By Tina Nasiri-Toosi

Photo by Raffaele Nicolussi on Unsplash

The third Monday of January is annually celebrated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, dedicated to promote racial equality. The African American activist is well-known for leading the Civil Rights Movement in America during the 1950s and 60s. This holiday is important because Martin Luther King Jr. made great advancements in civil rights in America. He devoted lots of time and energy to abolishing unfair mistreatment of Black Americans by organizing rallies and delivering speeches. His inspiration towards preventing discrimination continues to this day, with new movements happening in the present, like the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Things you can do to observe MLK day:

  1. Learn about his history. Take some time to learn details about his journey of fighting against racial discrimination. You may know that he’s a leader among African Americans, but you may not know exactly how it happened. This can be with books, documentaries, or just on the internet. 
  1. Read/watch his speeches. The speeches that he delivered contain many thought-provoking quotes that are worth looking through. Try and reflect on them and think about how racial inequality plays a role in your life, whether that be in your day to day life or systemically. 

All of his achievements as a leader non-violently solving injustices are celebrated on January 17, 2022.