- In 1994, 11 years after the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Congress incorporated the service component that encourages Americans to volunteer and improve their communities, according to the holiday's government website.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lived from Jan. 15, 1929, until his assassination outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. His activism and moral authority in the years preceding his death helped usher in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Former President Lyndon B. Johnson made the civil rights bill his top priority during the first year of his administration, according to the Library of Congress website. He enlisted the help of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and members of Congress to secure the bill's passage.
- After a prolonged filibuster, the bill passed the Senate on June 19, 1964, by a vote of 73 to 27.
The law's 11 sections prohibited discrimination in the workplace, public accommodations, public facilities and within agencies receiving federal funds.
- The law also strengthened prohibitions on school segregation and discrimination in voter registration.
In response to the new wave of protests occurring at the time, Congress followed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965—addressing the long-tenured discrimination against African Americans' access to the ballot.
Quotes of note
Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis called the fulfillment of King's dream a recommitment to the pursuit of economic justice.
"We must recommit ourselves to the pursuit of economic justice and the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream. These ideals are under attack as some fight to roll back progress through voter suppression and chip away at fundamental rights," Ellis said in an email.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones planned a community volunteer event over the weekend that was dedicated to planting trees and picking up waste.
“The 200 trees we planted in Bear Creek Pioneers Park will create cleaner air for our residents to breathe and mitigate rising temperature through added shade. We are also partnering with Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis to clean up and beautify several locations in the historic Riceville community, one of Harris County’s Freedom Colonies founded after Emancipation," said Briones.
Dig deeper
Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting voting and registration data every two years. Data shows the percentage of Black or African American voters in the country has increased since then.
- In 1964, the census bureau reported 69% of all voters age 21 and older participated in the U.S presidential election between Lyndon B. Johnson and Barry M. Goldwater, and 58.5% of Black or African American voters participated.
- Compared to the 2020 U.S. presidential election between Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Donald J. Trump, the census bureau reported 66.8% of all voters age 21 and older participated, and 62.6% of Black or African American voters participated.
Harris County's voting population, including the number of people of color, has also increased, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
- In 2022, the number of Harris County voters grew by more than 125,000 people compared to 2018—from an estimated 2.75 million voters to 2.87 million voters.
