Two days ago was Martin Luther King Jr. day, which always strikes me as an interesting holiday. We have three days on the US calendar which honor individual people, one for Washington's birthday, one for Columbus day (which should and will change its name soon in my opinion) and Martin Luther King Jr. day. That speaks to just how important and influential Dr. King was too a movement that completely changed the landscape of America. At the same time, the declaration of the holiday wasn’t something that everyone agreed with. To this day, Mississippi and Alabama still celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday alongside Martin Luther King Jr. day, two polar opposites in terms of what they represent sharing remembrance. This doesn’t seem right. In fact, it seems like a slap in the face to what the day should represent. It’s hard to consider how to celebrate MLK’s life when most of his ideals are being thrown to the wayside by a large section of the population. It feels to me like a dominant group saying “Ok, we let you have this one, leave it alone”.
I think at this point we have forgotten why it is important. Many states before they officially adopted the holiday argued that the holiday should be named after the civil rights movement as a whole, and not just one individual person. Utah did not adopt the official name of MLK day until 2000, when it was changed from Human Rights day. I think this line of thinking ignores the totality of the civil rights movement, and why it took one man who was killed in the name of what he believed to make change happen. That’s not to say he was the first, and in no way was he the last, but he is a representation of fighting for what you believe despite the overwhelming pressure of those who just want you to shut the fuck up. It would have been easier to call it Civil Rights day, and I wouldn’t have a problem with a holiday being named after the movement as a whole, but I think adding the name of one of the champions of the cause adds an extra layer of meaning. It cements his name among the apparent founder of our country and the first president of the nation we call the United States, which is elite company in terms of importance. It shows that this man was killed in his own country for what he believed, but now we recognize that he was right and what he believes is what we should believe. For a lot of people this isn’t true, but it should be. By recognizing that one individual, we can put a face to the name of civil rights, and personify that struggle that continues in America today.