Wednesday, January 14, 2004

MLK Holiday

My dad just told me something that I never knew -- or had completely forgotten. My home state of Arkansas used to celebrate Robert E. Lee day in January. But eventually, the Arkansas Legislature decided to have a Martin Luther King day as well. Not wanting to have two separate holidays so soon after Christmas and New Year's, the Legislature decided on what you might call a reverse-Solomonic solution: Combine the two holidays. Yes, that's right. Arkansas officially has a "Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King" holiday this coming Monday.

UPDATE: On further research, I now see that Alabama and Mississippi have the same combined holiday, while Virginia actually used to celebrate Lee/Jackson/King day, including Stonewall Jackson among the honorees as well. Mind-boggling.

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