Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day

To to the Editor:

Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day is January 19, 2026. It is a federal holiday. Why does this country honor Dr. King’s life and work? Because his work to fight for justice for all Americans represents the best ideals of our country. Dr. King was not afraid to speak truth to power.

Who was Dr. King? He was the son, grandson and great grandson of ministers. He is best known for his work which used the power of non-violent protest as a tool to change unjust laws in the United States. His actions led to historic federal civil rights legislation. Civil rights are human rights backed by law.

But today, instead of celebrating Dr. King’s legacy, the current United States federal administration removed his birthday as a free day at all national parks. The newspaper, The Guardian, states that the National Park Service will no longer offer free admission to parks on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as they had in the past.

According to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), the United States federal administration is ‘downplaying America’s civil rights history.’ Why? Is it because they are afraid of the power of the people? Are the politicians afraid of the citizen’s power to vote them out of office?

A good start to learning about Dr. King’s life is to consider reading the document written by Dr. King entitled: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written on April 16, 1963. In that short paper, Dr. King states the importance of speaking up against actions that are unjust. He urged people to refuse to be silent in the face of hate and violence. Do you think that his ideas are as important for us today, in 2026, as they were sixty-three years ago, in 1963?

Thank for your time and consideration.

Peter Engstrom