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美国过节纪念民权运动领袖 US Observes Holiday Honoring Civil Rights Leader

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星期一是美国联邦假日，纪念被杀害的民权领袖马丁·路德·金的诞辰。

马丁·路德·金日是1983年设立的联邦假日，时任美国总统里根签署了一项法案，在每年1月的第三个星期一纪念马丁·路德·金。1929年1月15日，马丁·路德·金出生于乔治亚州的亚特兰大市。

1994年，美国国会把马丁·路德·金日定为全国服务日，鼓励美国民众参与社区项目的活动。

马丁·路德·金在1955年成为著名人士，当时他在阿拉巴马州的蒙特马利市成功地领导了对公交车线路的封锁，迫使该市停止了对黑人乘客的隔离政策。在上世纪50和60年代，马丁·路德·金成为民权运动的主要代言人，他1963年在华盛顿大游行期间发表著名演讲“我有一个梦想”，激励了无数民众。
 
Americans across the country pause Monday to observe the annual federal holiday marking the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

The holiday was created in 1983 when then-president Ronald Reagan signed a bill designating the third Monday in January to honor King, who was born on January 15, 1929 in ((the southeastern city of)) Atlanta, Georgia.  

The U.S. Congress designated the King holiday as a national day of service in 1994, a move aimed at encouraging Americans to take part in community projects.

King first rose to prominence in 1955 when he led a successful boycott of the public bus lines in the southern city of Montgomery, Alabama, forcing the city to end its practice of segregation of black passengers.  He would go on to become the foremost public figure of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s, inspiring millions with his famous "I Have a Dream" speech during the 1963 March on Washington.