This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash.
Are you still putting off saving and investing because you'll get to it someday?
Stash turns someday into today.
Stash isn't just an investing app.
It's a registered investment advisor that combines automated investing with dependable financial strategies to help you reach your goals faster.
They'll provide you with personalized advice on what to invest in based on your goals.
or if you just want to sit back and watch your money go to work, you can opt into their award -winning expert -managed portfolio that picks stocks for you.
Stash has helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals and starts at just $3 per month.
Don't let your savings sit around.
Make it work harder for you.
Go to get .stash .com slash htw to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures.
That's get .stash .com slash htw.
Paid non -client endorsement, not representative of all clients and not a guarantee.
Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC and SEC Registered Investment Advisor.
Investing involves risk and investments may lose value.
All for a subject to TNCs.
Hey everyone, Sally here.
This episode of History This Week is sponsored by Quince and producer Ben is here to tell you all about them.
Ben, take it away. Thank you, Sally.
You know, we've covered some people on this show that were really able to enjoy the finer things in life.
Pharaohs, kings, Gilded Age robber barons.
But why can't you enjoy a little luxury too?
That's what Quince is for.
Quince offers high quality items with prices within reach.
Clothing, jewelry, blankets, there's a ton to choose from and it's all produced in factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices.
And premium materials.
I got a Mongolian cashmere sweater from Quince, and I can genuinely say it's one of the softest, most comfortable sweaters I've ever owned.
So, give yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince.
Go to quince .com slash history for free shipping on your order and 365 -day returns.
That's Q -U -I -N -C -E dot com slash history to get free shipping and 365 day returns.
Quince dot com slash history.
Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast.
Making financial decisions shouldn't feel like picking a new streaming show.
Too many options, too easy to fall for the hype, and you wish you'd just done more research before committing.
That's where NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast comes in.
Their finance journalists break down real -world money decisions, from investing to home buying to credit cards, with clear research -backed insights.
The nerds help you cut through misinformation and get straight to the facts.
Make your next financial move with confidence.
Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast on your favorite podcast app.
The History Channel, original podcast.
History This Week January 15th, 1969 I'm Sally Helm There's a huge line of people waiting to get into Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta Thousands have gathered They're here for a tragic kind of celebration Today would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 40th birthday.
He was assassinated nine months ago while he was in Memphis, Tennessee, supporting striking sanitation workers.
This is the church where he preached.
King's friend, Ralph Abernathy, who'd been jailed with him 17 times, rises to speak, reiterating, even now, King's message of nonviolence.
So we say to the nation today, Martin, let James Earl Ray or whoever was responsible for taking your life let him live.
He's also saying essentially Martin you will not be forgotten.
Even I will go abroad until the world know who you are.
On Martin's birthday, we set out on a tremendous adventure and invite all of you to share it with us.
King's widow, Coretta Scott King, she also announces a way that her husband won't be forgotten.
A new organization founded in his memory to carry out his vision.
It is a realistic attempt to carry on an idealist fight.
the fight for which my husband lived and died." It feels natural to celebrate Dr. King's 40th birthday less than a year after his death, and to try to find ways to commemorate him, continue his work.
But what about his 41st birthday, 42nd?
What about what would've been his 96th in the year 2025?
Even back in 1969, there is a growing sentiment that this day should be marked every year as a national holiday.
Here's Michigan Congressman John Conyers at that birthday celebration in Ebenezer Baptist Church.
We ask the Congress to do no more than set aside one day out of the year so that we can, with everyone around the world, say we recognize that great spirit that has walked among us.
It seems to me that this is a minor thing to ask of my fellow colleagues.
Yeah, declaring a federal holiday seems kind of simple, like it should be a matter of paperwork.
But getting there is going to be a monumental struggle.
A battle fought in Congress, on Washington's National Mall, and in song.
Today, the fight to wish Dr. King a happy birthday.
Why was this holiday so controversial?
And how did it eventually happen with a surprising assist from a music legend?
real -world context and conversation.
No memorization, just practical skills you can use right away.
Rosetta Stone is the leading language learning program.
It's available on your desktop computer or mobile device, and is designed to immerse you in your chosen language to make the learning process as natural and effective as possible.
I think you'll be surprised with how quickly you can pick this up, fast enough to maybe prep for that faraway vacation you always wanted to take, Someplace where you can really blend into the town.
Hang out with locals.
Rosetta Stone can help make that happen.
It's an intuitive learning process.
You start with words, then phrases, all the way to full sentences.
And it's a great value.
A lifetime membership to Rosetta Stone gets you access to all 25 languages.
So you can learn as many as you want, whenever you want.
Don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential now.
History This Week listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's Lifetime Membership for 50 % off.
That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life.
Visit Rosetta Stone dot com slash history to get started and claim your 50 % off today.
Don't miss out. Go to Rosetta Stone dot com slash history and start learning today.
Legacies shape who we are, but who's shaping them?
In the new season of Black History Year, a chart -topping history podcast by Push Black, we're breaking down the meaning and power behind the personal, familial, and systemic legacies that define our world.
From the iconic legacies of Black family dynasties to the far -reaching impact of laws like the death penalty, we're diving deep into how political and cultural forces have historically molded Black communities and what it means for our future.
Join us on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts for a new season of Black History Year, dropping this February.
Let's shape our collective memory and legacy together.
If you're like me, you've always been fascinated by technology, the innovations shaping our world and the brilliant minds behind them.
That's why I'm excited about Tech Unheard, a new podcast from Arm and NPM that takes you behind the boardroom door with some of the most inspiring leaders in tech.
Hosted by ARM CEO, Renee Haas, Tech Unheard explores what drives top tech leaders, dives into today's biggest industry trends, and even shares some entertaining stories of success and failure along the way.
In the very first episode, Renee sits down with NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Wang.
It's a must listen.
They talk about his journey, the future of AI, and how NVIDIA's relentless culture of innovation keeps pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
The conversation feels natural, insightful, and totally unscripted, like you're right there in the room.
I love how this podcast captures real candid moments with tech's biggest names.
Whether it's discussing keynote nerves or the potential of AGI, every episode leaves you with something to think about.
Tune in to Tech Unheard from Arm and NPM wherever you get your podcasts.
It's hard to really internalize just how unpopular Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in the late 1960s.
Today, of course, he's generally seen as a pillar of humanity, one of the most revered figures in U .S.
history. But soon before his death in 1968, a Harris poll had his disapproval rating at 75%.
Three quarters of Americans disapproved of Dr. King.
And sure, those who supported segregation were never going to like him.
But King had also started to take up issues that expanded the definition of civil rights and created more enemies.
Dr. King alienated a lot of his supporters by coming out in opposition to the U .S.
war in Vietnam. Kevin Gaines is a professor of civil rights and social justice at the University of Virginia.
And his decision to do that really violated a sort of a major protocol in American politics in which civil rights leaders were viewed as not being qualified or entitled to speak about or certainly to criticize U .S.
foreign policy. King also embraced an economic message in his later years, saying that racial equality could not be achieved without economic equality.
That's why he's in Memphis at the time of his assassination, supporting black sanitation workers on strike.
This kind of thing turns a lot of members of the white establishment against him.
He's certainly someone who's considered a troublemaker and a rabble rouser, someone who does not respect law and order, and that's how they would have put it.
Some people may have seen him as a rabble rouser, but King never wavered from his core tenet of nonviolence.
And that was earning him new critics, too.
King was also under intense criticism from younger Black militants, you know, campaigning under the slogan of Black Power, who were really critical of nonviolence and were calling for armed self -defense.
Dr. King is assassinated on April 4, 1968.
Dr. King is assassinated on April 4, 1968.
James Earl Ray is later found guilty of the murder.
It was seemingly motivated by his hatred of the civil rights movement.
And the country is deeply shaken.
The New York Times calls his murder a national disaster.
Violence breaks out in 125 different American cities, an expression of anger, grief, and hopelessness.
In the midst of the heartbreak and chaos, Congressman John Conyers has a clear vision.
He's from Michigan, one of only seven Black members of Congress.
He calls up Coretta Scott King for her permission and then introduces a bill in the House, calling for a federal holiday to celebrate King's life on his birthday.
Conyers does this on April 8, 1968, just four days after King's death.
Considering how King is seen today, that might sound like the bare minimum show of respect, But Conyers' bill goes nowhere.
We talked to Crystal Sanders, an associate professor of African -American studies at Emory University.
She said you got to remember how many congressmen opposed Dr. King.
He was a civil rights leader that was trying to dismantle the white supremacy that had given many United States senators in particular their longevity in the U .S.
Senate representing Southern states.
Of course, they don't necessarily say that.
There were those who perhaps tried to disguise their opposition by saying that they were not necessarily opposed to Dr. King in particular, but they were opposed to having a federal holiday celebrating a private citizen because Dr. King had never held political office.
There were only nine federal holidays at that point, and this would have been something relatively new.
There had only been at that point two other citizens that had holidays named for them, and that was Christopher Columbus, who actually wasn't a U .S.
citizen, and George Washington, the first president of the United States.
So Congress won't act.
But people begin to take things into their own hands, especially in the African -American community.
Here's Kevin Gaines.
You see that with the whole tradition of informal African -American holidays.
Maybe some of them, like Juneteenth, would eventually be recognized.
But in many cases, African Americans have their own history and historical figures to commemorate.
They decide we don't need a law to celebrate King's birthday.
If the dominant society is not going to recognize Dr. King in a way that they believe that Dr. King should be recognized, They are not going to wait for permission to commemorate Dr. King.
They're going to do it themselves.
That's what happens in 1969, on what would have been King's 40th birthday.
Friends and family gather at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and that's not the only observance.
At the University of Pittsburgh, students call for classes to be canceled and present a wide -ranging list of demands supporting Black students and staff to the school's chancellor.
There's a public celebration in King's Honor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In Tarrytown, New York, hundreds of General Motors factory workers decide to take the day off.
GM disciplines those workers, which sparks a wildcat strike the next day.
In the coming years, the public calls continue, and individual states and cities begin to pass laws recognizing this day as a holiday.
But for many who supported King, a federal holiday is still the goal.
Following King's death, Congressman John Conyers introduces a bill about this every single year.
By 1979, President Jimmy Carter has endorsed the idea, and it finally makes it to the House floor.
But legislators bring up the same arguments from 1968, that there's no precedent for this, that adding a new federal holiday would be expensive and would be a burden for the government, and that Dr. King shouldn't be celebrated, that he was a communist sympathizer.
The bill fails by five votes.
But meanwhile, during that same summer of 1979, Coretta Scott King gets a phone call.
I said to her, you know, I had a dream about this song That is music legend Stevie Wonder recalling this moment in a CNN interview decades later.
I imagine in the dream I was doing this song.
We're marching to make for Dr. King's birthday to become a national holiday.
It's a nice vision, but, you know, people have gathered signatures before.
King's supporters have been at this for years, and nothing has worked.
And she was excited about it, and she said, well, you know, I wish you luck.
You know, we're in a time where I don't think it's going to happen.
I said, well, no, I really believe that it will.
Stevie Wonder had been a child prodigy.
He released his debut album in 1962 at age 12.
So he grew up and came up in the music industry as Dr. King was rising to prominence in America.
Wonder, like many other African -American children in that era, were very much aware of the struggle for freedom and equality in the South.
Wonder had been born in Saginaw, Michigan.
He remembers first hearing King's voice on the radio when he was five years old.
At that same age, he visited family in Alabama and remembers being called a racial slur.
Fast forward seven years, 12 -year -old little Stevie Wonder is back in Alabama on a bus tour for Motown Records.
Wonder is touring through the South at the height of these conflicts around the civil rights movement.
I mean, they're riding their tour bus in, you know, areas which are extremely hostile to the civil rights movement and Black people.
The Motortown Review performs for what may have been the first racially integrated crowd to see a concert in Birmingham, Alabama.
The show actually goes well, but while they're boarding the tour bus to leave, the musicians hear several loud cracks.
At first, they think someone is throwing rocks.
But no, someone is shooting at the bus.
Stevie Wonder and the other musicians rush on board and speed away.
Touring through the South, experiencing Jim Crow conditions, experiencing sort of the face of hatred and white supremacy, that's got to be a formative experience.
As Wonder grows up, the civil rights movement gains steam.
And by the time he's a teenager, Wonder is the kind of pop star who's in demand at big civil rights benefits.
In 1966, backstage at one of these rallies in Chicago, he meets Dr. Martin Luther King.
So Stevie Wonder would have been initiated into this group of really distinguished African -American performing artists who were all lending their support as musicians, but also sort of politically and socially to the civil rights movement.
Motown Records typically didn't want their artists embracing political messages.
But with Wonder, they have to make an exception to keep him on the label.
In the early 70s, he reaches an agreement where he still releases his albums with Motown, but uses his own producers and has free reign over which tracks to include.
You know, he's commenting on American politics.
He's commenting on the backlash of the civil rights movement.
He's critical of American political leaders who are very opportunistic in their treatment of African -Americans and the issues of concern to them.
In 1974, in the middle of the Watergate scandal, Wonder releases You Haven't Done Nothing.
It's a direct attack on Richard Nixon.
It's not too cool to be ridiculed, but you brought this up on your shelf.
He is also using his music to pay tribute to the greats who came before him.
Like in Sir Duke, he pays homage to the jazz legends that he idolizes.
So, it is not really so far out of left field that Stevie Wonder, in 1979, would wake up from a dream and decide to write a song about Martin Luther King, dedicated to this political cause, a federal holiday.
And he does. You probably heard it.
People like the catchy beat.
And so it's fun to, if someone is celebrating a birthday, to give them that Stevie Wonder version.
Crystal Sanders again.
And the chorus of this song is almost too catchy.
It becomes known as a great birthday song, really becoming the go -to birthday song for a large part of the African -American community.
But the verses fly a little under the radar.
And those lyrics have a really pointed message.
I just never understood how a man who died for good He says, I just never understood how a man who died for good.
Could not have a day that would be set aside for his recognition.
Wonder is weighing in on this longstanding political issue.
So he's saying, you know, this is ludicrous.
How is it in the United States of America?
Someone who loved this country and worked to improve this country and make it better for all people is not able to be celebrated.
The message is as clear as he can make it.
At the end of that verse, he uses his name.
And so it's very clear to anyone who hears the song that he's saying, how is it that we can't have a King Holiday?
Stevie Wonder releases Happy Birthday in September of 1980 on the album Hotter Than July.
There's a photo of Dr. King on the inside paper lining with a tribute written by Wonder underneath.
It ends, Join me in the observance of January 15, 1981 as a national holiday.
This hit song revives the issue in the minds of the public.
But 1981 comes and goes and Congress hasn't done anything.
The following year, Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder appear together in Congress to advocate for it.
They present a petition in support of the holiday with more than 6 million signatures.
Still nothing. President Ronald Reagan has announced his opposition, and congressmen are still talking about how King's a communist.
But in 1982, the political winds shift.
By and large, it's Republican lawmakers who have been opposed to the holiday.
And in the midterm elections, they lose 26 seats.
And when John Conyers introduces his bill for the 14th time, it finally passes the U .S.
House of Representatives in early August of 1983.
Now, the bill has to pass the Senate, where Republicans are in control.
on august 27th 250 000 people descend on the national mall in washington dc it's the 20th anniversary of the march on washington where dr king gave his i have a dream speech and this national holiday issue is front and center from the stage stevie wonder tells people to put pressure on their senators to pass the bill i'd like for all of you to please join me urging the u .s senate and your senators in particular to vote yes on S -400, a bill to make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday.
And he sings his song.
I think Wunder is thinking back to his early days, Knowing that, in a lot of ways, his career is inseparable from the struggle of African Americans for freedom and equality.
Wonder ends by acknowledging the person who has fought for this holiday for the last 14 years.
She's standing on that stage beside him.
I'd like for all of you to give a hand.
Just a minute. Brother Scott King.
Even in 1983, the fight in the Senate won't be easy.
The Dixiecrats, the white supremacists, the staunch opponents of the Civil Rights Bill, you know, some of those folks were still in the Senate.
Americans are taking Stevie Wonder at his word, urging the Senate to pass this.
People are picking up the phone and they're calling their U .S.
senators. But the senator from my home state of North Carolina, Senator Jesse Helms, feels that he needs to do something dramatic, right?
Something a last minute, desperate measure to try to convince his fellow senators that it would not be a good idea to support the King holiday.
Hey, History This Week listeners, your producer Ben here.
We talk a lot about time on this show.
History moves pretty fast.
Maybe sometimes you feel like you don't have time to treat yourself, like go out and get a gourmet meal.
Well, that's where Factor comes in.
Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared, perfect for any active, busy lifestyle.
And you can pick meals that match up with your dietary preferences, like Calories Smart, Protein Plus, or Keto.
I really liked their Garlic Butter Chicken, which tasted like it came straight from my favorite restaurant.
Reach your goals this year with ingredients you can trust and convenience that can't be beat.
Eat smart with Factor.
Get started at factormeals .com slash factorpodcast and use code FactorPodcast to get 50 % off your first box plus free shipping.
That's code FactorPodcast at factormeals .com slash factorpodcast to get 50 % off plus free shipping on your first box.
Hey, History This Week listeners, your producer Ben here.
We talk a lot about time on this show.
History moves pretty fast.
Maybe sometimes you feel like you don't have time to treat yourself, like go out and get a gourmet meal.
Well, that's where Factor comes in.
Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared, perfect for any active, busy lifestyle.
And you can pick meals that match up with your dietary preferences, like Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, or Keto.
I really liked their garlic butter chicken, which tasted like it came straight from my favorite restaurant.
Reach your goals this year with ingredients you can trust and convenience that can't be beat.
Eat smart with Factor.
Get started at factormeals .com slash factorpodcast and use code Factor Podcast to get 50 % off your first box plus free shipping.
That's code FACTORPODCAST at factormeals .com slash FACTORPODCAST to get 50 % off plus free shipping on your first box.
State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Listen and follow now on Apple Podcasts, the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
October 18th, 1983.
Senator Jesse Helms, a segregationist from North Carolina, takes the floor, arguing against this bill, which would make Dr. King's birthday a federal holiday.
The Washington Post later says that this day, for the Senate, is a stormy flashback to its bitter civil rights debates of two decades ago.
Helms starts with the usual spiel.
So he presents these documents on the floor of the Senate that supposedly prove that Dr. King was a communist.
Helms brings out a 300 -page binder.
Senator Ted Kennedy objects.
Helms responds by basically saying, your brothers are the ones that got this information.
He doesn't seem willing to relent.
But what perhaps Senator Helms was not expecting was that one of his fellow senators would completely dismiss his proof and essentially say, this is nothing but nonsense.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York takes Helms' 300 -page binder, throws it to the ground, and stomps on it.
I think the exact words were, you know, this is filth.
Technically, packet of filth, but the point stands.
And after this dramatic debate, the bill passes.
Kevin Gaines says even senators who might have been opposed to the holiday knew that voting for it would be politically wise.
They realized that, you know, it was just politically unwise to risk alienating Black voters who were a significant part of the electorate in those states.
The final vote is 76 to 12, a much wider margin than had been expected.
On November 2, 1983, it finally happens.
But traces of bigotry still mar America.
So each year on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr. King, but rededicate ourselves to the commandments he believed in and sought to live every day.
Coretta Scott King stands behind Ronald Reagan as he signs this bill, knowing he had previously said he didn't want it to pass.
Then she steps up to the microphone.
America is a more democratic nation, a more just nation, a more peaceful nation, because Martin Luther King Jr. became her preeminent nonviolent commander.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is now officially a federal holiday.
But it still takes some time for this celebration to take root everywhere in the country.
Crystal Sanders grew up in Clayton, North Carolina, Jesse Helms' estate.
Her father served on the Clayton Town Council.
My father was the first and only African American to serve on the Clayton Town Council in the 20th century.
He had tried for several years to get Clayton to adopt recognition of the King holiday as a paid holiday for town employees.
And year after year, his fellow councilmen refused to pass such an ordinance.
And so my father got creative.
By 1990, seven years after the holiday became official, he makes a motion that the town of Clayton adopt the same holidays as the state of North Carolina.
Very reasonable. All of his fellow councilmen agreed and voted in the affirmative.
But almost immediately after, one of the fellow councilmen says, wait, did I just vote for the King holiday?
Indeed, the state of North Carolina recognized this as a holiday.
And now the town of Clayton did, too.
That same year, 1990, the state of Arizona votes on a measure that would make MLK Day a state holiday.
Around the same time, the NFL announces that Arizona will host the Super Bowl three years later in 1993, only if the measure passes.
But it fails. And so indeed, the NFL made good on their threat and they moved the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix, Arizona to Pasadena, California.
This is a far cry from that 75 % disapproval rating for Dr. Martin Luther King.
Now, the National Football League has moved the Super Bowl in solidarity with this day that celebrates him.
In 2023, a Pew Research poll showed that 81 % of Americans believed Dr. King had a positive impact on the country.
That's not 100. And today, two states, Alabama and Mississippi, do still celebrate MLK Day in combination with Robert E.
Lee Day. Lee, the Confederate general, was born on January 19th.
But MLK Day is celebrated across the country every year.
King is remembered, even revered.
But Kevin Gaines said that can be a bit of a double -edged sword.
It gives us an occasion to reflect on Dr. King's life, his legacy, his contributions to American democracy, his unfinished dream of a more just and equal world.
But, you know, it plays out in corporate America.
You know, you have all of these advertisements, you know, commemorating Dr. King in magazines and television and radio.
And, you know, it's a corporate, rather sanitized vision of Dr. King.
That vision tends to be heavy on inspirational photos and I Have a Dream pull quotes, light on King's solidarity with sanitation workers, his dreams of true economic equality.
But maybe the holiday serves as a moment to hold America up against Dr. King's goals, check in on its progress, and yes, say happy birthday.
too. Thanks for listening to History This Week, a BackPocket Studios production in partnership with the History Channel.
To stay updated on all things History This Week, sign up at historythisweekpodcast .com.
And if you have any thoughts or questions, send us an email at History This Week at history .com.
Special thanks to our guests, Kevin Gaines, Julian Bond, professor of civil rights and social justice at the University of Virginia, and Crystal Sanders, historian and associate professor of African American Studies at Emory University.
This episode was produced and sound designed by Ben Dickstein.
It was co -produced by Samira Tazari and also produced by me, Sally Helm.
For BackPocket Studios, our executive producers are Ben Dickstein and David Weisbord.
From the History Channel, our executive producers are Eli Lehrer and Liv Fiddler.
Don't forget to follow, rate, and review History This Week wherever you get your podcasts, and we'll see you next week.
