Martin Luther King Day 2026: What is it, why do people celebrate it, is it a holiday day in UK?

Martin Luther King was an incredibly influential figure who helped to shape America's history. He was a civil rights activist who fought for racial equality.

Martin Luther King Day is an American holiday and people all over the country and around the world celebrate. It is not a holiday day in the UK.

Each year, Martin Luther King Day is the Monday closest to his birthday on 15 January. This year, it's being held on Monday 20 January. People usually use the time to reach out to their community and spend time together, they also take time to reflect or campaign for racial equality and civil rights issues across the world.

Before 1964, black people in America were treated as second class citizens. In some parts of the country they weren't allowed to use the same schools, diners, cinemas or even public toilets as white people.

On buses, black and white Americans sat separately and black people could even be arrested for not giving up their seat for a white person. Martin Luther King wanted to change this.

On 28 August 1963 he marched to Washington DC - the capital of America - and delivered a ground-breaking speech in front of a crowd of thousands of people. His 17-minute long speech was called "I have a Dream", and talked about living in a future where all people are equal, regardless of the colour of their skin.

His speech went down in history, inspired millions of people, and helped to bring about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This Act ended the official separation of people by race in public places in the US, and banned companies from not giving people a job on the basis of race, gender, religion or national origin.

In 1964, Martin Luther King was awarded the the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaigning but four years later in 1968 he was shot and killed. To remember his achievements, people in the US celebrate his memory on Martin Luther King Day.

Parades are held, and people are given a day off work or school.