Why We Celebrate Martin Luther King Day

                                                            

How Did Martin Luther King Day Come to Exist?

By Aquarius Cain

Did you ever wonder how we came to be able to celebrate the great works or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?  As you sing the upbeat "Happy Birthday" song, did you realize that there is history behind the making of the song?  

"Happy Birthday" is a 1981 single written, produced, and performed by musician Stevie Wonder for the Motown label. Wonder, a social activist, was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. become a national holiday, and created this single to make the cause known. Wonder used the song to popularize the campaign, and continued his fight for the holiday, holding the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981.  In 1983 Stevie Wonder successfully led a campaign to have Martin Luther King's birthday declared a national holiday.  On November 2, in a dramatic White House Rose Garden ceremony, President Ronald Reagan signed the King holiday bill.  The first celebration of the holiday took place on January 15, 1986.  The first official Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, held the third Monday in January of each year, was held on January 20, 1986, and was commemorated with a large-scale concert, where Stevie Wonder was the headlining performer.  In January 1995 President Bill Clinton declared Martin Luther King's birthday to be a federal holiday after some states, including Arizona and New Hampshire, refused to make King's birthday a state observed holiday.

The lyrics to the song reflect Stevie Wonder's questioning of the opposition to the observance of Martin Luther King Day.  Check out the lyrics below and the video in which Stevie Wonder performed this song live for Mandela Day.

"Happy Birthday"

By Stevie Wonder

You know it doesn't make much sense
There ought to be a law against
Anyone who takes offense
At a day in your celebration
Cause we all know in our minds
That there ought to be a time
That we can set aside
To show just how much we love you
And I'm sure you would agree
It couldn't fit more perfectly
Than to have a world party on the day you came to be

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday

I just never understood
How a man who died for good
Could not have a day that would
Be set aside for his recognition
Because it should never be
Just because some cannot see
The dream as clear as he
that they should make it become an illusion
And we all know everything
That he stood for time will bring
For in peace our hearts will sing
Thanks to Martin Luther King

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday

Why has there never been a holiday
Where peace is celebrated
all throughout the world

The time is overdue
For people like me and you
Who know the way to truth
Is love and unity to all God's children
It should be a great event
And the whole day should be spent
In full remembrance
Of those who lived and died for the oneness of all people
So let us all begin
We know that love can win
Let it out don't hold it in
Sing it loud as you can

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Ooh yeah
Happy birthday...

We know the key to unify all people
Is in the dream that you had so long ago
That lives in all of the hearts of people
That believe in unity
We'll make the dream become a reality
I know we will
Because our hearts tell us so

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About the author:

Aquarius Cain is the CEO of Accelerated Learning Educational Services. She is a full-time tutor with more than ten years of combined teaching and tutoring experience.  As an educator, Mrs. Cain is a lover of learning and any opportunity she gets to spread knowledge through training the mind, she does, in her own unique way!

Connect with Aquarius Cain on LinkedIn

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