Coincidentally, it falls on the very day President-elect Donald J. Trump is scheduled to start his second term in office.
It has to be brought into perspective that Martin Luther King Jr. Day does not address the presidential inauguration; it is relevant due to decades of lobbying to declare the work of Dr. King in the field of civil rights and social justice.
How Martin Luther King Jr. day originated
In the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, there was almost an immediate movement for a federal holiday in his name. Representative John Conyers, for example, introduced the first legislation for the holiday just four days after King’s death. Yet, it did not stop there as it finally managed to triumph over fierce resistance after 15 years of tireless efforts including petitions, marches, and public advocacy. Later, when President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law back in 1983, its first official observance occurred on January 20, 1986.
Significance of January 20
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. For the federal holiday, it is always observed every third Monday of January, which falls between January 15 and January 21. This is equivalent to January 20, 2025. Let this be recalled, it was assigned on this date because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which gave workers consistent three-day weekends.
Inauguration day
Inauguration Day occurs every four years on January 20 in the United States. That is the day a presidential term begins. If January 20 falls on a Sunday, then the public event of the inauguration generally happens on January 21. In 2025, Inauguration Day falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and both will be celebrated on the same day. Yet, it needs to be recognized that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established separate from this inaugural and all such presidential events.
Federal holiday observance
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday and, as such, all federal offices, banks, and schools close nationwide, while by law. Inauguration Day is only a legal public holiday for federal employees working in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area-it happens every four years. In 2025, this has been the very exceptional fall of these two events, but both have their importance and way in which they are observed.
Honoring Dr. King’s legacy
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day of reflection by Americans on the work of Dr. King for civil rights and his push for nonviolent change in the United States. Many educational programs, community projects, and racial equality and justice debates have marked this day. It is the day, according to President Ronald Reagan in signing the holiday into law, “to remember the just cause he stood for.”
