On August 28, 1963, just a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led more than 200,000 Americans in a March on Washington in pursuit of jobs and freedom for all people.  Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he called on Americans “to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” and meet our promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.  On that historic day, and throughout his life, Dr. King exemplified the quintessential American belief that we will leave a brighter, more prosperous future for our children.  Today, we honor and celebrate Dr. King, a giant of the civil rights movement whose nonviolent resistance to the injustices of his era — racial segregation, employment discrimination, and the denial of the right to vote — enlightened our Nation and the world.

Continue reading Proclamation on Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2021