Representative Katie Hall, born in rural Mississippi in 1938 and moved to Indiana in 1960, taught in Gary before serving in the Indiana General Assembly from 1974 to 1982. She became Indiana’s first African American U.S. Representative, serving from 1982 to 1985. During her tenure, she authored and sponsored the bill that made Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a federal holiday. The effort to make King’s birthday a federal holiday began soon after his death in 1968, and growing interest, publicity, and advocacy helped Hall secure passage of the bill in 1983. President Ronald Reagan signed it into law that November, designating every third Monday in January as the holiday, and celebration began in 1986.