Martin Luther King Jr. Day: How It Became a Holiday in North Dakota

DICKINSON — The City of Dickinson and Stark County came together on Monday to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the civil rights leader’s enduring impact on the nation. The holiday, marked by reflection and remembrance, highlights Dr. King’s pivotal role in advancing equality and justice through nonviolent activism. Local officials and community members used the occasion to consider his legacy and its relevance to current events.

Dickinson City Administrator Dustin Dassinger said the day’s timing offered an opportunity for reflection.

“I think it’s really cool that Inauguration Day is on the same day this year. It really gives us a chance to reflect back on our history as a nation and see how we got here and who shaped us,” he said.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday on Nov. 3, 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law, concluding a 15-year effort to honor Dr. King’s birthday as a national holiday, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The holiday was first officially observed in 1986, according to information from the King Center’s website.

In 1985, North Dakota Gov. George Sinner established a state commission to coordinate North Dakota’s observance of the holiday with federal celebrations. The state officially celebrated the holiday for the first time in 1986, and a bill passed in 1987 made it a permanent state holiday.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed annually on the third Monday in January to align with Dr. King’s birthday, which is Jan. 15.

The holiday’s scheduling stems from the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. The act moved several federal holidays to Mondays to provide employees with extended weekends. The act’s signing is documented in the American Presidency Project.