Another holiday is approaching fast, and this one will be a three-day weekend for many across the United States.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be observed Monday, Jan. 19.
In 2025, the holiday coincided with the inauguration of President Trump on Jan. 20. At the time, flags were flying at half-staff around the U.S. for the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Here’s what to know about the man and the holiday.
When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday in January.
This year, the date falls on Monday, Jan. 19.
The History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
A comprehensive look at the hard-fought campaign to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and its transformation into a national day of service.
Is MLK Day a federal holiday?
Yes. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of 11 federal holidays:
According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2026 holidays are:
- Thursday, Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
- Monday, Jan. 19: Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday
- Monday, Feb. 16: Washington’s birthday
- Monday, May 25: Memorial Day
- Friday, June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
- Friday, July 3: Independence Day
- Monday, Sept. 7: Labor Day
- Monday, Oct. 12: Columbus Day
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day
- Friday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day
Is Martin Luther King Jr. Day a Florida paid holiday?
Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of nine paid holidays in Florida.
According to the Florida Department of Management Services, the nine paid holidays for state agencies in 2026 are:
- Thursday, Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
- Monday, Jan. 19: Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday
- Monday, May 25: Memorial Day
- Friday, July 3: Independence Day
- Monday, Sept. 7: Labor Day
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day
- Friday, Nov. 27: Day after Thanksgiving
- Friday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day
What is closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Florida and federal offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 19.
Also closed will be the stock market, most banks and post offices. No mail will be delivered on Jan. 19.
➤ Is the stock market closed on Martin Luther King Day?
Most retail stores and grocery stores will be open on the holiday.
All Florida schools to be closed for MLK Day, Jan. 19
Florida schools in all 67 counties will be closed on Monday, Jan. 19, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Why is Martin Luther King Jr. Day on a different date every year?
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929, but the federal holiday was set for the third Monday in January in 1983, according to the National Constitution Center.
By 2000, all 50 states had made it a state holiday.
Theme for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026
The theme for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026 is “Mission Possible. Building Community, Uniting a Nation,” according to The King Center.
Is it Martin Luther King Jr. or MLK Day?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is often shortened to MLK Day or MLK Jr. Day.
Who is Martin Luther King Jr.?
King led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950s and 1960s to achieve legal equality for African Americans in the United States.
“During the less than 13 years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December 1955 until April 4, 1968, African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced,” the King Center said.
His “I Have a Dream” speech, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” are among the most revered orations and writings in the English language.
King was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
‘I Have a Dream’ speech by MLK
MLK Jr.’s daughter remembers his ‘I have a dream’ speech
60 years after the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King reflects on his iconic ‘I have a dream’ speech.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is considered one of the most famous speeches in the world, according to the Smithsonian.
It was given on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“Encouraged by shouts from the audience, King drew upon some of his past talks, and the result became the landmark statement of civil rights in America — a dream of all people, of all races and colors and backgrounds, sharing in an America marked by freedom and democracy.”
➤ Read transcript of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech
Quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
Here are some excerpts from King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech:
“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you, my friends, we have the difficulties of today and tomorrow.
“I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
“I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.
“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
“This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
“With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
“With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
“This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning ‘My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!'”
Are Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr. related?
No. Martin Luther was born in 1483. The German monk and theologian sparked the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, according to history.com.
In 1934, Martin Luther King Jr.’s father, Michael King, attended the World Baptist Alliance in Berlin.
When he returned to the U.S., he changed his name from Michael King to Michael Luther King and finally Martin Luther King, according to the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute.
Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at tallahassee.com/newsletters.
