By the numbers

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1986: The year King’s birthday was first observed as a federal holiday

38.7 million: The number of black or partly black U.S. residents as of 2003

13.3: The percentage of U.S. residents in 2003 who were black or partly black

2.3 million: The number of black veterans who served in the U.S. military as of 2003

Source: U.S. Census