The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage
Hundreds gathered in downtown Tuscaloosa to observe the birthday of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
It was first proposed four days after King's 1968 assassination outside a Memphis motel. It took 15 years until it became a federal holiday.
The life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will once again be celebrated and honored Monday in events around the nation.