Why Isn't Martin Luther King’s Birthday Honored On His Actual Birthday?

Monday marks nation-wide celebrations in honor of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.

The day is meant to commemorate King's birthday. But it’s not his birthday.

King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta. He went on to become one of the most respected civil rights leaders in American history before he was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

The last time the federal holiday fell on his birthday was 2018. The next time will be in 2024. Why the discrepancy?

MLK Day is observed on the third Monday in January because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, a bill signed into law in 1968 and enacted in 1971. As passed, the mandate moved commemorations for George Washington’s birthday, Memorial Day and Labor Day permanently to Mondays. Washington's birthday and the federal holiday happen to coincide on Feb. 22.

Monday was chosen so that federal employees could ensure long holiday weekends with their families.

Four days after King’s assassination in 1968, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-Mich., introduced his first bill to honor the civil rights icon with a federal holiday. It took 15 years for his effort to succeed, with President Ronald Reagan signing a law for the event in 1983.

Reagan said during a signing ceremony that King’s efforts led to a national reckoning of racial injustice, lauding his efforts for bringing about The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which extended rights to minority groups.

“But most important, there was not just a change of law; there was a change of heart. The conscience of America had been touched,” Reagan stated. “Across the land, people had begun to treat each other not as blacks and whites, but as fellow Americans.”

Previous presidents considering the bill were criticized for paying only lip service to King’s legacy.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first celebrated as a national holiday on Jan. 20, 1986, following state ratification.