IStock Photo 11312527 © tomch

In the US, only four public holidays exist to honor an individual: President's Day (George Washington), Columbus Day (Christopher Columbus), Christmas (Jesus Christ), and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For years before its inception in 1983—and for years afterwards—the designation of a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day inspired passionate debate.

The first legislation to honor King with a federal holiday was introduced to Congress only four days after his assassination in 1968. For a decade and a half it was plagued by Congressional foot-dragging and heated opposition, based in part on King’s political views and the fear that an additional paid holiday for federal workers would impose a substantial financial burden on the government.

The bill did find some muscular support among labor unions. They poured money into the campaign to get the legislation passed, and even held labor actions to showcase their support, including a 1-day strike at a General Motors plant on King’s birthday in 1969. A decade later, President Jimmy Carter endorsed the idea, and in 1980, Stevie Wonder released “Happy Birthday,” a song commemorating King and advocating the holiday be established in his memory. In 1982, Wonder joined Coretta Scott King in presenting Congress with a petition for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, complete with the signatures of 6 million Americans—one of the largest petition drives in American history.

The show of deep public support paid off. The following year, Congress passed the legislation by a landslide (House: 338-90, Senate: 78-22); the bill then landed on the desk of President Ronald Reagan, whose opposition to the holiday was well known. But legislation had passed by more than a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress, making it veto-proof.

Even after the bill’s passage on November 3, 1983, only 27 states and the District of Columbia observed the holiday during its first year, and some government officials, including John McCain and Arizona Governor Evan Meacham, remained vocally opposed (although some opponents, McCain included, later reversed themselves). It took 17 years for the holiday to be officially observed in all 50 states. As of 2007, about a third of private businesses were granting their employees the day off, a percentage which has gradually risen over time.

Although Martin Luther King. Jr. is widely recognized as a transformational American figure—a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal—the day named in his honor continues to evoke a divergence of opinion. The odds an adult considers Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to be one of the nation's most important holidays are 1 in 4.76, while the odds an adult considers Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to be one of the nation's least important holidays are higher: 1 in 3.57. The odds a black adult will plan to do something special to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day are 1 in 1.72 (58%). The odds a white adult has similar plans are 1 in 10.

The odds an American adult believes that relations between whites and blacks are better today than in the 1960's are 1 in 1.18 (85%). While 1 in 1.82 (55%) believe most Americans are not racist, a full 1 in 4 adults do believe that most Americans are racist (broken down by race, it is 1 in 4.76 white adults and 1 in 2.17 black adults). And more than 40 years after King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, 1 in 1.43 (70% of) black adults and 1 in 1.67 (60% of) white adults in a national survey disagreed with the statement that "discrimination against blacks is rare today."

In an effort to underscore national unity, in 1994 President Bill Clinton signed into law the King Holiday and Service Act, making the holiday not only Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but also the "King Day of Service," in which people nationwide are encouraged to dedicate a day to serving their community—to, as the bill phrases it, "take a day on, not a day off." In 2009, over a million people dedicated the day to helping others.

Plans for service, observance, or relaxation aside, today is a day for remembering a man who was both pastor and protestor, someone who knew the inside of the halls of power and the inside of a jail. It is interesting to note that of the four individuals honored with a US public holiday, three had a history of arrest: Christopher Columbus (arrested once), Jesus (once), and King (arrested 29 times). The fourth, George Washington, was (along with the rest of the Continental Army) declared a traitor by George III and therefore wanted for arrest during the Revolutionary War. He was never captured.