History, Holidays, Profile America

Profile America: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

January 15, 2018 5:02 AM·

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial statue was unveiled on August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC.

Monday, January 15th. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 89 years old today. The civil rights leader, minister, and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize was born in 1929 and assassinated in 1968. Today is the national holiday, honoring his birth and legacy.

America’s diverse population of some 323 million, whatever the content of their characters, enjoys the rights Dr. King promoted. This includes around 241 million whites, over 43 million African-Americans, about 1.5 million Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, 19 million Asians, and 5.3 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. Just over 54 million people in the population are of Hispanic origin.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online.

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Author: Michael Benjamin is a public affairs consultant and an editorial board member at The New York Post. He is a former contributing columnist to the NY Post, City and State NY and other publications. He is a former Member of the New York State Assembly (2003-2010) and once led the Bronx Board of Elections. Since leaving office, he has appeared as a commentator on TWC NY1, Bronxnet OPEN, Good Day NY, and Al Jazeera America. His columns and blog focus on corruption, government, education, politics, redistricting, nuclear energy and race. He holds a B.A. in political science from Syracuse University.