Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Pittsburgh-based guest artist Noa Denmon, celebrates the 26th anniversary of the federal American holiday and day of service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A civil rights pioneer, Dr. King’s legacy has forever altered the trajectory of United States history and inspired multiple generations to join in the pursuit of equality and social justice.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929 and devoted his life to the pursuit of racial equality. He spearheaded some of America’s most groundbreaking demonstrations in the name of racial justice. Among these were the Montgomery Bus Boycotts from 1955 to 1956—peaceful protests which were considered the country’s first mass demonstration against segregation— and the Selma to Montgomery March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 where protesters marched to demand an end to voter registration discrimination. Also, during the historic 1963 March on Washington, the orator delivered his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech to some 250,000 people. 

Dr. King played a key role in the passage of transformative American legislation, from the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed public segregation and employment discrimination, to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which implemented sweeping changes to combat the disenfrachisement of voters based on race. In 1964, at the age of 35, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize making him the youngest person in history at the time to receive this honor.

Dr. King’s dream of racial equality inspired children, teenagers, and young adults to join the movement, with many of them attending meetings, marches and demonstrations from an early age. Today’s Doodle aims to depict this cross-generation activism in the parallel scenes from rallies of the 1960s on the left and modern day murals for social justice on the right.  

Today and everyday, people of all ages honor his legacy by pouring into their communities and taking action to build a better future.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Take a journey through Dr. King’s life with the grand opening of the miniature museum “Still Dreaming,” created by artist Tammie Knight and curated by Adrian Octavius Walker with photography from the Google Arts & Culture archives. Learn more about the project with Google Arts & Culture.