America honors the reverend Martin Luther King Jr. on January 17 this year. In 1963 King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in front of 250,000 people where he stated, “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 the content of their character.” The first observance of King’s birthday as a national holiday was 1986, after President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating a commission to create a legal holiday honoring King.

King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for “non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population” (Newsweek).

King’s eldest child, Yolanda Denise, passed away in 2007. His other children, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice continue to honor their father’s legacy today.