The Rev. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the prominent figures of the 20th Century.

Due to his

accomplishments with the civil rights movement, he was named Time Magazine's

Man of the Year in 1963 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at the age

of 35. King was the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association,

which organized the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, president of the Southern

Christian Leadership Conference, a co-pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist

Church and a civil rights leader who organized countless nonviolent protests,

including a historic march on Washington, D.C.

King was assassinated

in Memphis, Tenn. Apr. 8, 1968 at the age of 39.

Four days after

his assassination, U.S. Rep. John Conyers introduced legislation for a

federal holiday in honor of King. The following year, Jan. 15, the King

Center in Atlanta sponsored the first observance of King's birthday. There

was an ecumenical service and other events in what became the model for

subsequent celebrations nationwide in the coming years.

Several states

including Massachusetts, Connecticut and Illinois observed his birthday

by 1975 but it did not become a nationally recognized holiday until 1983.

Coretta Scott King testified before the House of Representatives, the

Senate Judiciary Committee and joint hearings of Congress urging them

to pass a bill sponsoring a nationwide King holiday. The bill lost by

five votes in the House of Representatives in November 1979.

Eventually,

it passed through Congress in 1983, after six million signatures in support

of the holiday were presented to then Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill.

President Ronald Reagan signed the bill in November 1983, three months

after the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington was reenacted. Forty-four

states were celebrating the holiday by 1989 and by 1999 all 50 states

marked the holiday, which takes place the third Monday of every January.

Celebrations

for the King holiday will start around the state this week. Noted civil

rights attorney Morris Dees will be the keynote speaker at Clayton College

& State University's second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration

Day tomorrow.

The founder

of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., Dees will speak

on "Responding to Hate: Voices of Hope and Tolerance." His 7

p.m. address, which is sponsored by the university's MLK Recognition Day

Committee, will take place in the university's Athletics and Fitness Center

with seating for 1,000 people. Also featured on the evening's program

will be musical selections by the university's new gospel choir. There

is no admission charge.

Morehouse College,

King's alma mater, will present "A King Celebration with the Atlanta

Symphony Orchestra" at the MLK International Chapel at 7 p.m. Tickets

are $20. Phone 404-526-8946.

Fayette County

will honor King with an event at Starr's Mill High School Saturday, Jan.

19 from 10 a.m. to noon. In collaboration with and support from the Peachtree

City administration, Police Department and the Fayette County Board of

Education, the Fayette NAACP will conduct the day's events.

Rep. Tyrone

Brooks, civil rights activist and a longtime member of the Georgia House

of Representatives, will be keynote speaker. Born in Warren County near

Augusta, Brooks worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

and King during the Civil Rights Movement. He represents the 54th District

in Fulton County.

The event is

open to everyone regardless of race, creed or color. The school is at

1378 Ga. Highway 74 south, near its intersection with Ga. Highway 85.

Phone 770-460-9934.

There will

also be a memorial celebration at the Shrine of Immaculate Conception

at 11 a.m. The church is at 48 MLK Jr. Drive. Phone 404-978-2776. Coretta

Scott King will have a book signing Saturday at 4 p.m. at the MLK Center's

gift shop.

Monday, Jan.

21, Emory University will have an MLK community service Atlanta project

beginning at the Office of Volunteers at 9 a.m. Phone 404-727-6268. Ebenezer

Baptist Church will have its annual commemorative service at 10 a.m. The

church is at 4-7 Auburn Ave. Hosea's Feed the Hungry and Homeless Dinner

will begin at 11 a.m. at Turner Field. Columbus State University will

have its annual holiday presentation beginning at 11 a.m.

Emory University

will have an MLK celebration in the Cannon Chapel at 6 p.m., Tuesday,

Jan. 22 and will have a concert and birthday cake in the Dobbs University

Center at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23.

More than 100

nations observe and celebrate the King holiday. It is a time of reflection

and humanitarian service. King once said, "Everybody can be great,

because everybody can serve." To learn more about King, the holiday

or how you can volunteer and help your fellow man, visit the Web site,

www.thekingcenter.org .

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