President Reagan, who originally opposed making Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday, said Saturday the late civil rights leader's activism was rooted in "true patriotism."
In a proclamation marking Monday as the first national King Day holiday, Reagan urged all Americans to "continue to carry forward the banner that 18 years fell from Dr. King's hands ... Let all Americans of every race and creed and color work together to build in this blessed land a shining city of brotherhood, justice and harmony.
"This is the monument Dr. King would have wanted most of all."
Reagan, who in opposing a holiday for King suggested in 1983 that he might have been a communist, issued the proclamation legally declaring Monday the first observance of King's birthday a federal holiday.
The president, who in private and public life opposed every major civil rights bill that King fought for, said:
"It is a time for rejoicing and reflecting. We rejoice because, in his short life, Dr. King, by his preaching, his example, and his leadership, helped to move us closer to the ideals on which America was founded. We reflect on his words and his works.