Most of us should know who Martin Luther King Jr. was, and how he lived his life, what he believed in, what he had hoped for and sadly how he met his end, but the actual holiday slated in his honor has an equally intriguing history…
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, also known as MLK Day, traditionally honored on the third Monday in January, is not an official holiday, but a federal holiday.
In fact, the United States does not have any official national holidays, only federal ones. Most countries outside the United States do have national holidays, and on those days, the entire nation’s economy is halted, and every citizen gets a paid day off.
So how exactly are federal holidays, like MLK Day, determined?
Through the legislative process or by executive order, it is up to each state to independently decide which days will be considered federal holidays. The United States Congress can only legally designate holidays for federal employees and for the District of Columbia.
Unlike some other holidays, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has some interesting and controversial roots in becoming a federal holiday. For years since its inception, there has been much debate whether or not it is a holiday that is worthy of being designated by the federal or state government.
After King’s assassination in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, the state of Illinois was first to designate Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday in 1973. The push for making it an official holiday to commemorate King’s legacy did not take effect until President Ronald Reagan signed it officially into legislation.
In 1986, despite some protests across the country, MLK Day became a federal holiday.
Controversy surrounding MLK Day continued throughout the next two decades. Some people felt King was too subversive to dedicate a federal holiday in his memory, and others cited King alone should not be recognized for an entire civil rights movement.
The first to rescind MLK Day was Arizona’s governor Evan Mecham, who was already perceived by many as biased against minorities. This 1987 rescission set off a massive boycott in the state, which in turn, created a huge backlash in 1991when the prospective 1993 Superbowl, originally slated for Phoenix, moved to Pasadena, California due to the boycott. Angry Arizonans voted to return the holiday, and MLK Day was officially reinstated in 1992.
The Superbowl was finally back in Arizona by 1996.
By 1989, forty-four states had designated MLK Day as a federal holiday, with New Hampshire as the last state to make it a paid state holiday in 1999, replacing it with its former “Civil Rights Day.” In 2000, Utah changed its “Human Rights Day” to MLK Day.
Last, but not least, also in 2000, South Carolina made MLK Day a paid holiday for its state employees. Until then, state employees had the choice of taking a day off from one of three traditional Confederate related holidays.
After 27 years, MLK Day was finally observed as a federal holiday in all 50 states.
Connecticut recognizes MLK Day as a legal holiday, although private employers are free to decide whether to remain open or closed. In other words, if you are concerned about whether or not MLK Day is a paid holiday, you might want to check out your company’s vacation policy first!
All state-run businesses, banks, public schools, libraries and post offices will be closed on MLK Day this year which is January 21, 2013.