Notes from the Archives: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Boston

On this day in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Though Dr. King was most widely known for his civil rights activities in the American South, he had strong ties to Boston.

In 1955, King received his doctorate from Boston University. While studying for his doctorate, he served as an assistant minister in Boston’s Twelfth Baptist Church. Two years after Dr. King’s untimely death, the Boston City Council proclaimed January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the City of Boston.

The City sponsored several events commemorating the work of Dr. King, including a service at City Hall. Mr. A. Reginald Eaves gave remarks at the service. He drafted his remarks on the back of an envelope.

Eaves encouraged Bostonians to not only remember the work of Dr. King, but also to, “pledge our continued fight for the kind of social and economic justice to which Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his too short span of years and for which he gave his life.” His remarks were later printed, and you can read them below.

Though Boston began celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1970, the United States did not declare King’s birthday a federal holiday until 1983. Eaves's encouragement to remember King's work and words inspires us today. In Boston, as in other American cities, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a day of service.