Today we’re celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday by highlighting how our version of the song opened the door for a federal holiday. What many people note as the “Stevie Wonder or Black Happy Birthday” carries deeper meaning. He created the song as a tribute to Dr. King and used it as part of a years-long effort to push the country toward officially recognizing his legacy. The music became a tool to mobilize people, keep pressure on leaders, and remind the nation that honoring Dr. King r

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a “call to action for us to rise up and protect our hard-fought freedoms before it is too late.” @real_sharpton explains how the Trump officials are working to dismantle the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — and how they “represent the greatest threat to the movement since he was assassinated nearly six decades ago.” | MS NOW

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He took his message of racial equality to the doorstep of the “People’s House,” bringing the Civil Rights Movement — and ultimately human rights — into a new era. From 1958 to 1965, Dr. King and fellow civil rights leaders met with presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson at the White House to advocate for full citizenship rights for African Americans. Dr. King’s work led to landmark civil rights and poverty legislat