Observing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday by Serving Others

Celebrating the King Legacy in Our Communities - Monday, January 19, 2009

Just four days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., CBC member Congressman John Conyers, Jr. introduced legislation to honor the civil rights leader through the creation of a national holiday. "I thought long and hard about what would be the most appropriate way to commemorate this extraordinary man's life and work and decided a public holiday would be the best thing we could do," said Rep. Conyers in a panel co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Avoice Virtual Library and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in January 2008. After submitting the King Holiday Bill every year for fifteen years, the legislation finally passed and in 1983 the third Monday in January was made a federal holiday in honor of Dr. King.

Since its establishment the King Holiday has become not just a day to memorialize an important civil rights leader, but a national day of community service to keep alive Dr. King’s teachings of social justice. The King Holiday and Service Act was co-authored by Senator Harris Wofford (D-PA) and CBC member Representative John Lewis (D-GA) and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. The day is viewed as “a day on, not a day off.” People are encouraged to honor King’s legacy by taking their day off of work to volunteer in their communities to improve the lives of others, bridge social barriers, and help bring about the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned.

View the January 2008 panel discussion of struggle to pass the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Bill.

Learn more about the history of the holiday in the Avoice Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Bill Exhibit.

New Exhibit: The Congressional Black Caucus and Environmental Justice!

Did you know that the Congressional Black Caucus members have been at the forefront of the environmental justice movement?  Through their efforts to call national attention to the disproportionate burden of pollution on the most vulnerable members of our society, they have challenged the myth that African Americans are not concerned with the environment.  Their consistently high environmental voting average and strong advocacy efforts show that the environment remains a top concern for African American leaders in Congress.

This sixth exhibit in the Avoice Virtual Library will highlight the major milestones in the environmental justice movement and spotlight the contributions of CBC members to the fight for environmental equity. Exhibit resources include a comprehensive environmental justice timeline, photographs, audio recordings, digitized legislation, press releases, and CBC member correspondences.

Visit the new Environmental Justice exhibit!

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Click on the RSS button to your right at the top of the Avoice News section to be notified when new content or news is added to the Avoice Virtual Library.

Avoice Photo and Document Galleries Now Work with Zotero!

Conducting research on Avoice and need to organize your sources? The Congressional Black Caucus’ Virtual Library photo and document galleries now work with Zotero! A free, easy-to-use extension to the Firefox web browser, Zotero is a research tool that lets you gather, organize, and analyze sources (citations, full texts, web pages, images, and other objects), as well as letting you share the results of your research in a variety of ways. Just download Zotero at www.zotero.org, visit the Avoice photo and document galleries, and then look for the page symbol in your address bar. With one click store the reference information for any Avoice photo or document so it will be easy to site later.

To download Zotero click here

 

More Avoice Exhibits:

additional information and links.

Origins of the CBC

Trace the history of the CBC with an in-depth look at exactly how, when and why the Caucus was initially formed.

Voting Rights Act

Learn how the CBC has spent years fighting tirelessly to protect the voting rights of underrepresented people

MLK, Jr. Holiday Bill

Look back at how the CBC led the charge for the creation of a federal holiday honoring the civil rights hero.

Anti-Apartheid Movement

Look back at how the CBC led the charge for the creation of a federal holiday honoring the civil rights hero.

Women of the CBC

Read about the important role that African American women played in the advancement of healthcare.

Environmental Justice

Learn how members of the CBC have been at the forefront of the Environmental Justice Movement.