People all throughout Bloomington-Normal took the time to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King on January 20th, 2014.

Monday was the national holiday for celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. His official birth date is January 15th but his day is reserved for the third Monday of January each year. He was an activist for civil rights in the 1960s. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 and soon after there was demand for a national holiday. Ronald Regan signed the holiday into law and it went into action in 1986.

The community had some big plans for the day, the Galaxy theater in Bloomington presented the second annual “Day of Dreams’’ dedicated to Martin Luther King. This event was free and included live music and community leaders spoke about the hero’s actions. Denny’s Doughnuts and Beck Memorial Home provided free coffee and doughnuts for the event.

ISU hosted its annual Martin Luther King chess tournament. Garrett Scott, the founder, presented a motivational speech about the hero’s legacy. It was hosted at the Illinois State Bone Student Center.

When asked what she did on the national holiday, Sara Fuller (11) said,” I went out to lunch with my mom and spent quality time with my family.”

Ashley Wickenhauser, a senior, commented on what she did on her day off. “I went to the movies with some friends to see Devils Due.”

Even though we as students gets many days off during the school year for important events or people we seem to forget the real reason for those days. To really recognize these important holidays we challenge students to reach out into the community and look for ways to be involved.