MLK JR DAY

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Did you know this day became a holiday because of a song? Because of a Stevie Wonder song?

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. And four days after his murder, a bill was introduced in Congress to create a national holiday in his honor. Civil rights activists fought for 15 years to get this holiday recognized by the federal government. The bill was reintroduced many times in the 1970s and failed every time. 
King’s widow, Coretta Scott King lead a building cultural effort to pressure the government and in 1981, Stevie Wonder released “Happy Birthday” for Motown to promote the holiday and federal recognition of Dr. King’s work and legacy. He used the song to popularize the campaign for the holiday, holding the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. 

After this building pressure, President Ronald Reagan finally approved the creation of the holiday in 1983.

This is a story of how music helped get a cultural movement to a tipping point that made an important policy change and influenced a cultural and educational change in America. It’s such an amazing story of the power of music, and the power of all of the forms of protest and political action that impact societal change and government decision makers. There are lessons in this story for today. 

In this moment of our government not following the will of the people, and outright institutional terror, the fight has to take many forms: art, music, running for office, voting, campaigning for candidates, donating, getting educated, teaching our children, protecting the innocent and vulnerable, fighting for justice, protest, the list goes on…

On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we hope you don’t just take the day off. We hope you take some action that makes sense for you to honor and recognize Dr. King’s legacy — in a joyful way, like teaching this story about the power of art and music and protest to your children, or a small way like making a quick donation to a cause that needs your support — or in a bigger way — like spending the day at the march from Garfield High School, or deciding to run for local office!

At the very least, go listen to Stevie Wonder's entire Happy Birthday song. We’ll be playing it in our shops in heavy rotation on Monday, MLK Jr. Day. No matter what, we hope you all are doing what makes you feel a part of the solution these days, ice cream lovers!