Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and social media resounds with posts honoring his life, legacy, and transformational leadership. The federal holiday in America was signed into law in 1983 and officially observed in all 50 states beginning in 2000. It celebrates the civil rights icon’s birthday, January 15th, 1929, on the third Monday every January.
Many also use MLK Day as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, “a day of citizen action volunteer service in honor of King,” as championed by Congressman John Lewis and Senator Harris Wofford. As a testament to the fact that Dr. King’s vital work and activism is ever ongoing, members of his family marched in Washington D.C. not only to mark the day but to demand the Senate end the filibuster and pass voting rights legislation. Online, a torrent of social media posts both honor Dr. King and draw attention to America’s continued struggle for civil rights.
“To the president and United States senators, you were successful with infrastructure, which is a great thing,” [King’s son Martin Luther] King III told the crowd gathered outside Nationals Park before they headed over the bridge. “But you need to use the same energy to ensure all Americans have an unencumbered right to vote.”
A Tweet from Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley further drove this home:
We’re still in the Civil Rights Movement & don’t have the luxury of complacency.
To honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we must abolish the Jim Crow filibuster, protect voting rights & legislate like democracy depends on it—because it does.
My #MLKDay statement: pic.twitter.com/pHp6Aoy2Wh
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) January 17, 2022
Social media feeds filled with pictures, quotes, and calls to action as we remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
The first national MLK Day was observed in 1986 https://t.co/HRU7QRsp1Q
— TIME (@TIME) January 17, 2022
Rev. Bernice King looks back on the legacy and impact of her father, Martin Luther King Jr. #MLKDayhttps://t.co/9vzUKE9QqU
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) January 17, 2022
As you honor my father today, please remember and honor my mother, as well.
She was the architect of the King Legacy and founder of @TheKingCenter, which she founded two months after Daddy was assassinated.
Without #CorettaScottKing, there would be no #MLKDay. #MLK pic.twitter.com/UBMCSrEare
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 17, 2022
A thread of color photos of my father, as we commemorate his 93rd birthday. #MLK #CorettaScottKing #BelovedCommunity #MLKDay #ShiftingPriorities pic.twitter.com/01tTSxqPBQ
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 17, 2022
Today, as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his legacy’s call is clear: deliver justice for the poor, protect those targeted by hate, defend the freedom to vote, and demand that our leaders fight current malice as the best bulwark against future harm. #MLKDay
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) January 17, 2022
Members of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family demanded Monday that the Senate scrap the filibuster and pass voting rights legislation as they led a D.C. march on the holiday honoring the civil rights icon.
https://t.co/AUbonYs5KZ— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 17, 2022
“While I…am not old enough to vote, this fight is personal for me. It’s our future these elected leaders are deciding. It’s our voices they are trying to silence because they know our voices are powerful,” Yolanda Renee King says on MLK Day. https://t.co/fX1yHMLBAn pic.twitter.com/qHjpfEiAgh
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 17, 2022
Our right to vote is under attack and it is in SERIOUS danger. But you can do something about it! Something that will have a huge impact. ⁰⁰Call your Senator! (202)-224-3121 and tell them to #PassVotingRightsNow #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/b196pzCVxR
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 17, 2022
Today is #MLKDay, a moment to reflect on our capacity to not only have a dream for our nation, but to reflect on how we can work together and shape, from our many dreams, one community of citizens. pic.twitter.com/QMdgpaYm2w
— Forest Whitaker (@ForestWhitaker) January 17, 2022
Anyone who knows me, knows that quotes are my love language. My favorite quote from Dr. King is about love and its relationship with power.#MLKDay pic.twitter.com/3TqMpE69xO
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) January 17, 2022
This #MLKDay, I’m reminded of the story of fellow Kenyan, @KennedyOdede. Struggling to find a path out of Kiberia, Kennedy discovered Dr. King’s literature at a community center and said “[he] gave me a reason to believe you can change your own life & change your own community.” pic.twitter.com/8qfB1l8aKq
— Lupita Nyong’o (@Lupita_Nyongo) January 17, 2022
Dr. King chose unapologetic action and radical love to fight against economic + racial oppression.
He was attacked, hated, denounced & later assassinated because he loved humanity more than power + money. Speaking truth to power is still as unpopular today, but required. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/zp60oRR5OC
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 17, 2022
The most meaningful tribute we can make to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is to secure voting rights for every American. Now is not just a time for reflection, but also for action. The House passed the Freedom to Vote Act last week; the Senate must show the same courage. #MLKDay
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) January 17, 2022
Today we remember when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned us about the “white moderate.”#MLKDay pic.twitter.com/2WwnZ10yqQ
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) January 17, 2022
#ReidOutBlog: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was open and honest about his deep disapproval of White, revisionist history and willful ignorance. #MLKDay #MartinLutherKingDay #reiders https://t.co/3nZKh7FPib
— The ReidOut (@thereidout) January 17, 2022
Happy #MLKDay to everyone who chooses to hear the totality of the man’s message, especially the parts that challenge us and most of all you. https://t.co/crTuJCgmDO
— Nick Cho 조근형 (@NickCho) January 17, 2022
🧵 A thread of #MLK speeches, sermons and interviews in which he tells inconvenient truths, shares about his philosophy of nonviolence, and expounds on injustice and what our righteous, rigorous response should be.
Relevant. Revelatory. Revolutionary. #MLKDay #MLKDay2022 pic.twitter.com/2vdUjGyDaE
— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) January 17, 2022
Text to give and support the work of #TheKingCenter.
Text MLKGIVE to 44321 #MLKDay #MLK #ShiftingPriorities #BelovedCommunity pic.twitter.com/8ddS3SsmtP
— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) January 17, 2022
Would you help me tweet this around the world?
Kindness matters
But kindness does not = justiceCivility counts
But civility is not the humane response to injustice
Justice isLove is essential
But love is not a passive, weeping bystanderLove puts in work. #MLKDay
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 17, 2022
This is only the smallest sampling of a flood of social media posts on MLK Day. You can follow along on Twitter via the hashtag #MLKDay.
(image: Martin Luther King III on Twitter/screenshot)
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