Today January 15 is the birthday of what many consider a great man in history. Martin Luther King born January 15th 1929. While the date is not the day that is celebrated it is the third Monday of January that is celebrated for his birthday. This year, the date we celebrate the federal holiday on is also his day and month that he was born on. However the process of getting his birthday registered as a national holiday was not easy.
One of the last states to recognize Martin Luther King day was South Carolina. In fact Alabama and Mississippi celebrate the old day that honored both King and Robert E. Lee. That combination may make some shake their head as King fought for human rights and Lee was a general for the southern states during the American Civil War. In the end President Ronald Reagan would sign the bill that made the day that honors the baptist preacher who became activist for human rights a national holiday in 1983 some 200 years after slavery as we knew in in the United States ended.
Many states still consider his birthday to also be alongside the Human Rights day, In fact there is a special day, week and month celebrating human rights. Human rights that many think of and state all are entitled to are right to life and liberty, freedom of opinion and the right to be able to work and get an education. These rights are sadly stolen from individuals often. Thus it is important to have conversations and learn all we can on how to recognize human trafficking.
Martin Luther King fought for the rights of many not only his own. He would work tirelessly to help those he would meet along the way. However, his battle to help others would come to an end when marching through Memphis Tennessee he would be shot and die on April 4, 1968
Those who could find their selves to be drawn easily into human trafficking are
- immigrants far from the home they knew
- substance abuse can lead to troubles that include human trafficking
- individuals with mental health also can find their selves drawn into human trafficking easily
- runaways or homeless that have no where to go and noone to help them are easily offered just a bit of hope that can land them in the hands of human traffickers
Thank you so much for sharing with us at Talking About It Tuesdays!
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