Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and his message of hope and equality for all people still resonates throughout the United States, including Door County. Celebrated on the third Monday of January each year, the federal holiday is in observance of Dr. King's birthday. Hervy Hodges, a Sturgeon Bay resident and mentor to youth in the area, says he grew up in Milwaukee learning about King's message of equality at a very young age from his grandmother.
King was born on January 15, 1929, and rose to the fore of the civil rights movement in 1955. He advocated for a nonviolent means to end racial discrimination and segregation in the United States, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was legislated as a national holiday in 1983 and observed for the first time in 1986, some 18 years after his assassination in 1968. Many cities throughout the country have marches and parades planned. On Sunday morning, Hope United Methodist Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay locally celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday with a free program before services were dedicated in his memory.
(Public Domain photo courtesy of mlkonline.net)
