What's Open, Closed in Burlington on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that means a few locations, especially government offices, are closed. Here is a look of what is open and closed in Burlington and at the Massachusetts State level today.

• Municipal offices, including Burlington Town Hall, state offices and courts: Closed
• Schools: Closed
• The Burlington Public Library: Closed
• Post Offices: Closed
• Banks: Closed
• Supermarkets: Open
• Retail stores:  Open at owner discretion
• Restaurants: Open at owner discretion
• Liquor Stores: Open at owner discretion
• Stock Markets: Closed

History of today: Nearly 15 years after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968, then-President Ronald Reagan signed into law the King Holiday Law. But the history of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday dates back to the first January after his death. Atlanta, the home of the King Memorial Center, held an observance of the civil rights icon’s birthday. After several attempts to turn the birthday into a national holiday, dating back to 1968, the law was finally passed in 1983 and the first national observance was held in 1986. Not every state has observed the holiday, though. It wasn’t until 2000 that the last state—South Carolina—joined the rest of the country in honoring Dr. King.