TX newspaper: "America's reluctance to embrace the King holiday"

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011606dnnewsmlk.7ebe6c6.html


When former President Ronald Reagan announced 23 years ago that he would sign legislation to establish a national holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he came across as genially acquiescent, even though he believed that secret FBI files would eventually determine whether Dr. King was a loyal American or communist sympathizer.

"But since they seem bent on making a national holiday," he told reporters, "I believe the symbolism of that day is important enough that I will sign that legislation when it reaches my desk."

<snip>

Part of the problem may be that some people simply don't want to be reminded of the civil rights movement, whose participants endured countless beatings and the constant threat of death.
<snip>

Despite America's reluctance to embrace the King holiday, Mr. Branch thinks the civil rights leader "would be amazed by a lot of the positive transformations" in today's America.

[ClassWarrior]

1. The ones who don't want to remember are the scum who did the beating.

NGU.

[f-bush]

2. Anybody who doesn't want to celebrate this day is

a fucking racsist!!!!!!!

[jsamuel]

3. "threat of death" ? Try actual death...

geez...

[Burning Water]

4. Here in Alabama

Dr. King gets to share they day with General Robert E. Lee.

[GrumpyGreg]

5. You are kidding---right? Right?

[rainbow4321]

6. Looks like Alabama and Mississippi do the same thing?

Louisiana does "every OTHER year"....

http://www.npelra.org/articles/mlk0501.asp

With the addition of South Carolina, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday is now observed as a holiday for employees of all 50 states, according to the 2001 State Employee Benefits Survey published by Workplace Economics, Inc., a Washington, D.C. economic consulting firm.
In Utah, the holiday is celebrated as Civil Rights Day, and Louisiana observes the holiday every other year. Alabama and Mississippi celebrate the holiday in conjunction with General Robert E. Lee Day. Virginia formerly observed King Day, Robert E. Lee Day and Stonewall Jackson Day as a single holiday, but has added Lee Jackson Day as separate holiday so that state employees may recognize King Day as a distinct holiday.

[GrumpyGreg]

7. Astonishing---up here in Massachusetts I'm out of the southern loop.

To me it's MLK day. Period.

[Burning Water]

9. Not at all n/t

[Horse with no Name]

8. Our town has this "deal"

I live on Main Street and our town is a Main Street City.
Every holiday the Chamber of Commerce lines Main Street with flags.
I pay the Chamber of Commerce x amount of dollars a year and they maintain the flag that flies in front of my house.
However, I notice that today I don't have a flag flying.
Considering that I live in a town that is over 50% black, I find that this is a disgrace.

[cantstandbush]

10. Looking at America today under this administration...it's difficult to

celebrate anything. I had a hard time celebrating the Christmas holidays and my birthday.

[AspenRose]

11. When people realize that the principles King stood for benefit ALL

Americans, and not just people of color, then Americans will "embrace" the holiday.

My main beef is with people having the attitiude that it's a holiday "for blacks only." I've even seen that attitude among hispanics here, which is disheartening and (IMO) disgraceful.