A federally-recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day was opposed by a couple of North Carolina Republicans who accused the late civil rights leader of espousing "action-oriented Marxism” in his opposition to the Vietnam War. Within a year of such opposition, the first federally-recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially signed-in to law. That was November of 1983. Three years later, the entire nation celebrated the day as a Federal holiday for the the first time.
It’s an interesting bit of trivia: within months of Ronald Reagan signing the holiday into law in 1983, Milwaukee held its first Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. This was a couple of years before it was officially celebrated as a national holiday. Only Milwaukee and Atlanta have been celebrating the holiday since before it actually started-up. Both celebrate their 32nd Annual Martin Luther King Day this weekend.
The celebration will commence at 1:00 p.m. at theMarcus Center’s Uihlein Hall. It’s a multi-cultural performing arts salute to the late civil rights leader. Performing on the program will be Skai Academy Stage Band, Ballet Folklorico de Hayes, Hip Hop Cellist Malik Johnson Simone Leonard from Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and The Milwaukee Flyers Tumbling Team.
The performance runs 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 17.
For more information, visit the Marcus Center online.
