We usually reserve the last day of the week to publish legal infographics and other shareable bits of content for our Friday Share series. However, we spotted this infographic – The History of The Martin Luther King Holiday: A Historical Timeline – and we thought it fitting to publish it here in observance.
“Today, more than ever, the message of Dr. King resonates loudly with new generations in this country. Schools use the holiday to teach import lessons to students about civil liberties, human rights, and tolerance. Other nations now also honor the holiday,” according to an announcement publishing the infographic.
The infographic, produced by Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C., a six-attorney personal injury law firm based in Detroit, Michigan, suggests a long, uphill battle to commissioning this day as a national holiday:
“The idea of honoring Dr. King’s legacy with a national holiday was not met with universal acceptance. It was not until the year 2000, seventeen years after the official holiday bill was signed into law, that every state in the union finally acknowledged and observed the day.”
The timeline of events on the path to observance is reminiscent of one of Dr. King’s famous quotes:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
The complete infographic follows below; click here or on the image for higher resolution.
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Law Day Infographic: Brief History of the Magna Carta
Credit: Published with permission; infographic by Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)