A few years before Martin Luther King, Jr., Day became a legal holiday, a teenaged girl made the news. The same age as myself, and attending a school in a different state, she appeared on the news when her High School refused to allow her to read a paper she had written about Martin Luther King. The paper was about Rev. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and the girl was nearly in tears because she was told she could not read it to her class.
I did not know the outcome of the issue, or whatever became of the girl after the incident; but it is one example of how those whose purpose is to do good are often opposed every step of the way. After Rev. King's work merited a holiday, there were politicians and states in the United States that did not want to cooperate with it. From refusing to acknowledge and observe the holiday to calling it something different, the holiday that was made a federal holiday in 1983 it was not observed as such in all states until 2000.
When it comes to doing good for others without any emphasis on personal gain, some people are quite visible and very well-known. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others in the Civil Rights Movement were in the former category. However, people like Sherida Jones may only be known to a few, yet their role is equally important. These quiet, everyday people also have a very significant place in history.