South Carolina was the last to do so, joining the other 49 states in 2000. The holiday was first observed in 1986, but it took many more years before every state made it a full holiday complete with a paid day off for state workers. His widow, Coretta Scott King, asked Wonder to write it because she wanted help with her years-long campaign to. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday. Wonder wrote a song meant to promote the idea of making Dr. Another rally followed the next year, and on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill. But many people don’t realize the origin of Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday. Martin Luther King.'Ī highlight of the rally was Wonder's performance of this song, and over the next few years, Wonder continued his work to raise awareness of the movement and apply political pressure to get the holiday recognized. When Stevie Wonder released the song Happy Birthday to You, in 1981, he made a political and social statement that changed the course of United States history. I'd like to ask all of you just for one moment, if you will, to be silent and just to think and hear in your mind the voice of our Dr. With the crowd chanting, 'Martin Luther King Day, we took a holiday,' black leaders and celebrities appeared, and when Wonder spoke, he said: 'As an artist, my purpose is to communicate the message that can better improve the lives of all of us.

He helped organize a rally in Washington on Janu(King's birthday), that was a key event in the movement.

Stevie Wonder had a huge role in getting Martin Luther King day recognized as a national holiday in America.