MLK Day: Only Federal Holiday Designated as National Day of Service

America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

Site of MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech" at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC

MLK Day: Only Federal Holiday Designated as National Day of Service

As the nation observes Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service January 15, we pay tribute through census data and resources showing the civil rights leader’s impact on everything from voting rights and volunteerism to educational and economic progress.

Following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting voting and registration data as a supplement to the Current Population Survey every two years to ensure that elections are fair and open to all citizens regardless of race.

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In 1964, the Census Bureau reported that 69% of all voters age 21 and older and 58.5% of Black or African American voters participated in the U.S presidential election between Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson and Republican Barry M. Goldwater. In 2020, the share (66.8%) of all voters who went to the polls was lower but the share (62.6%) of Black voters went up.

MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated by Congress as a National Day of Service. In partnership with the Census Bureau, AmeriCorps conducts a longitudinal survey every two years about volunteerism and other forms of civic engagement in the United States.

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