Boise State University Hosts MLK Day March and Rally.

What is MLK Day? Why are you off work and what's the reason to giving these students the day off?

Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. MLK Day celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr, an influential American civil rights leader. That's the Wikipedia short version. King was before my time, but his message will live till the end of time. There will be one day when people are shocked that water fountains use to have signs that read, "Whites Only." You think there's injustice with police brutality against African Americans? You have no idea what was happening back in the day. I can't even imagine what a news outlet report would look like in 2018.

I took a job in Memphis for a year and stood in front of the very hotel Martin Luther Jr. was assassinated at. I remember going to a grand opening ceremony of for the historic Stax Records. I was standing there walking through as bodyguards spread the vicinity in their black suits for Jessie Jackson who walk in front of me to read history. It was just a block away from Al Green's recording studio and the very place where Elvis Presley dropped his first album.

History becomes a footnote in our lives. Most of us living today will never be able to fathom what life was like in 1968. I know I can't. There is no way to imagine what it was like to own somebody, the KKK, or drinking at whites only water fountains. Life was a different world and once a year we get to remember the people that made a difference for everyone.

Monday, January 15 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that's why you might have off. It's important we don't forget the people the helped change the course of history.

Boise State University MLK Living Legacy Celebration 2018

Things begin at 9 a.m. with a gathering at Jordan Ballroom in the SUB to make posters for the annual "Day of Greatness" march followed by a rally. Expect the march to leave at 10:30 down University Drive and Capitol Boulevard ending at the Idaho Capitol steps.

The state of Idaho's ceremony in the Capitol rotunda begins at noon.

There will be shuttles running back and forth from campus beginning at noon continuing till 2 p.m.

Get more information including details on the keynote speech Monday evening HERE.

Other MLK Day events include a special viewing of the movie, Selma. This civil rights blockbuster movie will be hosted by the Riverside Hotel Sapphire Room. Get more information HERE.