Arkansas tries to part Gen. Lee, MLK Day

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Every third Monday in January, Arkansas state offices are closed in observance of an unlikely holiday: the shared birthdays of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Only three st ates commemorate both men on the same day, a practice that critics say hurts Arkansas’ reputation. Now the Republican governor is reviving an effort to remove Lee from the holiday, but he faces resistance from some who complain the move belittles the state’s Confederate heritage and from black lawmakers worried about a plan to set aside another day to honor Lee.

“I t h i n k t h i s p r ov i d e s our state an opportunity to bridge divides,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson, whose agenda for the legislative session that began last week includes the change.

Arkansas has had a holiday in honor of Lee since 1947 and one for King since 1983. That year, agencies required state employees to choose which two holidays they wanted off: King’s birthday on Jan. 15, Lee’s birthday on Jan. 19 or the employee’s birthday. In 1985, the Legislature voted to combine holidays.

Alabama and Mississippi also honor the men on the same day.

Hutchinson’s idea is not new. Two years ago, a similar proposal repeatedly failed before a House committee.

The renewal of the debate comes amid a nationwide re-evaluation of monuments and symbols linked to the Civil War, the Confederacy and slavery.

As with the flag debate in other states, the King Day proposal has drawn the ire of groups that say removing Lee from the holiday is an affront to people whose ancestors served the Confederacy.

“It’s like telling our Hispanic neighbors that we’re not going to do Cinco de Mayo,” said Robert Edwards, commander of the Arkansas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “I think it’s just a racist bill.”