JCRegister

Today, we observe the historical day of one of the most important figures in American History – Martin Luther King, Jr. Below is the shortened version of his speech “I Have a Dream”

JC Official Website has this on their homepage:

City Hall Closed on Dr. King’s Birthday

All Municipal Offices will be closed in observance of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday on Monday, January 19, 2009. Regular trash pick-ups will continue, but street sweepings will be suspended. Municipal Offices will reopen at 9 a.m., Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

Born on January 15, 1929, Dr. King was a prominent member and leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from 1954 until his assassination on April 4, 1968. In1964, at the age of thirty-five, Dr. King became the youngest recipient to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

While best known for his“I Have A Dream Speech,” delivered on the Mall in Washington, D.C. before 250,000 spectators in 1963, Dr. King’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” is considered by many scholars to be one of the outstanding pieces of 20th century literature.

In 1977, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to observe Dr. King’s Birthday as an official State Holiday. It wasn’t until nine years later, however, in 1986 that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became a National Holiday. It is observed on the third Monday of every January.