In April 1968, just four days after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Conyers introduced the first of many bills to establish a federal holiday in King’s honour. A bill creating the holiday was finally signed into law by Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Jan 20, 2025 · Detroiters like Stevie Wonder and John Conyers were instrumental in making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday.

Jan 15, 2025 · U.S. Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, one of the longest-serving members of Congress known for his liberal stance on civil rights, proposed legislation to recognize King four days after his assassination outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Supporters knew it would not be easy.

He also sponsored a bill to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday, and was the first congressperson to introduce legislation in support of reparations for the descendants of African American slavery. Conyers ran for Mayor of Detroit in 1989 and 1993, but he was defeated in the primary both times.

Jan 10, 2018 · John Conyers, then a Democratic Congressman from Michigan, took to the floor of Congress to insist on a federal holiday in King’s honor. However, the request fell on deaf ears. One of the few...

Jan 20, 2025 · The idea to establish the third Monday of January as a national holiday recognizing the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an early response to his horrific murder on April 4, 1968, outside a motel in Memphis, but it took years of campaigning and grassroots activism to overcome opposition and make it a truly national day of remembrance. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), who, when he was ...

Jan 15, 2025 · U.S. Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, one of the longest-serving members of Congress known for his liberal stance on civil rights, proposed legislation to recognize King four days after his assassination outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

Jan 12, 2023 · Conyers was not only one of the few black men in Congress at the time but happened to be active in the civil rights movement, attending one of Martin Luther King’s biggest marches on Freedom Day in 1965.

Jan 20, 2025 · U.S. Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, one of the longest-serving members of Congress known for his liberal stance on civil rights, proposed legislation to recognize King four days...

Dec 8, 2019 · Congressman John Conyers, an African American Democrat from Michigan, spearheaded the movement to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Conyers worked in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, was elected to Congress in 1964, and championed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.