# 3188a - 1999 33c Celebrate the Century - 1960s: "I Have a Dream"
37¢ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Celebrate the Century – 1960s
City: Green Bay, WI
Quantity: 8,000,000
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11.5
First Observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Calls for a holiday honoring King began just four days after his sudden death in 1968 at the age of just 39 years old. US Representative John Conyers and US Senator Edward Brooke submitted a bill calling on Congress to declare his birthday a national holiday.
Despite the growing support for the bill, some strongly opposed it. One argument was that it would be too expensive to grant a paid holiday for federal workers. Others also argued that it would break with tradition to honor a private citizen, as other memorial holidays honored people that had held public office.
37¢ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Celebrate the Century – 1960s
City: Green Bay, WI
Quantity: 8,000,000
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11.5
First Observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Calls for a holiday honoring King began just four days after his sudden death in 1968 at the age of just 39 years old. US Representative John Conyers and US Senator Edward Brooke submitted a bill calling on Congress to declare his birthday a national holiday.
Despite the growing support for the bill, some strongly opposed it. One argument was that it would be too expensive to grant a paid holiday for federal workers. Others also argued that it would break with tradition to honor a private citizen, as other memorial holidays honored people that had held public office.