Martin Luther King Day is observed this Monday, January 15, 2024. The holiday commemorates the holiday serves as a time for reflection, community service, and the celebration of Dr. King’s contributions to the civil rights movement.

Although now a paid federal holiday, the path towards recognition took fifteen long years. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed H.R. 3706, a bill that established Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal public holiday on the third Monday of January. On January 18, 1986, President Reagan signed Proclamation 5431 (100 Stat. 4396), marking the first observance of his birthday a national holiday. Each president since President Reagan has issued a proclamation recognizing MLK Day as a day to acknowledge and celebrate the visionary work of Dr. King.

Connecticut was one of the first states to recognize MLK day in 1973 on Sundays (P.A. 73-648). In 1977, it switched to January 15 (P.A. 76-267). In 1986, it changed MLK day to the first Monday on or after January 15 annually (P.A. 84-56). Individual municipalities could opt to recognize it or not.

Connecticut’s role in Martin Luther King Jr.’s formative years, where he spent summer working on a tobacco farm in Simsbury, Ct is little known, as this experience opened a teenage Martin Luther King Jr's eyes to a world beyond the Jim Crow South.  Years later, his autobiography noted his experiences in Connecticut which helped heighten his awareness of the cruel injustice of segregation.  Simsbury will celebrate MLK's legacy this on Monday, January 15, 2024.

UConn Law Library will be open on Martin Luther King Day.  As future attorneys, legislators, judges and community activists, you will have the responsibility to uphold the law, provide access to justice and ensure that the justice system is equitable.  Take time to contemplate Dr. King’s legacy and how your future practice will advance the principles he stood for.