Robert E. Lee Day was originally celebrated by states in the South for decades following the Civil War, but was abandoned by most after President Ronald Reagan designated the third Monday in January MLK Day.
Mississippi and Alabama are the only two states that still celebrate Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s birthday alongside the federal holiday set aside for slain Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Every other state that formerly celebrated Lee, including Lee’s home state of Virginia, has dropped those recognitions.
Mississippi State Rep. Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus) submitted another bill to separate the celebrations on King’s birthday, Jan. 15.
“Both men had impacts on our history, and I think it’s time to separate the holiday so that King can be observed for the Cvil Rights icon he is,” Karriem said. “I think this change is long overdue.”
According to the bill, it proposes a Mississippi state holiday to “exclusively recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on the third Monday of January.”
According to WBHM, Robert E. Lee Day was originally celebrated by Southern states in the years and decades following the Civil War, but eventually was abandoned by most after President Ronald Reagan designated the third Monday in January a federal holiday in 1983 to be Martin Luther King Day, a commemoration of King’s birthday on Jan. 15.
However, Alabama’s efforts to separate the commemoration of Robert E. Lee from that of King has met the same fate as Rep. Karriem’s bill in Mississippi.
State Sen. Jay Luneau (D-Alexandria) referred to the signing of the bill that eliminated the two holidays as “an important step in the right direction” and proof that Louisiana stands “ready to do the right thing,” as it relates to reckoning with its history of racism.
It appears, if things hold to their current patterns, that neither Alabama nor Mississippi are ready to make that particular conciliatory gesture as it relates to their history with racism, which is quite literally soaked with blood.
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Source: Black Enterprise
