January Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday marked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader who fought to end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States.

King, a Baptist minister, rose to national prominence during the 1950s and 1960s by advocating nonviolent resistance to injustice, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. He led protests, marches and boycotts that helped secure landmark civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

King was assassinated in 1968, but his legacy endures through his calls for equality, economic justice and peaceful social change.