icon, did not escape the notice of Virginia lawmakers. In 2000, Lee–Jackson Day was moved to the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday in its own right.^[28]

In 1984, during a visit by the U.S. Sixth Fleet, Navy chaplain Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff conducted the first Israeli Presidential ceremony in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, held in the President's Residence, Jerusalem. Mrs. Aura Herzog, wife of Israel's then-President Chaim Herzog,
noted

that she was especially proud to host this special event,

because

Israel had a national forest in honor of Dr. King, and that Israel and Dr. King shared the idea of "dreams".

Resnicoff continued this theme in his remarks during the ceremony,
quoting the verse from Genesis,
spoken
by the brothers of Joseph when they saw their brother approach,

 Behold the dreamer comes; 
let us slay him and throw him into the pit, 

and see what becomes of his dreams."

Resnicoff noted that,
from time immemorial, there have been those who thought they could kill the dream by slaying the dreamer, but – as the example of Dr. King's life shows – such people are always wrong.