Martin Luther King Day

The third Monday in January is observed in the United States as Martin Luther King Day. The holiday was observed for the first time on 20^th January 1986, some 18 years after King was assassinated. President Ronald Reagan was firmly against the holiday, but Congress passed the King Day Bill with an overwhelming veto-proof majority.

It often seems to take a country a lot longer than the rest of the world to recognise one of its own heroes. Numerous Nobel Peace Prize winners have been regarded by their own governments as little more than rabble-rousers. Al Gore, the 2007 winner, is regarded with disfavour by conservative Americans, as is Jimmy Carter, the 2002 winner. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 winner who struggles for the rights of women and children in Iran, is regarded as a nuisance by her government. Other examples include Aung San Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu and Lech Walesa. Outside of their own countries, these people have been regarded as great statesmen and women. As Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and in his own house.”

Remarkably, Martin Luther King was only 35 when he received his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the youngest person ever to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organisation formed to provide leadership for the civil rights movement.