Freedom Train to Roll Through the Peninsula Monday

Monday, Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

For some, the national holiday honoring the prominent civil rights activist is a time to give back and serve the community, be it through removing graffiti or picking up litter in a local park.

For others, it’s an opportunity to educate themselves about King and his life's work. 

On Monday, Jan. 20, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley will charter Caltrain as its “Freedom Train” from Diridon Station in San Jose, non stop to San Francisco. 

The train will depart the San Jose Diridon Caltrain Station at about 10:00 a.m., arriving in San Francisco at approximately 11:00 a.m. 

Freedom Train tickets are sold only by the association (Caltrain fare media is NOT valid). 

If Freedom Train tickets are sold out, people can buy a regular Caltrain ticket and take any regularly scheduled northbound train to join festivities in San Francisco.

You may purchase your tickets by going to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/512027. 

For more information, go to http://scvmlk.org/.

The Holiday's History

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, now a U.S. holiday, took 15 years to create.

Legislation was first proposed by Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan) four days after King was assassinated in 1968.

The bill was stalled, but Conyers, along with Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-New York), pushed for the holiday every legislative session until it was finally passed in 1983, following civil rights marches in Washington. 

Then-president Ronald Reagan signed it into law. Yet it was not until 2000 that every U.S. state celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by its name. Before then, states like Utah referred to the holiday more broadly as Human Rights Day. 

Now, the Corporation for National and Community Service has declared it an official U.S. Day of Service.