America Refused To Honor Martin Luther King Jr With A Holiday: Said It Was Expensive
February 28, 2021 769
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Martin Luther King
Jr. day which occurs on January 20th of every year is a day set aside to honor
Martin Luther King Jr who was an influential American civil rights leader who
campaigned consistently for racial equality and the end of racial segregation in
the United States.
This day in
remembrance of him was first signed into law in 1983 by a Republican president
Ronald Reagan but it was first observed three years after in 1986. Still, some
of the states refused to observe the holiday but in the year 2000, all fifty
states of the United States observed the holiday.
The reason behind
their refusal was because Martin Luther King was not liked by all. Some
Republicans, Democrats, and corporate heads initially hated the idea when it was
first introduced in the 1970s by Democrat representative; John Conyers because
they taught he often disturbed the public peace a little. Although some agreed
with his moral views and opinions.
The congresspeople
including Reagan who was by then a presidential hopeful felt that the
establishment of a public holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary
to the country’s longstanding tradition and also they did not want to anger the
corporate heads of America. Because granting a federal holiday would not affect
the paying of workers salary for that day.
According to William
P. Jones who is the author of The Black Tribe of Ulysses:
"The holiday
bill introduced by Conyer's would have died at the committee deliberations but
it stayed alive because the lawmakers knew that labor unions across the country
wanted a Holiday declared for King Jr."
In fact, the dogged
and stubborn labor union leaders whose positions were stronger told their
workers to take a day off on the day of Martin Luther Jr. assassination( April
4th) until the lawmakers had no alternative but to listen to their demand.
Still, the effort
exerted by the labor unions and Conyers was only enough to keep the idea in the
public hearing. In 1979, the idea was also supported by Edward Brooke(the first
African American elected to the United States Senate) whose support gave more
weight to the idea.
Shortly after Reagan
won the presidential election in 1980, popular entertainers such as Stevie
Wonders and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
which was established after his death to promote his legacy convinced Corporate
America and together they further pressed the idea of a holiday for King.
Their efforts paid
off, and soon six million signatures were gathered across America in support of
King's holiday.
Finally, in 1983,
the bill to mark a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. was passed in
Congress but there was still little drama as two republican senators from North
Carolina vehemently opposed the bill. One of the senators even submitted a 300-page
document that alleged that King Jr. was a communist and should not be given
American honor. However their opposing efforts were futile, the Senate affirmed
the bill which had been passed by Congress and President Reagan signed it
into law.
This is the story of
the controversy that surrounded Martin Luther King Jr.'s day. Today, one can
honor his day by reflecting on his speeches, planting a tree as a symbol of
growth, going on a giving march, and also remembering the efforts and
contributions made by the people who made sure Martin Luther King Jr. had a day
he will be celebrated.