Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Obama to Honor Martin Luther King Jr VOA News 17 January 2011 Ronald Blaylock leans out to watch a parade honoring Martin Luther King in Houston, Texas, 15 Jan 2011 Photo: AP Ronald Blaylock leans out to watch a parade honoring Martin Luther King in Houston, Texas, 15 Jan 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama is honoring Martin Luther King Jr. during a national holiday celebrating the life of the slain African American civil rights leader. Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, are scheduled to participate in a service event Monday in Washington, while members of the president's Cabinet attend memorial events and do community service across the nation.  The King Center in Atlanta caps more than a week of events Monday with commemorative ceremonies, volunteer activities and community programs. The center describes the federal holiday as a day to be involved in community events and service - "a day on, not a day off." King was a Baptist preacher who fought discrimination and racism in the 1950s and 1960s, mainly in the southern United States, where blacks were subjected to unequal treatment in society and at times the target of violence. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old. King gained prominence after leading a successful protest against segregation on the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Under that system, blacks were required to sit in the back of the bus and, if the vehicle was full, they had to give their seats to white people. The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 made segregation illegal. King, an advocate for non-violent protests, won the Nobel Peace Prize the same year. Some information for this report was provided by AP. .