Over half a century has passed since Rev Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial calling for freedom, equality and social justice. On ‘Martin Luther King Jr Day’, also known as MLK Day, former US President Barack Obama took to social media to remember the civil rights’ activist on his official birthday.

Notably, King’s birthday is observed on the third Monday in January, which is also a federal holiday in the nation.

“If anyone had a right to question whether our democracy was worth redeeming, it was Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Because in the face of billy clubs and lynchings, poll taxes and literacy tests, he never gave in to violence, never waved a traitorous flag or gave up on our country,” Obama tweeted.

Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence also honoured the activist saying “his memory will inspire us for generations to come”.

Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also shared a powerful quote of King on the microblogging site.

“The problems of racial injustice and economic injustice cannot be solved without a radical redistribution of political and economic power,” she wrote quoting the activist.

“On this MLK Day, it is clearer than ever that progress is possible, but that we have many more miles to march before we reach the Beloved Community for which Dr King lived and died. We should honor him in word & deed with a commitment to justice, equality, service & compassion,” tweeted the 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton.

Some other tweets paying tribute to King:

King, who was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.  

The campaign to honour his birthday as a federal holiday soon began after his assassination at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968. The law was signed in 1983 and it was fully implemented three years later. 

On October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.