Two States Will Honor King Along With Robert E. Lee

The federal holiday set aside to honor the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is Monday. And in Alabama and Mississippi, Monday is also set aside to honor Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The two state governments created holidays more than a century ago to honor Lee and in the 1980s combined them with the federal holiday on the third Monday in January established in the 1980s in the name of the civil rights icon, the AP reports. The two men do have month-appropriate birthdays: Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807, and King was born on Jan. 15, 1929.

• The history: In the years after the Civil War, white politicians in southern states created multiple holidays to honor Confederate leaders and dead Confederate soldiers. Alabama lawmakers in 1901 named a January state holiday for Lee. Mississippi did the same in 1910. After President Reagan in 1983 signed legislation naming the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, states slowly added it to their roster of holidays. Black lawmakers in Alabama and Mississippi have made multiple, unsuccessful attempts in recent years to separate the holidays.
• In Alabama: Rep. Kenyatté Hassell wants to try again in the legislative session beginning next month. It is disrespectful to King's memory and the struggle of the civil rights movement to celebrate him alongside a Confederate general, said Hassell, a Democrat. "There are fundamental difference between General Lee and Dr. King," he said. "The Confederate general, he fought the preserve slavery and uphold the whole institution of white supremacy. Dr. King was a civil rights leader who fought for equality and justice for all people."
• In Mississippi: Democratic Rep. Kabir Karriem introduced legislation this session that would remove the recognition of Lee from the holiday, per the AP. The bill states the purpose is to "reflect the transformative power of Mississippi from its past to its present by celebrating holidays that wholly reflect the remarkable strides made by all citizens."
• Governor's take: In proclaiming April as Confederate Heritage Month last year, per the Clarion Ledger, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wrote that "it is important for all Americans to reflect upon our nation's past, to gain insight from our mistakes and successes, and to come to a full understanding that the lessons learned yesterday and today will carry us through tomorrow if we carefully and earnestly strive to understand and appreciate our heritage."

• In other states: Many states in the South have abolished or renamed Confederate-related holidays. Louisiana in 2022 struck Robert E. Lee Day and Confederate Memorial Day from the list of official state holidays. Virginia in 2020 scrapped a holiday honoring Lee and Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, both natives of the state, to make Election Day a state holiday. Georgia in 2015 changed Confederate Memorial Day to the neutrally titled State Holiday. Arkansas in 2017 ended its practice of commemorating Lee on the same day as King.
• Other commemorations: Alabama and Mississippi have three Confederate-related state holidays. Both states mark Confederate Memorial Day and the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. There are other states with Confederate-related holidays on the books but not full holidays when state offices close.

(More Martin Luther King Jr. stories.)