by tyler | Jan 2, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in January.
January 15, 2024 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King’s actual birthday was on January 15.
April 8, 1968 – Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduces legislation for a federal holiday to commemorate King, just four days after his assassination.
January 15, 1969 – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta sponsors and observes the first annual celebration of King’s birthday.
April 1971 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presents to Congress petitions containing three million signatures in support of the holiday. Congress does not act.
1973 – Illinois is the first state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.
November 4, 1978 – The National Council of Churches urges Congress to enact the holiday.
1979 – Coretta Scott King speaks before Congress and joint hearings of Congress in a campaign to pass a holiday bill. A petition for the bill receives 300,000 signatures, and President Jimmy Carter supports passage of a bill.
November 1979 – The House fails to pass Conyers’ King Holiday bill by five votes.
1982 – Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder bring the speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, petitions with more than six million signatures in favor of a holiday.
1983 – Congress passes and President Ronald Reagan signs legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) attempt to block the bill’s passing.
January 20, 1986 – First national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place.
January 16, 1989 – The King holiday is legal in 44 states.
1994 – Coretta Scott King goes before Congress and quotes King from his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” in which he said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” She requests that the holiday be an official national day of humanitarian service.
1994 – Congress designates the holiday as a national day of service through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.
1999 – New Hampshire becomes the last state to adopt a holiday honoring King.
January 17, 2011 – Marks the 25th anniversary of the holiday.
December 15, 2021 – The family of King calls for “no celebration” of MLK Day without the passage of voting rights legislation.
by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, us
Christmas might be over, but Kwanzaa is just getting started.
December 26 marked the start of Kwanzaa, also spelled Kwanza (with one ‘a’ at the end). It’s a seven-day non-religious holiday observed in the US, meant to honor African Americans’ ancestral roots. The celebration lasts until January 1.
The name comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits.”
Created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist and professor of Pan-African studies at California State University at Long Beach, Kwanzaa became popular in the 1980s and 1990s in tandem with the Black Power movement — making up the trio of winter holidays along with Hanukkah and Christmas.
The holiday is defined by Nguzo Saba, or the seven principles. Each day of the festival is dedicated to a specific principle, marked by lighting a new candle on the kinara, a seven-branched candelabra.
Even though Kwanzaa isn’t as widely celebrated as it used to be, its seven principles still hold true for some. Here’s a look at what those principles are, and what they mean.
Umoja means unity in Swahili.
Karenga defines this on his Kwanzaa website as: “To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.”
Or self-determination. This principle refers to defining, naming, creating and speaking for oneself.
Translated as “collective work and responsibility,” ujima refers to uplifting your community.
“To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together,” Karenga writes.
Cooperative economics. Similar to ujima, this principle refers to uplifting your community economically. “To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together,” he writes.
Nia means purpose.
Karenga expands on this principle with, “To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.”
Meaning “creativity,” Karenga defines this principle as “To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.”
The final principle translates to “faith.”
Karenga defines this as faith in community, writing, “To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.”
by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in January.
January 15, 2024 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King’s actual birthday was on January 15.
April 8, 1968 – Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduces legislation for a federal holiday to commemorate King, just four days after his assassination.
January 15, 1969 – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta sponsors and observes the first annual celebration of King’s birthday.
April 1971 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presents to Congress petitions containing three million signatures in support of the holiday. Congress does not act.
1973 – Illinois is the first state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.
November 4, 1978 – The National Council of Churches urges Congress to enact the holiday.
1979 – Coretta Scott King speaks before Congress and joint hearings of Congress in a campaign to pass a holiday bill. A petition for the bill receives 300,000 signatures, and President Jimmy Carter supports passage of a bill.
November 1979 – The House fails to pass Conyers’ King Holiday bill by five votes.
1982 – Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder bring the speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, petitions with more than six million signatures in favor of a holiday.
1983 – Congress passes and President Ronald Reagan signs legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) attempt to block the bill’s passing.
January 20, 1986 – First national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place.
January 16, 1989 – The King holiday is legal in 44 states.
1994 – Coretta Scott King goes before Congress and quotes King from his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” in which he said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” She requests that the holiday be an official national day of humanitarian service.
1994 – Congress designates the holiday as a national day of service through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.
1999 – New Hampshire becomes the last state to adopt a holiday honoring King.
January 17, 2011 – Marks the 25th anniversary of the holiday.
December 15, 2021 – The family of King calls for “no celebration” of MLK Day without the passage of voting rights legislation.
by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, us
Christmas might be over, but Kwanzaa is just getting started.
December 26 marked the start of Kwanzaa, also spelled Kwanza (with one ‘a’ at the end). It’s a seven-day non-religious holiday observed in the US, meant to honor African Americans’ ancestral roots. The celebration lasts until January 1.
The name comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits.”
Created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist and professor of Pan-African studies at California State University at Long Beach, Kwanzaa became popular in the 1980s and 1990s in tandem with the Black Power movement — making up the trio of winter holidays along with Hanukkah and Christmas.
The holiday is defined by Nguzo Saba, or the seven principles. Each day of the festival is dedicated to a specific principle, marked by lighting a new candle on the kinara, a seven-branched candelabra.
Even though Kwanzaa isn’t as widely celebrated as it used to be, its seven principles still hold true for some. Here’s a look at what those principles are, and what they mean.
Umoja means unity in Swahili.
Karenga defines this on his Kwanzaa website as: “To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.”
Or self-determination. This principle refers to defining, naming, creating and speaking for oneself.
Translated as “collective work and responsibility,” ujima refers to uplifting your community.
“To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together,” Karenga writes.
Cooperative economics. Similar to ujima, this principle refers to uplifting your community economically. “To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together,” he writes.
Nia means purpose.
Karenga expands on this principle with, “To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.”
Meaning “creativity,” Karenga defines this principle as “To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.”
The final principle translates to “faith.”
Karenga defines this as faith in community, writing, “To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.”
by tyler | Jan 1, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in January.
January 15, 2024 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King’s actual birthday was on January 15.
April 8, 1968 – Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduces legislation for a federal holiday to commemorate King, just four days after his assassination.
January 15, 1969 – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta sponsors and observes the first annual celebration of King’s birthday.
April 1971 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presents to Congress petitions containing three million signatures in support of the holiday. Congress does not act.
1973 – Illinois is the first state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.
November 4, 1978 – The National Council of Churches urges Congress to enact the holiday.
1979 – Coretta Scott King speaks before Congress and joint hearings of Congress in a campaign to pass a holiday bill. A petition for the bill receives 300,000 signatures, and President Jimmy Carter supports passage of a bill.
November 1979 – The House fails to pass Conyers’ King Holiday bill by five votes.
1982 – Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder bring the speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, petitions with more than six million signatures in favor of a holiday.
1983 – Congress passes and President Ronald Reagan signs legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) attempt to block the bill’s passing.
January 20, 1986 – First national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place.
January 16, 1989 – The King holiday is legal in 44 states.
1994 – Coretta Scott King goes before Congress and quotes King from his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” in which he said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” She requests that the holiday be an official national day of humanitarian service.
1994 – Congress designates the holiday as a national day of service through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.
1999 – New Hampshire becomes the last state to adopt a holiday honoring King.
January 17, 2011 – Marks the 25th anniversary of the holiday.
December 15, 2021 – The family of King calls for “no celebration” of MLK Day without the passage of voting rights legislation.
by tyler | Dec 29, 2023 | CNN, us
Christmas might be over, but Kwanzaa is just getting started.
December 26 marked the start of Kwanzaa, also spelled Kwanza (with one ‘a’ at the end). It’s a seven-day non-religious holiday observed in the US, meant to honor African Americans’ ancestral roots. The celebration lasts until January 1.
The name comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits.”
Created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist and professor of Pan-African studies at California State University at Long Beach, Kwanzaa became popular in the 1980s and 1990s in tandem with the Black Power movement — making up the trio of winter holidays along with Hanukkah and Christmas.
The holiday is defined by Nguzo Saba, or the seven principles. Each day of the festival is dedicated to a specific principle, marked by lighting a new candle on the kinara, a seven-branched candelabra.
Even though Kwanzaa isn’t as widely celebrated as it used to be, its seven principles still hold true for some. Here’s a look at what those principles are, and what they mean.
Umoja means unity in Swahili.
Karenga defines this on his Kwanzaa website as: “To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.”
Or self-determination. This principle refers to defining, naming, creating and speaking for oneself.
Translated as “collective work and responsibility,” ujima refers to uplifting your community.
“To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together,” Karenga writes.
Cooperative economics. Similar to ujima, this principle refers to uplifting your community economically. “To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together,” he writes.
Nia means purpose.
Karenga expands on this principle with, “To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.”
Meaning “creativity,” Karenga defines this principle as “To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.”
The final principle translates to “faith.”
Karenga defines this as faith in community, writing, “To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.”
