Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021: What’s open and what’s closed in the Lehigh Valley Updated Jan 17, 2021; Posted Jan 17, 2021 A statue of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands outside the Essex County Hall of Records. A march in Newark and virtual commemorations around the state will be held on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday commemorating KIng's birth on Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media For NJ.com Facebook Share Martin Luther King Jr. Day marks the birth of the civil rights activist who advocated for nonviolent protest. In 1964 he was the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.