Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands in the memorial gardens that bear his name in Raleigh, N.C. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Today we remember the life and accomplishments of the activist who preached in the 1960s about civil disobedience as an effective tool for drawing national attention to racial inequality.

This story was originally published January 18, 2026 at 2:04 AM with the headline "Martin Luther King Jr. Day."

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