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In 1983 legislation passed making the third Monday in January, Martin Luther Kings Day, a federal holiday finally was passed, and the first observance nationwide was in 1986. Most people don’t work there normal 9 to 5 on MLK Day however they use that day, as a day of service, usually celebrated with marches and parades and with speeches by civil rights and political leaders. However this year Martin Luther King III is calling for us not to celebrate the day unless congress passes voting rights legislation.
Martin Luther King III is calling for the public not to celebrate MLK Day on January 17, 2022. Instead, he wants everyone to join him in urging Congress to end a Jim Crow filibuster that blocks the voter’s rights legislation.
No celebration without legislation. On January 17, join me to honor my father and the #MLKLegacy as we call on Congress and the White House to eliminate the Jim Crow filibuster and pass voting rights to protect millions of Black and Brown voters.
According to his sister Dr. Bernice King, the King Center would still “commemorate” MLK Day with planned services including the Beloved Community Awards and the digital Beloved Community Global Summit in advance of the holiday, and commemoration services at Ebenezer Baptist Church along with on-site voter registration and education actions on MLK Day itself. With that being said, Dr. Bernice King stands in solidarity with her brother, Martin Luther King III, in “calling our nation’s attention to securing and protecting the most sacred right of our democracy, which is the right to vote.”
Take a look at Martin Luther King III and Dr. Bernice King’s call to stand down on MLK 2022 in their videos below.
Source: Radio One Digital
