VA SORCC Closed in Recognition of MLK Day January 17, 2022

Monday January 17, 2022, VA SORCC will be Closed in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Recognition

Monday, January. 17, 2022, marks the nation's 36th observance of the legal holiday honoring slain civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. On November 2, 1983. President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Day a federal holiday, effective January 20, 1986. Congress designated the holiday in 1994 as a day of service, asking Americans to observe it as a "day on– not a day off" in honor of Dr. King's words, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is:  what are you doing for others?"

In the ensuing years, Dr. King made equal rights his life's work. Using his own assets and nonviolent tactics, he organized hundreds of boycotts, rallies, and marches across the United States, becoming a pivotal civil rights figure. He was often beaten, imprisoned and maligned, but he never stopped teaching or practicing nonviolence.

MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community. Dr. King devoted his life’s work to causes of equality and social justice. He taught that through nonviolence and service to one another, problems such as hunger and homelessness, prejudice and discrimination can be overcome. Dr. King’s teachings continue to guide us in addressing our nation’s most pressing needs -- poverty, economic insecurity, job loss and education.