The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, paying tribute to President Abraham Lincoln. Today, millions honor King on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on the third Monday of January near his Jan. 15 birthday.
Initially proposed by U.S. Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan just days after King's assassination in 1968, the idea for a national holiday honoring King faced significant opposition. King's advocacy for civil rights and social justice had polarized the nation, with many Americans viewing him as too radical.
