Some people find that Martin Luther King Day to be just a Monday to sleep in, but it is much more than that.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is recognized for the achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. as a civil rights activist. King had success throughout his life; he graduated high school at the age of 15 and received a bachelor’s degree in theology from Morehouse College in Atlanta. He later enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University; completing this helped him get his doctorate in theology in 1955.

He used and taught the influential technique of non-violent protesting that he learned from stories about Gandhi. He gave speeches to people as he went around the country where the most civil injustice occurred.

He was arrested, his house was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but emerged as one of the top activists of the Civil Rights movement according to  www.nobelprize.org

“The importance of Martin Luther King day is to commemorate a leader in the American community that made a difference in the Civil Rights movement,” U.S. history teacher Bob Hoffman said.