Where did Martin Luther King Jr. Day originate from?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day originated as a result of efforts to honor the civil rights leader's contributions to American society and his advocacy for nonviolent protest against racial injustice. Following King's assassination in 1968, a campaign led by activists, including Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Edward Kennedy, sought to establish a federal holiday in his memory. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law, designating the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was first observed as a federal holiday on January 20, 1986.