We're breaking down what you need to know about the history of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and how it became a holiday in the first place. Spoiler: it wasn't an easy road.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is January 15th but the holiday is marked on the third Monday of every month.
- The effort to make his birthday a national holiday took over three decades and an enormous amount of effort.
- Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday is about Martin Luther King, Jr!
- The law passed in 1983 and signed by Reagan. The first federal holiday was in 1986.
- The journey to all 50 states adopting the holiday took much longer.
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