How the U.S. marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day | 24CA News
Americans paid tribute to civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. The vacation is marked every year on the Monday following King’s birthday on Jan. 15. King would have turned 94 on Sunday.
As the solar rose over Washington, D.C., on Monday, a wreath of flowers was laid at the tomb of King and his spouse, Coretta Scott King, on the Martin Luther King Jr. Center and National Historical Site.
(Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
King’s son and daughter-in-law, Martin Luther King III and Andrea Waters King, paid tribute to the civil rights chief earlier than attending the National Action Network’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast, the place U.S. President Joe Biden delivered the keynote speech.
(Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press)
During his speech, Biden known as on lawmakers to guard “the sacred right to vote” by passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
The latter measure, named after the late congressman and civil rights activist, goals to revive parts of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 that had been struck down in a 2013 Supreme Court ruling.
Thanks to the activism of King and different civil rights leaders, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act when he was president in August 1965, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting and abolished necessities geared toward disenfranchising Black voters.
(Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press)
Many cities throughout the U.S. held parades and occasions to honour King’s life and legacy. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., on the age of 39.
(Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated 13 state landmarks — together with One World Trade Center, Empire State Plaza and Niagara Falls — could be illuminated Monday night in pink, black and inexperienced. Those are the colors of the Pan-African flag, representing the African diaspora.
“Amidst the recent rise in bigotry, division and hate across this country, it is more important than ever that we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings on justice, peace, equality and love,” Hochul stated in a assertion.
Tonight, we gentle New York State landmarks pink, inexperienced, & black to honor & bear in mind Dr. King’s life, legacy, & affect.<br><br>We should proceed to face collectively towards bigotry, division, & hate, whereas working in the direction of a united New York the place everybody can dwell & thrive, peacefully. <a href=”https://t.co/6pQOr8awwO”>pic.twitter.com/6pQOr8awwO</a>
—@GovKathyHochul
Residents of Miami’s Liberty City, a traditionally Black neighbourhood, took half in an annual parade to rejoice King’s life.
Marching bands, dance groups, native politicians and activists made their approach alongside a route that “traces the steps” of King throughout visits to Miami, in line with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The bureau payments the occasion as “one of the country’s oldest and largest” MLK Day occasions.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
At the parade, Santiana Lewis wore a hoodie bearing the message “I am the dream,” echoing King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech delivered earlier than greater than 200,000 individuals at 1963’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The sixtieth anniversary of the speech, a name for racial equality and finish to racism, will likely be honoured in August.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In Atlanta, King’s birthplace, the Atlanta Hawks NBA group displayed his picture over the court docket at State Farm Arena forward of the MLK Day sport towards the Miami Heat. The occasion was scheduled to incorporate a efficiency by a gospel choir and interactive parts honouring King’s legacy.
(Hakim Wright Sr./The Associated Press)
Members of the Toronto Raptors additionally paid tribute to King initially of their sport towards the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York.
(Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports/Reuters)
