Martin Luther King, Jr. at Riverside Church

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Did you know that Dr. King is the only US citizen, who never held political office, to have a national holiday named after him?  True.  Which makes you wonder then, why- although the federal holiday was enacted in 1983, all 50 states did not officially observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day until 2000.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day also is celebrated in Toronto, Canada, and Hiroshima, Japan.