雅思口语素材：Dr.Martin Luther King Day马丁.路德.金纪念日_雅思英语口语

雅思口语素材：Dr.Martin Luther King Day马丁.路德.金纪念日

　　On Monday, January 20, 1986, in cities and towns across the country people celebrated the first official Martin Luther King Day, the only federal holiday commemorating an African-American. A ceremony which took place at an old railroad depotin Atlanta Georgia was especially emotional. Hundreds had gathered to sing and to march. Many were the same people who, in 1965, had marched for fifty miles between two cities in the state of Alabama to protest segregation and discrimination of black Americans.

　　All through the 1980s, controversy surrounded the idea of a Martin Luther King Day. Congressmen and citizens had petitionedthe President to make January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s birthday, a federal holiday. Others wanted to make the holiday on the day he died, while some people did not want to have any holiday at all.

　　January 15 had been observed as a public holiday for many years in 27 states and Washington, D.C. Finally, in 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared the third Monday in January a federal legal holiday commemorating Dr. Martin Luther Kings birthday.

　　Schools, offices and federal agencies are closed for the holiday. On Monday there are quiet memorial services as well as elaborate ceremonies in honor of Dr. King. On the preceding Sunday, ministers of all religions give special sermonsreminding everyone of Dr. Kings lifelong work for peace. All weekend, popular radio stations play songs and speeches that tell the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Television channels broadcast special programs with filmed highlights of Dr. Kings life and times.