Civil rights icon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. King celebrated his last birthday in 1968.

Since 1986, the nation has observed Dr. King’s birthday on the third Monday of January.

Stevie Wonder helped build support for a national holiday “to show just how much we love” the drum major for justice. In the inner sleeve of Hotter Than July (1980), Stevland Morris a/k/a Stevie Wonder wrote:

It is believed that for a man to lay down his life for the love of others is the supreme sacrifice. Jesus Christ by his own example showed us that there is no greater love. For nearly two thousand years now we have been striving to have the strength to follow that example. Martin Luther King was a man who had that strength. He showed us, non-violently, a better way of life, a way of mutual respect, helping us to avoid much bitter confrontation and inevitable bloodshed. We still have a long road to travel until we reach the world that was his dream. We in the United States must not forget either his supreme sacrifice or that dream.

I and a growing number of people believe that it is time for our country to adopt legislation that will make January 15, Martin Luther King’s birthday, a national holiday, both in recognition of what he achieved and as a reminder of the distance which still has to be traveled.

Join me in the observance of January 15, 1981 as a national holiday.

Happy birthday, Dr. King.