Is MS still celebrating MLK and Robert E. Lee on the same day? Here’s the story
Mississippi is one of two U.S. states that observe Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s birthday on the same date as the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy as leader of the civil rights movement.
While several Southern states still recognize certain confederate holidays, honoring two men with starkly different ideologies on the same day can feel polarizing and has led some states to shift commemorations of Lee’s birthday or wipe it from their official calendars.
This year, King-Lee Day in Mississippi falls on Jan. 19. Here’s what to know about the state holiday.
What is King-Lee Day?
King-Lee Day is a state holiday in Mississippi and one other state honoring both Martin Luther King Jr., and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Martin Luther King Jr., Day, which falls on the third Monday in January each year, is a federal holiday with most federal offices, public schools, banks and post offices closing to observe the day.
Why are both men commemorated on the same day in MS?
Both Lee and King have January birthdays, Jan. 19, 1807 and Jan. 15, 1929, respectively.
The commemoration for Lee began in Mississippi in 1910 as politicians in the South rushed to create holidays honoring Confederate leaders and dead soldiers of the Civil War, the Associated Press reported.
The day recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. was signed into law Nov. 2, 1983, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
As states added this day to their calendar of state holidays, some dropped the existing day honoring Lee while others combined the holidays, according to the Associated Press.
Some Mississippi lawmakers have attempted to separate the commemorations in recent years but have been unsuccessful.
What other states celebrate King-Lee Day?
Alabama is the only other state that still celebrates King-Lee Day.
Other Southern states, including Lee’s birth state of Virginia, have removed or separated the celebrations.
What other Confederate holidays does MS celebrate?
Mississippi officially recognizes the following three Confederate holidays:
- King-Lee Day, observed the third Monday in January
- Confederate Memorial Day, observed the last Monday of April
- Jefferson Davis’s birthday, observed on the last Monday of May along with National Memorial Day
